Francesca, Joëlle, Chiara
The teachers at the Ashtanga Space Shala Brussels are all qualified, have been practicing Ashtanga daily for a number of years and are committed to teach this method in the traditional way as it was taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore (India), without changing the order or modifying the sequence of asanas (postures).
Francesca Di Rosso
Founder of the Ashtanga Space Brussels, senior student of Nancy Gilgoff (House of Yoga and Zen, Maui, Hawaii), authorised by Manju Jois to teach primary, intermediate and third series (advanced A).
Lineage:
Francesca started studying yoga in 2003 in Brussels, then deepened her practice in Ireland (Clare Island) with Ciara Cullen and Christophe Mouze. She is a senior student of Nancy Gilgoff (http://www.ashtangamaui.com/ ), one of the first Western women who studied with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore (South India) in the Seventies (1972/73) and who was part of the first group of yoga students that brought Ashtanga to the West. Francesca has been studying extensively with Nancy in Goa (India), in several locations in Europe and on Maui (Hawaii) where Nancy lives. She took part in many of Nancy's workshops, followed two Primary Series Adjustment Clinics and one Second Series Adjustment Clinic in Okinawa (Japan) acquiring thousands of direct contact teaching hours from Nancy. Francesca assisted Nancy when she came to teach in Brussels in June 2013 and 2014 and has received Nancy's blessing to teach. Francesca has also completed two Third Series workshops with Nancy, one at The House of Yoga and Zen on Maui (Hawaii) in February 2016 and the other at the Ashtanga Studio of Andrea Lutz in Berlin in September 2017.
Francesca believes in the importance of Parampara (परम्परा, paramparā), where knowledge is passed on from teacher to student and she teaches the way Nancy taught her. Francesca is a dedicated Ashtanga practitioner, passionate about her own practice and proud to be able to share this living tradition with her students. Aware of the importance of keeping the traditional knowledge up-to-date, she regularly travels to India and/or to Maui (Hawaii) where Nancy Gilgoff lives, at least once a year to deepen her own practice.
Francesca has also completed Manju Jois'teacher trainings (primary and intermediate) in 2014 and 2015 and keeps studying with Manju when he comes to Europe. Francesca also assisted Manju when he came to teach in Brussels in 2016. In 2019, Manju authorised Francesca to teach primary and intermediate series and advanced A (third series).
She also had the privilege of assisting David Swenson when he taught at the Ashtanga Space Brussels in 2016 and 2018.
Francesca is currently studying Vedic chanting with Shantala Sriramaiah of Veda studies https://www.vedastudies.com/ .
Moreover, she has successfully completed the 'Yoga philosophy', the 'Bhagavad Gita' and the 'Samkhya and Vedanta' courses, the 'Hindu temples' art history course, the 'History of yoga' course and is currently learning Sanskrit with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.
Francesca is also a qualified cranio sacral therapist (Upledger Institute) for adults, children, babies, conception, pregnancy and birth (CST-T , SER1, PED1 and 2, CCPB), for more info on this, please visit the cranio sacral page on this website or the dedicated website www.craniosacraltherapyforyou.com.
Francesca is Italian, has an MA in applied languages and conference interpreting from the University of Trieste (Italy) and speaks Italian, English, French, Dutch and German.
Joëlle
Joëlle started assisting Francesca in the Shala and teaching our beginner students in 2016. She's a dedicated and serious practitioner and has completed Nancy Gilgoff's adjustment clinic in September 2017 in Berlin. She has followed workshops with Manju Jois and David Swenson in Brussels in 2016 and 2018. She continues to study with Nancy Gilgoff when she comes to Europe. Here's how she introduces herself: "Ashtanga yoga transformed my life! I remember the first time I practised it felt like coming up for fresh air for the first time and it felt incredible. I suffered from chronic depression for 15 years. At first, I ignored the symptoms. When that no longer worked I went the medical route, which only took the edge off. Yoga inspired me, within 2 weeks of starting a daily practice I felt fantastic, something I hadn't felt in a long time! I knew then that I wanted to teach this amazing practice and help others reduce stress levels and maintain mental health. Yoga is such an easy fix..."
Chiara
Chiara discovered Ashtanga yoga in 2016 at the Ashtanga Space while searching for balance in her hectic life as a lawyer. From that moment on, she understood that Ashtanga was exactly what she had been looking for for a while. The feeling of energy and peace emerging from the practice was a turning point.
Chiara is a dedicated and passionate practitioner and Francesca is her main teacher. She has also had several opportunities to deepen her practice with other great teachers such as Nancy Gilgoff, Manju Jois, David Swenson and Kristina Karitinou-Ireland. She completed Nancy Gilgoff's Primary Series Adjustment Clinic in September 2018 in Vienna and she is finalising her teacher training (RYT200) in the Netherlands. Ayurveda is also among her main interests.
Chiara started assisting Francesca and Joëlle at the Shala in 2018. “Yoga started as something for the body and, eventually, transformed my entire lifestyle and the world around me. I would like to spread this around me, so that others can enjoy it too.”
Picture 'Inside the House of Yoga and Zen' taken by Francesca on Maui, Hawaii,in August 2014