Breathe to Wellness Online Course with Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo and Fabio Andrico

This course was the first course organized in collaboration between Yantra Yoga and the Tibetan Medicine department of ATIF.

by Leticia Recepter and Nataly Nitsche

Did you know that in the first ever retreat of Yantra Yoga Dr. Phuntsog was also teaching Tibetan Medicine? After many years, this is the first course where the 8 movements of Yantra Yoga and Tibetan Medicine are taught in such great detail, side by side, and yet, both teachers, physically. were really far apart. The global pandemic has pushed all our limits and technology has made it possible to continue to share the teachings, adapting to new circumstances. That’s how the idea of this 100% online, pre-recorded course, came to be.

The profound knowledge of Yantra Yoga can’t be separated from Tibetan Medicine, it has its roots in it. For this reason, this kind of course is a unique opportunity to really grow and deepen the practice of Yantra Yoga. We believe that this content is important either for long time practitioners, as well as for newcomers to Yantra Yoga. RESPIRA -the breathing method created by Fabio Andrico- was also taught in the beginning of the course, to help students understand the qualities of a fluid breathing. Fabio also gave precise explanations for the adaptation of the 8 movements on the chair, a very useful form of practice that can benefit many people.

Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo

Fabio Andrico and Menpa Phuntsog Wango have incredible knowledge and experience in their fields. Although through their distinctive touch and personality, each of them offered a detailed and conscious development of the topics, answered all the concerns and helped the students to evolve in the method. To be able to have both of them together was really a blessing and we feel very grateful for that.

This course was the first course organized in collaboration between Yantra Yoga and the Tibetan Medicine department of ATIF. The course had a large audience; 125 participants from all over the world -members and non members of the DC- joined the course. This encourages both, Yantra Yoga and Tibetan Medicine departments, to organize more courses of this type in the near future.

Fabio Andrico

“Breathe to Wellness” was held by an interactive platform where the students can follow week by week all the content of the course. Each week there was a live class that was also recorded, alternating a Q&A session with Fabio and Menpa Phuntsog and a practice session, led by Nataly Nistche, and one of them, together with Maxim Leshchenko.

During the Q&A sessions interesting questions were finely answered by both teachers. Participants showed great interest in knowing the details of the practice but they also had lots of questions regarding their health. Menpa Phuntsog gave great advices, healing tea recipes and self treatments but mainly persistently advising to follow Yantra Yoga precisely, insisting on what a real and profound medicine it is. All the live sessions were skillfully moderated by Ilaria Faccioli.

Offline, students also could make comments under each video lesson and get replies from our Yantra Yoga instructor Leticia Recepter and our Tibetan doctors Irina Pankevich and Medegma Budaeva.

Zoom Shot Breathe to Wellness

The interactive part of the course finished on November 22nd, but all video lessons and recordings of the live sessions are available until November 22nd, 2022! This format allows a long time to review the material again and again. And all those who studied Yantra Yoga know how important this is! Can you remember how many Yantra Yoga courses have you attended?

Our heartfelt thanks to Fabio Andrico and Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo for their tireless dedication in sharing their precious knowledge, to everyone in the team of the Tibetan Medicine and Yantra Yoga departments of ATIF who worked and collaborated to make this course possible, and to all participants who gave life to it.

Since the experience was very enriching we have two more courses for 2022 in the same format. This time Laura Evangelisti together with Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo are going to explore in detail the first preliminary series of Yantra Yoga: “Tsigjong”. For the second course Fabio Andrico and Menpa Phuntsog Wango will be together again and the content of the course will be the third and last preliminary series of Yantra Yoga: “Tsadul”. Soon the dates will be released, you can subscribe to our mailing list so as not to miss any opportunity!

A participant comments:

“A new and very alive and present sensation in the abdomen and pelvis appeared, after doing just a few repetitions of the warm-up session for 3° Lungsang. A new sensation also in the lower ribs. Energy circulates in the spine. This method is a treasure.
The organization over several weeks with time to try, to recuperate and try again
is very good for me. It also helps to put a routine into place which is one of my great difficulties, especially with postures which seemed arduous and impossible
at my age (70).
The association of Tibetan medicine with Menpa Phuntsog and the great experience
with Yantra teachers and the clarity of Fabio proves very fruitful. Menpa Phuntsog
gives us the motivation and all the good reasons for persisting even if in the beginning the going is hard. Excellent pedagogy.”

Margaret

More information:
https://tenerife.tibetanmedicineschool.org/es/inicio/
https://yantrayoga.net/
https://atiyogafoundation.org/

Featured image: Fabio Andrico, Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo (top) and Ilaria Faccioli