What we’re about
Hi, I'm Richard, welcome! This meetup is for those who want to learn more about great wellbeing AND meet other people from the feel good state yoga takes you too. I'm a Dru yoga teacher, 5 elements acupuncturist, wellness coach, founder of Creative Wellness (www.creativewellness.eu/lisboa) and author of The Urban Yogi Wellness Blog (www.creativewellness.eu/blog)
Before I started teaching I used to attend classes and afterwards would be feeling great - so in a perfect state to meet people! - and would find it really frustrating when people would roll up their mats and leave with barely a glance. And of course, having so much good energy from the class I'd still want to use it, to connect with people and life, but having to go to the usual places like clubs and bars would lower my nice mellow 'high vibration' state a bit! I wanted something more enriching socially, more alive, where I can use my sensitivity to connect more deeply with others rather than have to damp it down!
So I vowed that when I started teaching I would use the opportunity to meet other people and give them the chance to connect with others while feeling relaxed and open! So I built my first Yoga business, Creative Yoga London around the ethos of community, and what a success! I ran London's biggest weekly yoga class followed by a social, and organised specialist classes for singles and couples featuring partner yoga, and even held 'yoga rave' events where we would have a DJ and up to 100 people! My London meetup group ended up with 3000 people and it was good times all around!
So now I'm in Lisbon! And I want to do it all again! So many amazing people here that I want to connect with, so I'm here to set up some fabulous events like a weekly yoga class and social, and workshops for couples featuring super partner yoga and connection exercises.
I also look forward to offering some of my deeper workshops on the body-mind connection, meditation and mindfulness, sharing some wisdom!
And above all else, I look forward to meeting you!
See you soon!
Richard
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
SOCIAL YOGA (social follows)
Top feel-good meetup! This class has a focus on community and connection - both with yourself, the people around you, and your broader sense of life. It often features partner and connection exercises alongside heart warming Dru Yoga, ends with an immense deep relaxation and is followed by a social!
DRU YOGA
Dru Yoga is graceful and potent. It's based on flowing movements and uses unique energy block release sequences that work to subtly release energy constrictions which get held in our body, and particularly in our spine. There is also a focus on the Anahata chakra (Heart centre) which creates a heartwarming sense of well-being which lends itself to the body unwinding and releasing.
It is truly a yoga of the Soul. When your mind is busy you can't hear your ‘deeper self’ that you need to connect with to keep moving forward, so my intention when I teach is really to get you to connect to this immensely deep place within you where you hold the creative intelligence, the sense of purpose that you need to connect with to thrive in life.
COUPLES YOGA
Finding shared activities are the life blood of a happy relationship. We will always have differences with our partners and lovers but finding things that connect you together are PRICELESS.
You get chance to find new ways of connecting with your partner and learn some super fun partner yoga, connection and intimacy exercises you can also use at home. So be a groundbreaker as these classes are unique! (This was the UK's only regular dedicated Couples Yoga class!)
MINDFULNESS, MEDITATION & DEEP RELAXATION
Funny how sitting still and doing nothing can actually be one of the most difficult things to do! We often think that we can’t wait to ‘switch off’ but when it comes to it, what we actually do is distract ourselves instead — TV, laptop, phones, whatever it is to keep away from the dreaded ‘inner dialogue,’ streams of consciousness, or loops of thoughts that pass through the mind.
This class is all about getting some kind of a grip (or indeed a ‘letting go’) of the hold that the mind can have. The exercises help to calm down the overstressed and over-stimulated nervous system calming the body which simultaneously calms the mind, thus turning down the ‘volume’ of the inner chatterbox.
MEDITATION AND THE BODY-MIND CONNECTION (5 ELEMENTS OF THE MIND)
Have you ever wondered what meditation is all about? Have you ever wondered what makes up the content of your mind and more about ‘who’ you are?
My expertise is in identifying and helping you understand the thought patterns which move through your mind – and how they change and relate to the physiology within your body. This makes meditation practice much more effective, as my unique meditation and body-mind connection workshops unable you to understand what you may be experiencing during periods of meditation.
OUTDOOR YOGA
Yoga outside is so good for you. Has your body been constricted behind a desk all day, staring at a screen in an air conditioned office with the humdrum of printers and PC's as the audio backdrop? Add in little or no natural light, let alone natural plant life, to brighten your mood (please note glass filters out essential rays of light that need to hit your retina to balance your brain chemistry)
Lets swap all that for some daylight, easy on the eye natural surroundings, fresher air, stretching and energising tense muscles, relaxation, birds singing in the background and we are talking WELLBEING! We also often talk about yoga in the context of 'union' and 'wholeness' but this is often restricted to our perception of connection between body, mind and spirit. But ultimately, total union also involves our environment!
ABOUT RICHARD BROOK
Richard is a 5 Element Acupuncturist, Yoga Teacher, Wellness Coach & author of the Urban Yogi Wellness Blog. He's founder of Creative Wellness and also currently writing a book on his specialist area, the body-mind connection. Previously as founder of Creative Yoga he previously taught some of London's biggest and most unique events, often with a community focus, and appeared in mainstream media. He's also helped facilitate juice detox retreats in the Algarve.
His sensitive nature led to him discovering natural therapies as an ‘antidote’ against the stress of city life, but now realizes they expand your awareness and personal growth whether your life is stressful or not!
More at: www.creativewellness.eu/lisboa
