End of The Year Workshop with Petri and Juha 27-30 December 2023

The evolution of Ashtanga Yoga

plus
XMAS TOFU BEEF DIGESTIVE MORNING MYSORE
with Petri and Juha on Tuesday 26th 8-11 am (15 credits)
&
NEW YEAR EVE MORNING MYSORE
with Juha on Sunday 31st 8:30-11 am (10 credits)

Astanga Yoga School Helsinki, Finland
Address: Annankatu 29B, courtyard, 00100 Helsinki

Workshop special classes will be also streamed online!

Helsinki Yogaschool students: If you have an one-buy Anytime card, you will get it prolonged for 4 days free of charge if you attend the full workshop morning mysore Wed-Sat. Prolonging does not apply to 12 months Anytime contract but you will get 15% discount of the workshop prices using the promotion code “VUOSIKORTTI”.

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Workshop program
Prices
Teachers
Contact us – email form
How to login and buy a workshop pass or drop-in tickets
How to book workshop classes
Schedule – book your classes

WORKSHOP PROGRAM

The special theme in this collaborative workshop is the Evolution of Ashtanga Yoga. Petri and Juha will guide and assist practitioners in their morning Astanga Yoga Mysore style practice from Wednesday to Friday time 6-9:30 and Saturday time 7:30-10:30. Mysore practice starting times every 30 minutes from 6 to 8 am, book your preferred times for each morning here. This workshop is international, teaching and special classes will be presented in English.

In the Special classes we will dive into the evolution of Ashtanga Yoga already since the early years of modern Ashtanga in 1930’s, and how the Ashtanga sequence and vinyasas has been changed in course of decades. Theory and practice. This Special program has four classes:

Class 1 Wednesday lecture and discussion on The Evolution of Ashtanga Yoga, part 1 with Petri.

Class 2 Thursday lecture and discussion on The Evolution of Ashtanga Yoga, part 2 with Juha.

Class 3 on Friday : Petri will guide the participants into specific asana techniques which were widely practiced in the end of 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Class 4 on Saturday with Juha has three parts: 1. Pranayama. 2. Chanting. 3. Yoga therapy. Juha will guide the participants in simple but efficient methods of Pranayama breath work, vedic style chanting of Yoga Sutras, and some yoga therapeutic techniques applied to specific Ashtanga poses.

Page menu:
How to login and buy a workshop pass or drop-in tickets
How to book workshop classes
Schedule – book your classes

Astanga Mysore style
  • Wednesday – Friday teaching time 6 – 9:30, starting times every 45 minutes between 5:45 – 8:00. Upstairs shala (2nd floor)
  • Saturday teaching time 7:30 – 10:45, starting times every 45 minutes between 7:15 – 9:15. Upstairs shala (2nd floor)
Special Classes
  • Wednesday – Friday time 10 – 12.
    Saturday time 11 – 13 Upstairs shala (2nd floor)
    also streamed live online.
  • Yoga 4 days and special classes 4 days 199 € / 169 €
  • Yoga and special classes 3 days 169 € / 139 €
  • Yoga and special classes 1 day 59 € / 49 €
  • Yoga only 4 days 99 € / 85 €
  • Yoga drop-in 29 € / 25 €
  • Special classes only 4 days 119 € / 105 €
  • Online special classes 4 days 85 €
  • Special class drop-in 35 € / 29 €
  • Online Special class drop-in 25€

Teachers

Petri Räisänen, a father of three children, is internationally known and respected Ashtanga Yoga teacher. In his yogic path Petri has studied with many respected Ashtanga Yoga teachers such as Derek Ireland (his first certified teacher), Radha Warrel, Gwendoline Hunt, Lino Miele and Eddie Stern, in addition to R. Sharath Jois and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. His special project has been the two Ashtanga Yoga books, Yoga Chikitsa and Nadi Shodhana, published in Finnish and in English.

Petri focuses on integrating healing and therapy with yoga, meeting student’s individual needs and guiding their progress. Petri’s yoga pose adjustments are gentle, effective, therapeutic and, according to some, almost magical, and originate (besides his own practice and teaching) from his past work as a traditional Finnish folk healer and naturopath.

Juha Javanainen, a father of five children, has practiced Ashtanga yoga with Radha Warrell, Derek Ireland, Lino Miele and Eddie Stern, in addition to R. Sharath Jois and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Juha continues to teach in Helsinki while working also as a yoga school director. Juha also continues to study and to practice Ashtanga Yoga as taught by Pattabhi Jois and T. Krishnamacharya. He is also studying the Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali. His special project was to translate the primary work of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois on Astanga Yoga, the book called Yoga Mala, into Finnish in 2002.

