Zenthai in Samoa

11 April 2016, 12:00AM

I’m constantly being blown away by Samoa. I never thought that yoga would be taken to like it has been here. It’s so wonderful that it’s becoming more popular with so many new students trying it out for the first time, and coming back for more.

Each Friday at the Tanoa Tusitala yoga class (where breakfast is included, all for $15!) we’re seeing lots of new yoga students each week, it’s awesome watching the sunrise with the 6;15am start, and the $5 per person donation that goes to the Samoa Victim Support Group!. We’ve raised $500 this year which we handed over on Friday afternoon, Thank You so much YOGIS! - The SVSG, really appreciate our help and I’m happy that Tanoa and Yoga Juice have come together for this amazing cause, it feels so good!.

Everything goes in cycles, it was only a few weeks ago we were looking at the five elements and the meridian wheel of Chinese medicine, a week after that we opened the YOGA JUICE studio and put a call out for teachers, now we’ve found a new yoga teacher who is teaching 5 element yoga called Zenthai. Her classes start today and she’ll be teaching 5 classes – Mondays and Fridays till the end of the month before she heads back to Australia.

Kari first came to Samoa as an Australian Volunteer in 2011 where she worked with the Samoa Tourism Authority for two and a half years on ecotourism and climate change projects. During this time she founded a small yoga community who practiced classes with Abril Esquivel, a dynamic Ashtanga Yoga Teacher. Inspired by these teachings, she began to practice yoga at home and realised there was a whole lot more to yoga than just the physical practice. Clarity of the mind and a deep sense of wellbeing was realised and so her personal journey of yoga began here in Samoa. 

Over the last year she has returned to work with the STA and is loving spending time here again. In between work and travel she studied with Gwyn Williams completing her Zenthai Shiatsu Therapist training. Kari has just returned from two months in Bali where she completed intensive training courses in Zenthai Flow and Hatha Yoga Teacher Training. She is excited to be back in Samoa where her personal journey with yoga began, to share the essence of yoga and Zenthai with the local people. 

Zenthai Flow in Samoa

Zenthai Flow is a class based on yoga asana poses which encourage mindful movement incorporating facial release and the principles and knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine 

Meridians and the 5 Elements. 

The classes embody a distinct flow and pulse of movement aiming to open up the areas of our bodies that have become stagnant. When stagnation is present along a meridian line, disharmony occurs. Freeing up our flow of energy brings a sense of well being and balance into our daily lives. Each of the 5 Chinese Elements has related qualities and characteristics that will be weaved into each of the 5 classes. The Earth Element is associated with the stomach and spleen meridian lines and is about nourishment, stillness and feeling grounded. The Metal Element is associated with the lung and large intestine meridian lines and is about embracing change, breathing in the new and letting go of the old, strength and courage. The Water Element is associated with the kidney and urinary bladder meridian lines and is about containing your power, flow, slowing down and going deep within. The Wood Element is associated with the liver and gall bladder meridian lines and is about vision and direction, growth and expansion, giving and receiving. The Fire Element is associated with the heart and small intestine meridian lines as well as the pericardium and triple heater meridians lines. The Fire Element is all about expressing your joy! Love, truth and coming from the heart space. 

The Zenthai Flow classes combine yoga asanas with principles of the deep healing modality of Zenthai Shiatsu, developed by world renowned teacher Gwyn Williams based on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Zenthai Shiatsu is a combination of Zen Shiatsu (Japanese origin based on Traditional Chinese Medicine), Traditional Thai Massage (evolved from Buddhist monks) and Osteopathy techniques. This unique combination of bodywork or massage aims to remove blockages or stagnation from the meridian lines or energy channels throughout the body so that life force (Chi) can flow freely again. 

Kari’s Zenthai classes start this evening at 6pm and are $15 per class (running every Mon and Friday till the end of the month), you can also buy a 10 x card for $120 from YOGA JUICE and try our other classes out as well, we have yoga, Bellydancing and SOUL dance classes ongoing. 

Kari is also offering Zenthai Shiatsu Massage ($70 WST) from the Yoga Juice Studio which you can book into for Saturdays or Sundays till the end of the month Message me through the YOGA JUICE SAMOA page on facebook for a booking. 

We hope to see you at the YOGA JUICE studio or by the pool at Tanoa for some yoga, S.V.S.G. fundraising and big breakfasts soon.

Namaste

11 April 2016, 12:00AM
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