Inspired by Vanda Scaravelli
By June Durkin BWY

Ten years ago I met John Stirk, who introduced to me an approach in yoga which was, and still is, a revelation.

John had been studying with Vanda Scaravelli and his enthusiasm from working with Vanda was contagious. John, being a trained professional Osteopath, whose wealth of knowledge anatomically, made his yoga teaching even more of a revelation. Subsequently, I worked with Sophy Hoare, Sandra Sabatini and Diana Long. I then underwent a two year teacher training, working in the approach that Vanda had passed on to these teachers.

Vanda was born in Italy in 1908. When she was in her mid forties she met B.K.S. Iyenger and discovered yoga. She then met T.V.K. Desikachar who introduced her to the importance of the breath. Vanda went on developing a unique approach to yoga which she portrays beautifully in her book Awakening the Spine.

One of the wonderful gifts of Vanda Scaravelli s work is its simplicity. Vanda spoke of. three friends, Breath, Gravity, and the Wave. These three principles remain the same regardless of whatever your level of practice. Vanda believed that poses required undoing, having no goal, and going with the body, rather than pushing or telling the body what to do in a linear fashion, which causes movement to be fragmented. Taking time to understand and feel the principles at work in our practice can revolutionize the way in which we work. If uncertainty arises, we come back to the breath, reconnect with the ground and the body will find its steadiness again. This keeps the practice simple. Following the principles helps to understand the natural intelligence of the body; which is designed to move rhythmically in response to gravity and breath. Thus postures emerge from an inner movement without the need to impose or perform postures externally. As we learn to let go and release the outer tension from the body, the postures become a catalyst for the wave of the breath and spine to awaken and dance.

Becoming acquainted with this unique approach to yoga is an amazing journey; one in which I feel every day on the mat is just the beginning. Letting go of effort in yoga practice is quite a challenge. As I learnt to trust the ground I discovered the potential for gravity to bring about an undoing of muscular tension, facilitating the natural deep action of the breath to flow unimpeded throughout the whole body. Postures reflect one s ability to move authentically without effort.

June Durkin BWY teaches and organizes yoga workshops and residential weekends using this approach in Dublin, Cork and Kerry.

From Yoga Therapy Ireland Magazine, Spring 2004

Article by Past Participant
Appeared in Yoga And Health UK August Edition

Whatever school they follow, each yoga teacher brings something new and personal to their teaching. At Rusheens Yoga Centre in Kenmare, Co Kerry, June Durkin introduces spheres for the body to travel to that I hadn’t encountered before. With her emphasis on gravity and lightness, she challenges usual approaches to strong poses and postures. While most yoga teachers tell you not to strain and not to compete, students marvel to experience new-found strength in their muscles from practising such poses as the dog and cobra. Taut toned muscles are not for parading at Rusheens, rather students are encouraged to get right into the wave of the breath coming through the body from deep within the pivotal centre of gravity. A concept hard to grasp? You can believe it, and yet, it made sense. So we sat and stood, rooting our lower bodies into the ground while simultaneously letting the upcoming wave of energy/breath take our upper bodies lightly skyward. The closest image is probably that of leaves fluttering on the branches of an oak tree. It should be as natural for our bodies to stand strong and light as it is for the trees, yet we most often mistake hard musculature for strength. The strength and light June espouses is a fluid though strongly rooted one. Instead of imagining a strong body as having a hard outer shell, imagine it as soft, yielding, unbreakable.

The simplicity of the approach is what makes it hardest to understand, yet its inherent integrity is palpable and undeniable. It is not easy to learn, probably because we try too hard – the inner attention this practise demands is significant – you must become still enough to hear your breath as you hear a wave coming in and going back out. When you start to approach this inner stillness, June’s direction and an inner guide take your body into the earth and up towards the sky without tension or stress in the body.

Based on the approach of Italian, Vanda Scarvelli, movement comes from within, so much so that you notice inner lengthening of the body while very little change may be noticeable outwardly. Vanda practised until she was 90 (she died at 91) and had a body as lissome as that of a newborn. June is also testimony to the benefits of this yoga practise – well rooted both in her body and in the natural beauty that surrounds her in Rusheens, she is light both in her movements and in her approach to life.

It is wonderful to share somebody’s dream, even if only momentarily, and a weekend at Rusheens is the sharing of a dream – that of a beautiful centre and home sensitively developed in one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland.

Like her yoga practise, June’s home is both solid and full of light. Set between two mountains with a stream running through, the building is in total harmony with its surroundings. June has wonderful stepped gardens with vegetables, edible flowers and a plunge pool. The garden meanders about the hillside, taking you from sun-filled open spots to shady spots and rest areas. Many of the raw ingredients for our sumptuous vegetarian meals came from these gardens and also from local organic food suppliers. Accommodation at Rusheens is blissful. There are single and double rooms in two buildings on the side of the hill overlooked by the often snow-capped Caha mountains. The many windows let in the ever-changing light, making it a living thing in each room. A sauna in one of the buildings is the perfect start and end to a day of yoga and walking in the crystal air – for the courageous the plunge pool beckons for a dip in cool (or freezing) water!

Rusheens offers something for a wide variety of people. For those interested in practising yoga and tapping into the essence of our lives, a weekend of training with June or one of the visiting teachers is a potentially life-changing experience. For those who want a secular retreat from the stresses of daily life, the serenity and harmony of Rusheens is the perfect antidote.

Article written by Bridget McAliffe, Co. Kerry, Ireland.

Having just returned from a week at Rusheens Yoga Centre, studying in the style of Vanda Scaravelli with June Durkin, I find a new door has been opened for me, which allows me to discover my Self in a way I could not previously have imagined. On the journey that is my yoga practice, I have found a port where I will be stopping to explore for a while.

I began consciously practising yoga through asanas, meditation and pranayama about six years’ ago. Since then, I have practiced with many teachers, starting with basic hatha, followed by the Iyengar and astanga styles. Through each of these, I have learned much about my body, mind and spirit and I am eternally grateful for the opportunities I have had to meet and practice with so many wonderful teachers.

Earlier this year however, I developed an unprecedented resistance to my asana practice, which I found difficult to understand. It became increasingly challenging to keep my appointment with my yoga mat, despite having a beautiful purpose-built yoga ‘seomra’ in my back garden. During the summer, I read an article in the Yoga Therapy Ireland magazine, written by June, about yoga in the style of Vanda Scaravelli. It spoke of ‘letting go’ and it was as if every part of me surrendered to those words. THIS was what I wanted – to simply ‘let go’.

The week in Kerry was challenging, not least because it was so entirely different from any yoga course or workshop I had ever been to before. June told me Vanda’s words – ‘you are your own teacher and your own student’. The logical western part of my brain was constantly seeking instructions, a set of rules, a blueprint I could follow. But they were not forthcoming. Instead, June taught me how to listen to my own body, to let myself give in to Gravity, Breath and the Wave.  

I cannot fully describe what occurred that week. I can only say that I feel transformed – lighter and more open. I have learned that I need to be more gentle with myself and with others and that it is not about finding the ‘perfect’ teacher to emulate – it is about listening to the teacher within and going with the flow…..