Juha wishes to share his experiences on practice and teaching, how to work with the body&mind for healing purposes within the yoga practice.

Petri and Juha are the co-founders of Ashtanga Yoga Helsinki, and Sri K Pattabhi Jois blessed the school in 1997 to teach the traditional Astanga Yoga method.

We love silence, emails preferred <3

juha@astanga.fi
+358 50 3312993 (sms) / Juha
Call time Mon-Thu 12-13 EET (UTC+03:00)
If you don’t get through by phone, please send us email or sms.

In case you have trouble creating the student account, buying a class pass or booking classes, please email us:

    Name (*)

    Email (*)

    Workshop dates

    Morning practice times

    Special classes

    Message

    Booking steps:

    1. Purchase a workshop pass / drop-in tickets.
    2. Book your classes.

    See below the detailed guide how to:

    1. To purchase a workshop pass, follow the steps A & B

    Step A: login or sign up into our booking system

    Create or Log in into your “Helsingin Astanga Joogakoulu” student account by clicking the Log in icon (House) down left corner or by downloading our Helsingin Astanga Joogakoulu app into your phone or tablet. Remember to set your pricing category (regular or discount price: Student, Pensionate, Maternal leave, Unemployed, HUS employee). Our webshop requires pricing category for purchasing a workshop pass.

    Note: With the Bsport member form you can set your pricing category and upload your discount sertificate, but Bsport is unable to show that data for you to check if they are ok. Only Yogaschool backoffice can check your pricing category and sertificate. Please contact info@astanga.fi if you have any questions on this.
    Here is our guide for detailed steps and instructions on creating and using the Bsport account and class booking (available only in Finnish at the moment)

    Step B: Purchase your workshop pass or drop-in tickets

    Checklist before purchasing a workshop pass:

    • if your chosen workshop pass or drop-in ticket pricing does not match your personal pricing category (regular or discount price) the webshop will announce “This product is not available for purchase”. See the Step 1 above how to set your pricing category.
    • If you have sport notes or sports app or you want to pay at the Yogashala, you can set the workshop pass payment method as Pay later / On-Site Payment.
    • If you have annual anytime subscription, you will get 15% off the workshop prices using the Promotion code “VUOSIKORTTI”.
    • If you have a one buy anytime card, you can ask to extend it by the number of workshop yoga practices you have attended.
    • You can use single day, 3days and 4 days passes to book both Yoga and Special classes.
    • You have to book mysore classes and special classes separately as they are two different sets of classes.

    Special workshop passes Regular price Discount groups Online price
    Full workshop 4 days (140 credits) 199 € BUY 169 € BUY
    Yoga and special classes 3 days (105 credits) 169 € BUY 139 € BUY
    Yoga and special classes 1 days (35 credits) 59 € BUY 49 € BUY
    Yoga only 4 days (60 credits) 99 € BUY 85 € BUY
    Special classes only 4 days (80 credits) 119 € BUY 105 € BUY 85 € BUY
    Yoga drop-in (15 credits) 29 € BUY 25 € BUY
    Special class drop-in (20 credits) 35 € BUY 29 € BUY 25 € BUY
    Discounted prices eligible only with a certificate for the discount price groups (to be shown in the course): under 18 yrs, students, those on parental or care leave, unemployed, pensioners, military or civil service.

    2. Book workshop classes

    Book your mysore class starting times (book only one mysore class per day) and special classes at the workshop schedule below you wish to attend. If the class is full you can sign into a waitlist. Click below the link “First availability 27/12/2023” to open the Workshop classes scheldule.

    You might also want to attend these extra classes:
    XMAS TOFU BEEF DIGESTIVE MORNING MYSORE
    with Petri and Juha on Tuesday 26th 8-11 am (15 credits)
    Book the class starting at 8:00 | 8:45 | 9:30
    &
    NEW YEAR EVE MORNING MYSORE
    with Juha on Sunday 31st 8:30-11 am (10 credits)
    Book the class starting at 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30

    Kurssin ohjaajat

    Juha Javanainen

    Juha Javanainen (born 22nd July 1963) is married and a father of five children living in Helsinki, Finland. Juha has practiced Astanga Yoga since 1989. He founded the Astanga Yoga School of Helsinki with Petri Räisänen in 1997. In his path as a yoga student Juha has practiced with Radha Warrell and Derek Ireland, Lino Miele, Eddie Stern, and visited Mysore, India, many times to study with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois. He has also studied chanting and yoga philosophy with Lakshmish Bhat, Jayashree and Narasimhan, Vijaya Manja and AG Mohan.

