Yoga and Massages
Yoga supports physical, emotional, and energetic development by encouraging awareness of these aspects simultaneously or individually. The key is to progress through relaxation, not pressure.
Class of yoga
Class Structure
Aleida teaches the yoga classes. During the retreats, she offers 90-minute classes every morning and additional meditations in the afternoon. Everything possible is done outdoors or with windows open overlooking the river. In our yoga classes, we start with meditation and sun salutations, followed by another series of preparatory breathing exercises. In the middle of the class, we practice 5 to 7 different poses (asanas), staying in each one while the teacher walks around to support and adjust. We finish with breathing exercises or meditation and relaxation.
Guidance
During the week, Aleida helps you explore organs, emotional connections, and muscle areas—often working from the feet up through the body to the head and subtle senses. We address specific topics like body-mind awareness, pain management, your inner self, life balance, flexibility control, emotional digestion, mental clarity, and nervous system regulation.
Beginners and Advanced
Everyone is included in the same class because beginners can receive more personal guidance, intermediate students can strengthen body-mind connection and meditation in motion, and advanced students can focus more on inner work and experimentation. Lessons are focused on learning to move from a place of relaxation, directing attention to breath, and developing inner perception.
Types of Yoga
In these classes, we work with traditional hatha yoga as a foundation, with the aim of developing the “inner eye” to connect body and mind.
We use a restorative approach, working with the body in a way that is physically restorative and also complements sports.
The main focus is on relaxing into postures—without tension—to achieve physical, mental, and emotional relaxation.
In the therapeutic yoga level, we work on observing internal patterns and releasing emotional blockages in specific areas.
During the retreats, we practice daily meditation: short practices in the morning and evening, and three times a week a longer Vipassana-style practice in nature.
Mindfulness is an essential part of how we plan the day: waking up in silence, walking with awareness, and preparing food mindfully.
Relaxation Training
Progressive Relaxation
Deep relaxation is a luxury in today’s fast-paced and stimulating life. When the system is overstimulated, it’s essential to allow agitation to gradually subside, avoiding haste.
Yoga nidra
In Yoga Nidra, all senses except hearing are withdrawn, and the teacher uses suggestions to bring awareness to points in the body, reflecting lightness and heaviness.
Visualization and Autosuggestion
By being guided through landscapes and experiencing pleasant sensory changes in the body, some people manage to distance themselves from daily habits and tensions, breaking muscular patterns of tension retention.
Massage and Reiki
Another talent that Doby acquired in the second part of his life was expanding his skills in massage and Reiki. Doby took courses in a combination of Ayurvedic massages and pressure point therapy taught by Ganga Hoogendoorn (Aleid’s yoga teacher) and Level 2 Reiki with Denise Ernsting.
His strong yet calm presence is a great match for this work. Doby gives one session a day in addition to his work as a chef and host. His sessions are very well received.
– We also work with additional massage therapists. You can book sessions with them at our house.
Alex is a naturopath, prepares many of his own oils, and offers a variety of Ayurvedic treatments, relaxation and sports massages.
Michelle gives excellent Thai massages on a mat.
Bhakti is a friend with long-standing experience in the healing arts who joins our retreats a few times a year.
And Aleid used to work as a massage therapist—now only during yoga and sometimes as an additional therapist.