jonas
westring
background
jonas left his native sweden as a teenager and began extensive world travels. fascinated by the multitude of exotic cultures he came across in the east, he ventured off on an adventurous soul search to many extraordinary places, both geographically and within. during this time jonas began exploring a variety of bodymind practices such as yoga, meditation and bodywork
after
many years of intensive travels jonas decided to pursue an academic study that would
align with his interests in bodymind practices. in the early nineties
he received a degree in physiotherapy from lund university in sweden, followed by a US physical
therapy license in 1995. a wide range of holistic modalities have been
informative to his understanding of health and healing. they include physiotherapy, yoga, thai healing practices, buddhist
insight meditation, tantra, acupuncture, shiatsu, feldenkrais, craniosacral
therapy, tai chi chuan, chi kung, contact improvisation dance, antroposophical
eurythmi, and more. since yoga and thai healing arts are his key
practices, they are mentioned in greater detail below
yoga
jonas has been
practicing yoga and meditation since 1981 in a variety of styles. his very first teachers
were hari prem and swami janakananda from the scandinavian
yoga and meditation school, whose no-nonsense teachings come directly from the world
renowned swami satyananada saraswati, founder of the bihar school of yoga in india
two key yoga teachers of tremendous capacity
to whom jonas owes deep gratitude are richard
freeman and john friend.
to richard for modeling the mindful path of a
yogi with such grace and to john for his grand vision, spirit of
encouragement and support, and extraordinary educational wealth
a
multi-certified yoga instructor and yoga therapist,
jonas
is registered with the yoga alliance
at the experienced yoga teacher level (E-RYT
500),
is a certified anusara yoga® teacher,
and was core
faculty for the integrative yoga
therapy teacher training program from
2000-2004 |
many other traditions have helped inspire
jonas and shape his path of yoga. he is grateful for
the experiences he has had with mata amritananda mayi, ananda marga,
iskcon, dharmavir singh mahida, tkv desikachar, bns iyengar, kofi busia, glenn
black, sharon gannon, david life, ana forest, shiva rea, sivananda yoga, kripalu
yoga, integrative yoga therapy - and with so many more yet to mention
that the list would be far too long
the
thai tradition
jonas
have had the privilege to meet and study with
many teachers and healers in thailand. the most influential ones include
master ahjarn pichest boonthamme, itthidet
manarat, the buntautuk
traditional medicine hospital, chongkol setthakorn, askokananda at the sunshine
network, the blind therapists in chiang mai, and the thai chiropractic
conservatory in bangkok. numerous
other people who has given him traditional thai massage treatments have also contributed to
a deepened
understanding of the thai hands-on healing tradition
jonas
is approved as a continuing education provider by the national certification board
for therapeutic massage & bodywork (NCBTMB) |
since
many years jonas have been organizing annual group journeys to thailand. they enable
him to return to asia every winter
with a group of students to research the thai tradition further
thai
yoga healing arts
in
1998 jonas founded Thai Yoga Healing Arts, dedicated
to spreading yoga and bodywork practices as healing arts both individually and
together, through thai yoga bodywork
shantaya
to widen the scope of possibilities jonas founded Shantaya in 2004. shantaya
translates as "realm of peace" and its purpose and mission is to organize a wide range of
bodymind explorations that facilitates holistic health and integration of the whole
person
shantaya
is a yoga school registered with the yoga alliance |
|