"Beyond Asana Ashtanga Intensive" - Gregor Maehle in Wien
40 years, almost half a human lifetime. That long Gregor Maehle practices Yoga. 1997 he was authorised to teach by his teacher Patthabi Jois, moreover he studied with B.K.S. Ivengar early on. What else does make him such a special teacher? He has vast knowledge in Sanskrit, Anatomy and Meditation - a deep over the years intensivied knowlegde of Body and Soul which complement each other perfectly.
The Body is the crystallized history of all of your past thoughts, feelings, words and actions.
Everything we do, say, think and feel manifests in our bodies.
…true yoga was always aimed at recognizing us as that which is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable.”>
Gregor grew up in Germany after World War II, but left his country many years ago and is living in Australia for 10 years now.
More than Asana
One of his many travels brought him to Vienna. His workshop, which took place from the 4th to the 7th of december 2017 at the Yogamelange, was limited to 30 participants which gave a very intimate and personal feel to it. Monday evening Gregor started with a pulic talk reminding us of the original signification and meaning of yoga. A topic which often is ignored in the asana focused practice which is dominant in the west. From Tuesday till Thursday we practiced asana in the mornings. On the first day we had a led class, the other days were mysore style classes. In the evenings we enjoyed Gregors talks, finished off with pranayama and meditation. We were allowed to interrupt Gregor at any point of his talk to ask questions which turned this workshop into something very special. All I can say is that I got a lot of answers on these 3 days - also on questions I haven't asked myself before.
Going deeper
Gregor doesn't only share his wisdom on workshops: he already wrote several books. 2 on asana, one on pranayama and another one on meditation. The topic of his last book is samadhi, he recommends reading this one first. Moreover he has a blog together with his wife Monica.
This workshop was really special, moved me deeply and gave me a new perspecitve on my yoga practice. Gregor Maehle is a very authentic teacher who experienced a lot and teaches with a lot of wisdom, dedication and love.
If he ever comes to a place near you - don't hesitate and join.
If you want to read the article in german click here.
I need to go to another workshop soon. I practice at home almost solely as there is no shala near me. My favorite power teacher does teach a beautiful mysore class Friday mornings, but I'm at work for this :(. I should do a quick search to find a workshop near me soon!!
I am really lucky here in vienna. We have some really great shalas with experienced teachers and they also invite quite some really known teachers. My Shala has Mysore classes every day and I attend them 5 times a week. But I think that practicing at home is a lot more challenging in a lot of ways because you have to motivate yourself and stay on it - so my depest respect for that! I really enjoy going to workshops now and then just to get more inputs and other perspectives on my practice. Tell me if you find a workshop - I'm curious. Have a lovely day!
Lucky indeed. Next time I move cities, one of my big objectives is to have an Ashtanga shala. I have a GREAT teacher here. I don't have a shala here. I also don't have time to practice outside my home :(. Ashtanga is great at home yogis! It's my saving grace.
Thanks @beate for share so enriching experience.
Increasingly, the original signification and meaning of yoga is being lost from sight and this kind of spiritual teachers have the virtue of bringing us back to the center!
Thank you so much! Gregor really is an amazing teacher, mystic and person. He will be back in vienna this year and I will join his workshop again of course.
Really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing! :)
Thank you for taking the time to read my blogpost. Have an awesome day! :-)