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Francesca, Claudie, Joëlle


The Ashtanga teachers at the Ashtanga Space 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).

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. 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 Sankrit Belgium http://www.sanskritbelgium.com/ .
Moreover, she has successfully completed the 'Yoga philosophy', the 'Bhagavad Gita' and the 'Samkhya and Vedanta' courses, the 'Hindu temples' art history 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.


Claudie (in sabbatical leave at the moment)
  • Date and place of birth: Hum! Let’s just say that when I was born my parents probably went “groovy baby!” in a strange little French accent.
  • First yoga class: September 1989, hatha Yoga. January 2006, ashtanga Yoga.
  • Teachers: Paul Whelan (Ireland), Luke Jordan (Ireland) and… our very own Francesca di Rosso, of course! And all those international teachers who can transform your practice in a few hours, days, a week: Nancy Gilgoff, Manju Jois, Prapto (amerta)...
  • Training: YA200, Paul Whelan’s adjustment clinic, Nancy Gilgoff’s adjustment clinic. Ongoing… will a lifetime be enough?
  • Favourite books: Yoga Mala, Sri K Pattabhi Jois. Ashtanga Yoga, the Practice Manual, David Swenson. Yoga Sutra Patanjali (translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda in English and Françoise Mazet in French). The Wisdom of Yoga, Stephen Cope. And many more…
  • Why teach? To pass on the knowledge that has been so generously bestowed on me.


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..."


Picture 'Inside the House of Yoga and Zen' taken by Francesca on Maui, Hawaii,in August 2014




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