Would you prefer to learn a new skill whilst being in the sun, eating great food and making new friends? We resumed our visits to our beautiful location on the Greek island Chios in spring 2022. Due to the popularity of this residential training we are offering a second date in the autumn, when the weather is perfect – not too hot, but hot enough for swimming! You can register your interest if you would like us to keep you updated/take your availability and preferences into account for future residential’s, or sign up for our mailing list to stay up to date.
About our residential trainings
Our residential courses are the best way to learn Ayurvedic Yoga Massage, if you are ready for a full immersion! We always have a great time, and don’t particularly feel like coming back. Whilst in all of our trainings friendships build, in the residential courses it’s that extra element of cooking together, going on excursions on days off and we also practise yoga together in the mornings (optional).
Taking the course as an intensive works really well. We work for about 6 hours per day, so the whole course, L1-4 (find out more about training here) will take two weeks (5 days course, 2 days off, 5 days course), and there will still be a lot of time for exploring the island. 6-hour days mean that the course is still pretty condensed, but it’s workable (any more and we’d get too tired), and we’ll have enough time to head to the beach/hills/a cafe etc in the afternoons/evenings (or some groups prefer to change the timings and take a longer break over lunchtime).
The distinct advantage of intensive courses is that people get to feel quite confident before they start practising on friends/family/clients. Particularly on Chios, students don’t have to commute or deal with life’s usual logistics, so everyone has more energy for the training and we usually all practise yoga together in the mornings. This is really helpful, as we can discuss how a yoga practice can help us with our AYM practice, the parallels between an active yoga practice and receiving AYM, adjustments for different bodies (similarities and differences between adaptations to a yoga practice versus an AYM treatment) etc.
If you are booking flights and the time off to travel to Greece, it is usually more worth it if you stay for the full two weeks (although shorter stays are also available). If you are a beginner to AYM you might want to consider whether you want to attend a two-week intensive training, or whether you might prefer to spread the training over a longer period of time, allowing time for practice in-between the different parts of the course. If you don’t have relevant experience (such as an established yoga practice or experience with floor based bodywork), or if struggle committing new, practical information to memory without a lot of repetition, then spreading the training out over a longer period of time might be better for you. Think about:
- attending a 4-hour introductory workshop to see how easy you find this type of training
- starting off with a shorter training in the UK, such as a Level 1 or Level 1-2 training. Then when you come to Chios you can repeat the materials that you have covered in your UK training before continuing on to the more advanced levels. Repeating the levels of training that you have already attended can count as part of your Level 5 training, and is a very effective way of consolidating learning and deepening understanding. If you are not sure which of these approaches would work best for you, contact Despina and she will be very happy to discuss your options further.
As with all our trainings, we are invested in your success, and you will be supported before, during and after your training. The introductory videos will be made available two weeks before the start of your training, and the full training is also available in video format at no extra cost to students for one year after the end of the training. When you get back home and start practising you will have two free mentorship video calls with Despina. Small group weekly mentorship sessions are also available after that for £20 per month, so Despina can check on your progress, help you with technique questions and help you set up a successful business every step of the way.
Fees & logistics
The cost of our L1-4 trainings in the UK is £1800, or £1400 concessions.
In addition, for our Chios residentials we ask students to contribute EUR30/day payable on arrival, to cover the costs of food, accommodation and transport (from/to the airport and around the island on our days off). See more details on course logistics below.
During the course you will be Despina’s guest, from the time we pick you up from the airport to the time we drop you off. Food is vegan and cooking/cleaning up afterwards will be shared, to keep the costs down (and students also love learning new, vegan, delicious and healthy Greek-inspired recipes!). If you would prefer to have a more chilled out holiday experience with more formal accommodation, and more time to rest and replenish, I can also recommend some lovely accommodation for you nearby. You will be surprised by the great value of accommodation prices on Chios, as it’s off the beaten track.
On our days off we can organise guided walks and/or sailing trips or courses and/or scuba diving excursions or courses. Depending on people’s interests there are quite a few galleries/museums, some caves with stunning formations, lots of scenery, forests, beaches, medieval stone-built villages, breath-taking views.. And the sunrises and sunsets over the Aegean Sea are pure heaven. We will be travelling around the island by car, so one of you might need to volunteer to drive, otherwise one of my local friends will join us for the days off. Mostly people in the past have preferred swimming, strolling around medieval villages/areas with interesting architecture, eating at local tavernas and watching sunrises/sunsets on days off.
If you would like to participate in a part of L1-4 and not the whole training then please get in touch and we can make arrangements.
