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Ashtanga United Goa 2027

Honouring A Living Tradition: One Month Intensive

Ashtanga United Goa 2027 is a four-week collaborative gathering dedicated to the depth, intelligence, and evolving understanding of the Ashtanga Yoga tradition as a healing and therapeutic practice. Held in the vibrant yet grounding atmosphere of Goa, the retreat brings together two experienced teachers, Scott Johnson and Petri Räisänen, for a month of sincere practice, thoughtful study, and shared inquiry. They will also collaborate with additional guest teachers, widening the learning experience and offering different perspectives within the tradition.

Teaching is offered in a way that honours the individual. Each practitioner is met where they are, with careful attention to the realities of the body, age, and personal history with the practice. The approach is steady, kind, and deeply respectful of yoga as a lifelong path of learning, healing, and refinement.

Each week explores a different dimension of the tradition. Participants are welcome to join for a single week or immerse themselves in the full four-week journey. Practitioners of all levels are welcome to attend.

Retreat Schedule

***Please note that the timings of classes may be changed and adjusted to best nourish the teaching environment and the student. Additional activities not mentioned on the schedule may be added. 

Saturday 13 March to Saturday 10 April 2027
Arrival Day
14.00:  Students will have access to the rooms
18.00:  Welcoming meeting followed by dinner. All students should try to participate in this first get together.

***The welcome meeting will begin at 6pm on the arrival day (Saturday), the first Yoga class is on the Sunday morning.  The last yoga class is on the final Friday morning of the retreat, and you’re free to leave anytime after that.

Week 1 – Therapy & Healing
The body is not an obstacle to the practice. It is where the practice happens.

This week turns toward the therapeutic and mindful intelligence within the Ashtanga systems and works with:
– How to listen to the body as a language.
– How to understand energy.
– How to adapt postures.
– How to work with injury, age, and the accumulated history each body carries.

The teaching is practical and honest. We look at what helps, what hinders, and how to make the practice sustainable over a lifetime.

Daily rhythm (Sun 14th – Thu 18th)

07:00–09:30 · Mysore Practice
10:00 · Brunch
16:00–16:50 · Meditation & Pranayama
17:00–18:30 · Workshop of the day
18:30 · Dinner

Workshops

Sun 14 — Understanding the Mindful, Therapeutic and Energetic Dimensions of Ashtanga
Mon 15 — Working with Injury & Limitation
Tue 16 — Afternoon off (no meditation or workshop)
Wed 17 — Adapting Practice for Age & Longevity
Thu 18 — Recovery, Rest & the Intelligent Body

Fri 19th

07:00–09:00 · Led Class
09:00–10:00 · Pranayama + Open Discussion
· Afternoon off ·

Sat 20th — Rest Day · 09:00 Breakfast · 18:30 Dinner

Week 2 – History & Philosophy
To practice well, it helps to know where the practice comes from.

This first week traces the roots of the Ashtanga lineage: its texts, its teachers, and the questions that have shaped it over time. We look at the Yoga Sutras and other spiritual texts not as doctrine but as living companions. We ask what the tradition of yoga was always trying to offer, and importantly what that means for us now.

Daily rhythm (Sun 21st – Thu 25th)
07:00–09:30 · Mysore Practice
10:00 · Brunch
16:00–16:50 · Meditation & Pranayama
17:00–18:30 · Workshop of the day
18:30 · Dinner

Workshops
Sun 21 — Introduction to the Living Tradition
Mon 22 — The Yoga Sutras as a Living, Breathing Text
Tue 23 — Afternoon off (no meditation or workshop)
Wed 24 — Philosophy in Practice: How Ashtanga and Philosophy Live Together
Thu 25 — Philosophy in Practice: An Open Discussion

Fri 26th
07:00–09:00 · Led Class
09:00–10:00 · Pranayama + Open Discussion
· Afternoon off ·

Sat 27th — Rest Day · 09:00 Breakfast · 18:30 Dinner

Week 3 – Vinyasa & Movement
Vinyasa is not transition. It is the nature of the practice itself.

This week deepens the understanding of breath, rhythm, and the subtle architecture that connects movement to stillness. We work with the technical and felt dimensions of vinyasa, not as performance, but as a way of listening. There is more here than most of us have had time to explore.

Daily rhythm (Sun 28th – Thu 1st)
07:00–09:30 · Mysore Practice
10:00 · Brunch
16:00–16:50 · Meditation & Pranayama
17:00–18:30 · Workshop of the day
18:30 · Dinner

Workshops
Sun 28 — The Meaning of Vinyasa
Mon 29 — Breath & Rhythm in Motion
Tue 30 — Afternoon off (no meditation or workshop)
Wed 31 — The Architecture of the Different Series
Thu 1 Apr — Movement as Inquiry: Open Practice & Discussion

Fri 2nd
07:00–09:00 · Led Class
09:00–10:00 · Pranayama + Open Discussion
· Afternoon off ·

Sat 3rd — Rest Day · 09:00 Breakfast · 18:30 Dinner

Week 4 – Meditation & Pranayama
The postures have always pointed somewhere. This week we follow that direction.