    Juha teaches regularly in the Astanga Yoga School of Helsinki, where he works also as the CEO and director. He continues to study and to practice Astanga Yoga as taught by Pattabhi Jois and T. Krishnamacharya. His special interests are the Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali and Hawaiian Shamanism, which both are of great value for self-knowledge and healing. Juha has translated the book Yoga Mala, the primary work of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois on Astanga Yoga (2002), and the book titled Urban Shaman written by Serge Kahili King into Finnish (Kaupunkishamaani, 1995). As part of his interest in Finnish Mythologies Juha has compiled the book titled Bockin perheen saaga, Väinämöisen mytologia (Bock Family Saga, Väinämoinen mythology) of the oral stories told by Ior Bock.

    Juha wishes to share his long time practice and teaching experiences about how to work with the body&mind for healing purposes within the yoga practice. Here below he shares some of his thoughts on this:

    “I’m very happy, and grateful, that I found Astanga yoga and started to practice it already the very first year with competent teachers, when they started to teach in Finland in 1989. That time was very different from today – only a few people practiced dynamic yoga in Finland: there was no yoga studios in Helsinki, no Astanga yoga books or you tube videos. The only way to learn Astanga was to find a teacher, and after his/her teachings one had to develop a self practice.”

    “The first Astanga workshops were really intensive: within one week we went through the whole primary series. That was very demanding both physically and psychologically even if the teachers did not demand ‘perfect’ asana performance. That attitude was working very well on me: it helped me to create enthusiasm towards regular practice for opening my stiff body and deepening my breathing.”

    “The yoga teachers I have practiced with several years, did not only taught yoga poses, asana technics and vinyasas, but they also shared their personal views on yoga practices, their attitudes, compassion, and views on life. That has really helped me to broaden my own visions on yoga, life, compassion and love.”

    “The mental strength we call ‘sisu’ in Finnish, or ‘aishwarya’ in Sanskrit, combined with the Astanga yoga practice method, has been a great combination in building up my regular yoga practice, and to keep the practice going on in ups and downs of life.”

    “The real challenge, or even a danger in my Astanga practice, has been my wish to reach perfection in asanas as fast as possible even if my body was not that flexible and strong. Thus I have had some painful lessons by developing few injuries on my knees, lower back, neck etc. I have also got some injuries by strong adjustments from my teachers. And some came in showing demanding poses in my yoga classes, without warmup. However I have always returned back to my yoga mat for healing and recovery, often already after one resting day, to study on myself, how the yoga practice can help in healing process, and how one should practice when injured.”

    “My enthusiasm in teaching Astanga is to share this unic and excellent practical yoga method to anyone who is willing to study and practice it. In doing this I wish to follow my guru’s advice: ‘A good teacher should know, that some asanas can be painful for some people, and so the teacher should know what alternative pose could give the same benefit’. My own experience is that the yoga practitioner should avoid bad pain as much as possible. And a good yoga teacher should avoid causing pain to others, including yoga students, either physically, emotionally or mentally. Then there is open space in yoga for healing and becoming a whole being.”

    Petri Räisänen

    Petri Räisänen (born August 13, 1967) is married and a father of three children living currently in South-West Portugal.

    Petri is internationally known and respected Ashtanga Yoga teacher. Petri started practicing Ashtanga Yoga in 1989 and teaching in 1990. He is co-owner and director of Ashtanga Yoga Helsinki, one of the world’s largest Astanga Yoga Shalas, which he founded with his friend and colleague, Juha Javanainen, in 1997. Pattabhi Jois blessed the school to teach the traditional Astanga Yoga method.

    In his yogic path Petri has studied with many respected Astanga Yoga teachers such as Derek Ireland (his first certified teacher), Radha Warrel, Gwendoline Hunt, Lino Miele and Eddie Stern, in addition to R. Sharath Jois and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

    In 2004, Petri wrote “Astanga – The Yoga Tradition of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois” with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’ and his grandson, R. Sharath Jois’ support. The book introduces the primary series (1st series) Astanga Yoga method and philosophy, as well as its potential as a physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual practice. The book was released first in Swedish and Finnish in 2005.

    His intermediate series (2nd series) book “Nadi Sodhana” was released in Finnish 2008 and in Russian in 2014. It is written from the interviews with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Petri in 2006-2007 in Mysore, India.

    Both books are written as part of Petri’s ongoing pilgrimage into Astanga yoga’s inner word, with a great sense of respect towards his Guru and the Yoga Tradition.

    Petri focuses on integrating healing and therapy with yoga, meeting student’s individual needs and guiding their progress. His yoga pose adjustments are gentle, effective, therapeutic and, according to some, almost magical, and originate (besides his own practice and teaching) from his past work as a traditional Finnish folk healer and naturopath.

    Petri’s friendly, relaxed behavior and intuitive perception give an open, energetic and meditative atmosphere to his classes.