8 Day Surfing and Yoga Retreat in Aljezur, Portugal

Hatha Yoga.

This approach to Yoga is grounded in the fundamental principles of the work of Vanda Scaravelli.

In this practice, there is a continuous focus on our three ‘friends’ - gravity, breath and the spine.

Going with the bodies natural rhythm and­ without force, a different quality to movement can be experienced and the postures (asanas) unfold organically, from the inside out.

The emphasis is on creating the conditions to allow tension to be released, for a more natural expression of movement to emerge.

Within this framework, Hayley incorporates breath awareness, meditation, creative sequencing, alignment principles and embodied/functional anatomy; in addition to classical yoga asanas.

Hayley completed a 3-year teacher training at the Natural Bodies Centre in Brighton, UK, with Gary Carter.

Through this course and for many years since, Hayley has studied with other inspiring teachers such as Liz Warrington, Monica Voss, Elizabeth Pauncz, Sophie Hoare, Diane Long­ and most notably with John Stirk, with whom she has been a student for 18 years.

She has been teaching regularly since 2004 through group classes, one to ones, intensive workshops and retreats both in the UK and Internationally.

The classes are also influenced by Hayley’s background in dance and studies in other movement disciplines such as Feldenkrais, Somatics, Continuum and Qi Gong.

Catarina is qualified as a yoga teacher in December 2015, after completing a 200 hours Ashtanga Vinyasa and Rocket Yoga Teacher Training, at The Yoga People Goa.

Seeing herself as an eternal student, she kept up with her training completing 100 hours of Yin and Acupressure and 100 hours of Mandala and Shamanism with The Yoga People.

Catarina is passionate about sharing the many benefits of living a yogic lifestyle and believes that yoga is for everyone, regardless of age or ability.

I am the founder of Surf Seixe Academy. I was born in Odeceixe and spent all my life connected to the sea.

I am a lifeguard swimmer, and I worked as such on Odeceixe beach for 8 years of my life.

I practice bodyboarding and surfing, and I studied sports sciences with a specialty in Sports Training in Surf, which gives me the II degree of coach of Surf by the Portuguese Federation of Surf.

I teach surf and bodyboard with soul and heart, and academic knowledge without forgetting the fun.