We sit. We breathe. We look at what the quieter limbs of yoga have to offer. This week is accessible to all levels and requires no prior experience of meditation or pranayama. It is simply an invitation to go a little further inward than the physical practice alone can take us.

Daily rhythm (Sun 4th – Thu 8th)
07:00–09:30 · Mysore Practice
10:00 · Brunch
16:00–16:50 · Meditation & Pranayama
17:00–18:30 · Workshop of the day
18:30 · Dinner

Workshops
Sun 4 — Introduction to Pranayama
Mon 5 — The Breath as Prana
Tue 6 — Afternoon off (no meditation or workshop)
Wed 7 — Samyama: The Practice of Seeing Your Practice Clearly
Thu 8 — Integration: Sitting, Breathing, Being

Fri 9th
07:00–09:00 · Led Class
09:00–10:00 · Pranayama + Open Discussion
· Afternoon off ·

Sat 10th — 09:00 Breakfast · 11:00 Check Out 

About The Teachers

Petri Raisanen Tenerife Purple Valley

Petri Räisänen is an internationally renowned and respected Ashtanga yoga teacher. Petri started practicing Ashtanga yoga in 1989 and teaching in 1991. He is the co-owner and director of Astanga Yoga Helsinki, Finland (established in 1997). Petri lives in Helsinki, Finland with his wife Wambui Njuguna-Räisänen and their two sons Sesam and Sumu. He has been a regular practitioner in Mysore India since 1996 and has received a teacher authorisation from K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Rangaswamy (Jois) in 2001.

Throughout his yogic path Petri has studied with many Ashtanga yoga instructors such as Derek Ireland, Radha Warrell, Lino Miele, Gwendoline Hunt, Eddie Stern, R. Sharath Jois and K. Pattabhi Jois. Petri focuses on integrating healing and therapy with yoga, meeting the student’s individual needs and guiding them throughout  their progress.His friendly, relaxed behaviour and intuitive perception gives an open, energetic and meditative atmosphere to his classes. Petri’s teaching gives you an opportunity to experience the wholeness of the practice, and his teachings aims to lead to an experience of deep concentration (pratyahara) and meditation (dhyana).

Petri has been written two books on the subjects of Ashtanga Yoga. First one “Ashtanga Yoga- In the tradition of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois” was first published in Swedish in 2005 and in English in 2013. The intermediate series book “Nadi Shodhana” was released in Finnish in 2008 and English in 2017. Both books are written from the interviews with K. Pattabhi Jois and R.Sharath Jois. They illustrate uniquely the Primary and Intermediate series practice, benefits and tradition as it is taught in Mysore, India.

Petri started studying the Finnish Folk-healing tradition called Jäsenkorjaus (Bone-setting), with the Finnish healing masters in 1990. In addition, he learned energy healing and cupping. He also studied Swedish massage, Naturopathy, Natural Cosmetics, Reiki, Reflexology and Hawaiian (Kahuna) Shamanism. His broad knowledge in various bodywork systems and healing is deeply integrated in his teaching of ashtanga yoga.

Scott Johnson has been practicing yoga since 1999. He is the co-founder and director at Stillpoint Yoga London which he established in 2009. Stillpoint is one of only two dedicated Ashtanga Yoga self practice spaces in London. Scott has taught Mysore Style Ashtanga Yoga since 2004 and at Stillpoint since it opened. He was introduced to the practice of Ashtanga yoga by John Scott in 2002 and studied with him for over fifteen years.

Scott is authorised to teach the primary and intermediate series of ashtanga yoga by Manju Jois and has a deep connection to the ancient practices of pranayama and vedic chanting that Manju shares. Scott has also undergone extensive Mindfulness training under the tutelage of Cathy Mae Keralse at Clear Mind International, gaining their level 3 certificate in Mindfulness and Compassion in 2015.

Scott teaches with encouragement, insight and integrity to the teachings of Ashtanga yoga and mindfulness that he has had access to. His deep love of the contemplative side of these practice creates a rich, nurturing environment and he is deeply dedicated to the healing power of yoga and mindfulness in the people that he is fortunate to meet.

Scott sees movement and mindfulness as the same, a deeply holistic approach to discovering our own unique patterns. He brings these insights into every class he teaches. His devotion and dedication to these practices assists practitioners in discovering how contemplative practice can unfold not only personally on the mat, but also to find deeper meaning in their daily lives.

Scott is a poet and creator of Stillpoints: A podcast with Scott Johnson and the People Of Yoga YouTube films where he engages in inspiring conversations with those whose lives have been changed by yoga and contemplative practices.

Booking Information

Please read the Terms & Conditions before booking a retreat.

Accommodation Options

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