British Wheel of Yoga (Northern Region) :: Durham Yoga Festival 2010 | Yoga in Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Northumbria, Tyne & Wear

A path to 'Insight and Wisdom' at
Durham Yoga Festival 2010

The Durham Yoga Festival hosted by the British Wheel of Yoga's Northern Region has become one of the most successful yoga events in the North of England. The event, based on the theme 'Insight and Wisdom' this year, attracts people from far and wide. Prices have been held down this year in a bid to beat the recession. Organisers are now offering everyone ten-per-cent off the original costings in a bid to attract even more people to the event.

Maureen McCarthy, Regional Officer for the BWY Northern Region, said: “We were offering an early-bird discount to all those who booked up before the middle of May. But we have decided to extend this offer indefinitely to give more people the chance to take part. The event this year should be a wonderful experience for all those taking part.”

It is being held for the third year running at Ushaw College and Conference Centre at Esh, County Durham from Friday July 16 to Sunday July 18. This impressive venue has a complex of beautiful buildings set in 30 acres of lush green country­side near the villages of Bearpark and Ushaw Moor, four miles west of Durham.

The college, which since its opening has helped train Catholic Priests for the North of England, celebrated its 200th birthday last year. It is an idyllic setting for the festival offering a tranquil retreat from the rush of everyday life.

This year's festival will have something for everyone. There will be 19 teachers delivering sessions covering a vast range of yoga styles and paths including Hatha, Kundalini, Ashtanga, Iyengar and many more. Workshops cater for everyone from beginners to experienced practitioners.

There will be meditation sessions and deep relaxation. There is also the chance to sample the deep states of a gong bath where participants will be immersed in the beautiful tones and vibrations of sound waves created by gongs. The 'marketplace' offers a chance to buy yoga clothing and other yoga related accessories. There will also be a healing and therapy room where yogis will be able book mini-taster sessions with therapists including reflexology, reiki, Bowen, yoga massage and Tui Na, plus Indian head massage.

Yoga traveller Wendy Teasdill will be centre stage for the summer extravaganza as the key guest teacher at the weekend long event. Yorkshire born Wendy, who has a degree in English, has written books and travelled the globe with her yoga. The mum of three, who has worked as a diploma course tutor for the British Wheel of Yoga, will be delivering her own special style at the event. Wendy studied with BKS Iyengar in Poona, India and has been a world wide traveller before embarking on a life delivering yoga classes and study to the world.

She is a BWY foundation and diploma course tutor who has specialised in pregnancy yoga and studied the Japanese healing practice of Reiki. She travelled overland to India in the seventies where she contracted hepatitis drinking contaminated water in Pakistan. Yoga helped her overcome the illness and depression and strengthen her body. She spent many years in Asia visiting and walking to sacred places in India, Tibet and Nepal. One of her books, Walking To The Mountain, follows her 500-mile trek across Tibet to Mount Kailash. After the birth of her first child she produced a book in 1999 called Yoga for Pregnancy published by Gaia Books which was reissued in 2005.

Wendy has given workshops from Scotland to Hong Kong on a wide range of subjects all with the main theme Heart of Light. She is fascinated by the meditative alchemy of prana and asana practice. For further information about Wendy, see www.teasdill.com (opens new window).