Thai Massage Training  Cleansing Retreats  Vibrant Living Workshop Series  Two Week Ayurvedic Bodywork Training  

Thai Massage

Next training:

Nurture Your Love: Thai Massage and Ayurveda for Couples
February 13 - 16, 2015
Kripalu Center, Stockbridge, MA

We offer individual to small group trainings in the ancient healing art of Thai Massage. We believe that a good practitioner must first understand their own body and "be in" their body before they will have the ability to offer effective therapy, so we encourage students to enter our trainings with yoga experience, as this is a part of all trainings to some degree. Throughout your stay, whether it be a 1-day refresher or a 7-day intensive, we will dive into the practice of conscious living and being present for others through our exploration of yoga and pranayam, conscious communication, conscious eating, and enjoying Nature and community. Because our Thai trainings are limited in size, your experience is guarantied to be personable, and can be malleable if needed. If you would like to bring any of the following Thai massage offerings to your studio or home, contact us for details.

Nurture Your Love: Thai Massage and Ayurveda for Couples
- offered three times a year at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, MA. See our calendar for upcoming dates.

Advanced Couples Thai Massage
- take what you've learned in our Nurture Your Love Thai massage workshop to the next level. This workshop is offered at Lakshmi's Garden only at this point. Class size is limited.

Thai Experience (for 2 or more persons) - 2.5 hours
- this is designed for those with little or no experience
- Individuals will be matched up with another and lead through a "flow", then partners will switch positions
- Fun and playful experience that can be done almost anywhere (outdoors, yoga studio, home).

Individual Intensive (1 - 7 days)
- this training is designed to fit your skill set, whether you are a beginner, or looking to deepen your practice
- the length of this personalized training and your training will determine the depth of its components

Two-day Intensive - This training is mostly a hands on experience designed to work on technique and flow.

Cleansing Retreats

We offer 3 and 5 day cleansing retreats to help you refresh and rejuvenate.

Vibrant Living Workshop Series
Each of these 3 hour workshops consists of a yoga, pranayam, or meditation practice, lecture, and experiential learning. They are offered throughout the year at different locations and can also be scheduled here at the retreat for a private group. The series is an excellent way to introduce the complimentary practice of ayurveda to yoga students. If you would like to bring ayurveda to your studio, contact us for available dates.

Vibrant Living: Introduction to Ayurveda
According to Ayurveda, the science (veda) of life (ayur), we are born perfect. Lifestyles, influences, relationships, and habits that are incompatible with one's constitution take us out of that perfection. We can achieve vibrant health by understanding our own unique constitution or nature (dosha) and learning simple practices to maintain that doshic balance.

Vibrant Living: Yoga and Ayurvedic Practices for Finding Balance in Spring
Troubled with springtime allergies or hay fever? Fealing heavy or sluggish? Want to lose that extra winter storage? Ayurveda, the ancient science of rejuvenation, can help you to feel light and clear this spring by balancing the kapha dosha. Springtime, the kapha season, is the natural season for cleansing and renewal. In this workshop, we will explore the reasons behind those common springtime ailments and learn how to use our yoga and daily practices to reclaim your health and vitality.

Vibrant Living: Yoga and Ayurvedic Practices for Finding Balance in Summer
Agni is the ayurvedic term for the fire of transformation, and a strong, balanced digestive fire is the basis of health. Agni digests our food to create the "juice" that builds every cell of the body, so balanced agni ensures healthy tissues. Agni also digests the thoughts, emotions, and experiences of our lives through neurotransmitters in the brain. So, strong agni means less stress and more energy to courageously meet the challenges of everyday life.

Summertime is the season when agni and pitta dosha can easily become imbalanced due to excess heat and activity. In this workshop we will explore ways to use our yoga and daily practices to restore equilibrium and reclaim your health and vitality.

We will cover:
- basic ayurvedic principles including the cycle of the day and seasons
- your personal doshic constitution
- diet and exercise appropriate for the season
- yoga postures and breath work to cool, calm, and revitalize

Vibrant Living: Yoga and Ayurvedic Practices for Finding Balance in Fall and Winter
As Autumn reveals her colors, the weather cools, the leaves dry up, and unfortunately, so do we. The effects of the season become visible in our bodies: cold hands and feet, dry skin, nasal passages, and throat, and dry cough and tension from bracing against the cold. Winter intensifies and prolongs these symptoms which can then wear down the immune system and make one vulnerable to sickness. However, with a little knowledge from Ayurveda, the "Science of Life", one can transform this season into a time of rejuvenation. With simple, nourishing practices you can create strength, build health, and balance the Vata dosha. Say good-bye to the cold and flu season and say hello to Vibrant Living!

In this workshop, we will cover:
- basic ayurvedic principles for balance
- your personal doshic constitution
- rejuvenation therapies and daily practices
- yoga, pranayam, and meditation for grounding, warming, and relaxing

Two Week Ayurvedic Bodywork Training
Immerse yourself for two weeks in the ancient "Science of Life", Ayurveda, as you learn the art of creating balance in the body and the mind. We will explore the principles of Ayurveda in theory and daily practices to bring about an organic understanding of its nature, and then apply this knowledge to our bodywork practice. The training includes six different services ( garshana, abhyanga, vivesh, udvartina, shirodhara, and swedna) that can be combined to create a variety of unique experiences tailored to each individual's state of imbalance. We will also use Ayurveda's "sister science" Yoga to strengthen each practitioner: asanas to support proper body mechanics, meditation to focus the mind, and pranayama to unite and balance both. The result is bodywork that becomes a meditation in motion, healing for both practitioner and client. A 90-minute ayurvedic session of your choice with one of the instructors is included in the training, so that you can experience the full depth of Ayurvedic bodywork.

The full two week training is offered once or twice a year in various locations. It includes a daily yoga/meditation practice, demonstration of services, lecture, guided practice, and interactive learning to cultivate a strong Ayurvedic practice for oneself. Private group trainings for one or more services can be scheduled on location, or one-on-one/semi-private trainings can be arranged here at our retreat.