5–6 December 2026 · Nama Yoga Studio, Athens, Greece

For yoga teachers and practitioners who want to deepen their practice

An effective assist begins before we touch someone. It begins with learning to see, to feel and to choose the appropriate action.

We can learn many adjustment techniques and assists and still fail to recognise what the person in front of us really needs.

How do we recognise when an assist could be useful?
How do we touch with clarity, intention, care and support?
And how do we recognise when the most appropriate choice is to take a step back?

We invite you to a two-day workshop to develop your sensitivity, practical skills and confidence in touch and assists. You will learn how to touch a practitioner with a therapeutic intention, with awareness and support from the breath, without forcing the body into a predetermined shape.

Through Forrest Yoga practice, Ceremony and meditation, exercises in observing and perceiving energy, and guided partner practice, we will explore the relationship between our own presence and the quality of support we offer. We will practise observing what is happening, recognising our own reactions and checking our impressions, distinguishing what belongs to us and what does not.

This is both practical and inner work. It invites us to become more attentive to the practitioner while recognising our own habits: the impulse to correct, the hesitation to act, or the tendency to repeat a familiar technique without considering whether it is appropriate.

Our intention is for you to leave with more than a collection of techniques! Our vision is for you to begin cultivating discernment: what to offer, how to offer it and when not to intervene.

What we will explore

• Seeing and sensing the practitioner through observation, breath, presence and experiential exercises.

• Clear, steady touch: direction, the amount of pressure, positioning and effective use of the teacher’s own body.

• How to adapt an assist to the body and the individual.

• Explicit, ongoing consent, personal boundaries and clear communication.

• Combining verbal and physical assists, and knowing when to choose an assist without touch.

You will have opportunities to give and receive assists, ask questions and develop through our guidance and feedback.

Schedule

Saturday 5 December & Sunday 6 December

09:30–12:00 · Forrest Yoga Intensive

The morning Forrest Yoga practice will begin with Ceremony, inviting us to cultivate intuition, feeling, concentration and connection with our Spirit. Personal practice can become a place to explore the qualities we wish to bring into our teaching.

13:30–16:30 · Assists & Techniques for Discerning Energy

Exercises in observing and perceiving energy, detailed demonstrations of assists and partner practice will help us translate the morning’s experience into teaching skills. We will explore effective assists, observe how the body responds and cultivate our ability to respond with care and clarity.

The workshop welcomes teachers from all yoga traditions. No previous Forrest Yoga training is required. Come ready to practise touch and feel energy, question familiar habits and learn through both giving and receiving assists.

Certificate of Participation

Participants will receive a certificate of participation upon completing the two-day workshop. This certificate is not approved by Yoga Alliance.

What to bring

A notepad and pen.

Prices

• Full weekend immersion: €200

• One morning intensive: €45

• Both morning intensives: €80

Early bird: €150 for the full weekend until 15 November 2026.

All prices exclude 24% VAT.

For registration and payment, please contact Victoria at Nama Yoga Studio using the button below.

About Ilias Kousis

Ilias Kousis is an internationally active yoga teacher and teacher trainer, a Level 5 Forrest Yoga Guardian and an Energy Medicine practitioner. He was selected as a Guardian by Ana Forrest and Jose Calarco and also serves as their Content Manager, contributing to the development of Forrest Yoga teaching material.

His work includes teacher trainings, Mentorship programmes, workshops and retreats, as well as assisting Ana and Jose at international events. Working closely with them has shaped both his understanding of the practice and his ability to guide others through challenging processes of physical and personal exploration.

Ilias’s teaching is strong, intuitive and precise. He combines intelligent physical practice, breath, Ceremony and connection with Spirit. He encourages students to explore beyond familiar limitations, recognise their own intelligence and develop the courage to act on what they discover.

Touch is an important part of Ilias’s teaching. He combines careful observation with energetic sensitivity, offering clear, compassionate support. In his work with teachers, he emphasises the ability to see, feel and respond to each individual, rather than simply reproduce a technique.

Ilias studied Energy Medicine at the Light Body School of the Four Winds Society and is a certified Breath Coach. His earlier scientific background in geoscience shaped his attention to detail and his curiosity to explore in depth, while his teaching remains rooted in direct, embodied experience.

About Victoria Kourkaki

Victoria Kourkaki is the founder of Nama Yoga Studio and leads the studio’s programme, workshops and teacher training programmes. She discovered yoga in 2008, and daily practice became a lived experience and an integral part of her everyday life.

In 2012, she trained in Forrest Yoga® (220 hours) with Ana Forrest, the founder of the system. From 2016 to 2022, she assisted Ana Forrest and Jose Calarco at workshops and teacher trainings. In 2022, she completed the advanced 300-hour Forrest Yoga training.

In 2021, Ana Forrest and Jose Calarco, Artistic Director and storyteller of Forrest Yoga®, selected her to become a Forrest Yoga Guardian, the highest honour within the Forrest Yoga hierarchy. She was announced as a Forrest Yoga Guardian in November 2022. She is one of the people who will preserve and continue Ana Forrest’s legacy. Victoria Kourkaki is also a trained and certified Kundalini Yoga instructor (200 hours), Level 1, and a Poppy Yoga teacher (85 hours), Levels 1 and 2: yoga for pregnancy and postpartum recovery and rehabilitation. In 2022, she completed the advanced 300-hour Forrest Yoga® training and became a teacher trainer.

Victoria’s teaching is authentic, spontaneous and genuine. Her magical voice and healing touch can take you deep within yourself. Her teaching is focused, enjoyable and full of enthusiasm. She helps you soften your edges and feel centred and relaxed. Her classes are dynamic and therapeutic at the same time. Her enthusiasm, dedication and generosity are contagious! She focuses on helping students find ways to ease their physical and emotional pain and build strength and confidence. Her classes are open to everyone, regardless of age, flexibility, body or physical condition.