The West Cork Yoga Festival was born in 2014, following the realisation that there was an abundance of Yoga teachers in the area, and a wealth of talent and experience. After a successful mini Yoga festival to raise money for the Collateral Repair Project in Jordan, they decided to continue working together and organise a 3 day festival, which is now on its third year.
Working together for this common vision, they support each other, learn and grow together, and create unity within the diversity of their various styles of practice. All of the collective are yoga teachers in the West Cork region, as are all the teachers and practitioners involved in making the festival what it is: a celebration of Life!
Many, many people make this event the success that it is, so we'd like to give huge thanks the committee members from previous years, whose life and work commitments mean that they haven't been so involved this year: Clair Rosewood, Bella Hancock, Aine Brosnan, Ellie La Trobe-Bateman and Patrick Cotter. ( Aine and Bella and Ellie continue to teach at the festival).
As well as the main organisers this year we have some angels helping us behind the scenes: Corinna Thornton, Dink, Maeve, Aine ... and many more volunteers who give valuable assistance during the run up to the festival and during seed camp.
Since this is a non-profit event we want to share with you where all the money goes!
Some goes back into infrastructure for next year, and in 2016 we were able to donate
€5400 to local charities including:
€700 to An Sanctoir. They have 30+ acres of land and nature reserve to maintain.
€160 to the Two Rivers, a local Steiner Kindergarten whose wooden building and play area we use for the healing area.
€300 for a local project which is converting the disused bank in Ballydehob for use as a community resource centre.
€2000 to Friends of the Clonakilty Lodge. This is a group of local people, mostly women, who volunteer their time to provide activities , such as afternoon club for children to help with their homework, money for summer camps, counselling, help with filling in the large amount of forms and legal things that they must fill out, offer money and help to enroll in courses including creches, a weekly craft meetings which has resulted in a exhibition at the Glucksman (on now) and local shows etc. etc what ever they see might be needed by the residents.
€1500 for the Phoenix Youth Project at the family Resource centre in Skibbereen, a project that has been set up and is run by local young people, focusing on raising awareness and providing support for mental health.
€650 to pay a local yoga teachers to run yoga classes in local primary schools.
€100 towards a construction of a timber frame shelter for An Sanctoir to use for kids camps etc.
Hopefully this year will be as successful as the last.
What local charities would you like to see supported by the festival?
2017 organising committee:
Claire Osborne, Clair Lalor, Corinna Fisher, Fiona Ashley.
Claire Osborne has studied Yoga, Movement, dance and bodywork for over 23 years, has been a massage therapist since 1997 and full time teacher since 2001, teaching Hatha Yoga, Amerta Movement (mindful movement practice), women's groups and pregnancy classes. She trained with Contemporary Yoga, then as a yoga therapist with Yoga campus, London (300 hour training), in Womb yoga, Restorative yoga, as a massage therapist and has studied Amerta movement with Suprapto Suryadarmo for about 18 years, and is registered on his list of international teachers. Her influences include studies with Satyananda yoga, Angela Farmer and Victor Van Hooten, Judith Lasater, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, and Body-mind Centering. Claire is a student supervisor for the YogaTherapy Diploma for Yoga Campus, and is involved with the Yoga Mandala Project, offering yoga classes to refugees and training yoga teachers to deliver trauma sensitive yoga classes.
Website: www.yogaandmovement.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MovingPresence
Contact: osborneclaire@hotmail.com
Corinna Fisher teaches Yoga regularly in West Cork from her home in Schull and An Sanctoir plus The Yoga Diploma for new trainee yoga teachers in Cork City and Waterford. Corinna started her interest in all matters of the moving body 30 years ago during extensive dance training. This included the Alexander Technique which she studied at degree level. Her Yoga teaching is complemented by her work as a professional massage therapist in the healing arts. Spirituality and self development have been ongoing over the years. Corinna has worked extensively in various community settings here and abroad, teaching and learning. She is a parent and active community member.
Contact : corinnafisher@hotmail.com
Clair Lalor has been a yoga teacher since 1995 having trained with the British Wheel of Yoga. She has been influenced by the work of Vanda Scaravelli, Iyengar, and Satyananda Yoga. Her interest in Living, as reflected in being the best that we can be, in trusting our nature, and the felt sense of that nature, has deepened from her practice and study of embryology and early experience. She is a Shiatsu practitioner and a Somatic Movement Educator and Practitioner, having studied with Linda Hartley, Joan Davis. She is also trained as a Process Oriented Psychotherapist which is a body oriented psychotherapy. She teaches Circle Dance, dances of Universal Peace and is a Laban Community Dance teacher.
Contact : clairlalor@gmail.com
Fiona Ashley has been practising Yoga for over 25 years, and teaches Vinyasa Flow Yoga throughout the West Cork region. Her teaching style is encouraging, precise and playful, with a strong focus on building core strength, stability, and centredness. She discovered Acroyoga in 2010 and immediately fell in love with the blend of yoga, partner acrobatics and Thai massage, and the strong connections this practice offered. She soon trained to become one of the only certified Acroyoga teachers in Ireland, and teaches workshops throughout the country. She is particularly fond of being upside down!
Website: www.yogafitwestcork.com
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/YogafitWestCork
Contact: flootytootie@googlemail.com
