"Moving into Stillness"

A Comprehensive Yoga Training

With Eknath Erwin Vann and Sophie Claeys

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As of September 2026, Eknath and Sophie will be offering several experience based modules aimed at deepening your yoga practice.

We strongly believe that deepening our practice requires lots of time – even for topics that might be considered only little theoretical knowledge. We consciously move away from a fast-paced and result-driven approach.  Instead, we offer a space for exploring our inner world with the aim to heighten our awareness.

The essence of our approach is centered around slowing down, calming the mind, balancing the nervous system, deep relaxation, release, deep rest, letting go, trust, faith and surrender. We want to bring simplicity and profoundness in our practice.

To bring this philosophy into being, we have carefully designed a 4-module programme of 50hrs per module. While each module is build around its own theme, all modules share a common basis.

This series of modules are logically sequenced, yet each module can be taken individually.

MODULE 1 – Asana, Pranayama and Bhanda

Saturdays 12, 19 September 2026; 3, 10 October 2026, 14, 21 November 2026 and 5, 12 December 2026
The Yoga Bar, 3150 Haacht

In this module we guide you in deepening your personal asana and pranayama practice. Often, we follow guided classes that may be unadapted to our body’s constitution, follow a uniform speed and tempo, rhythm, that may not suit us at that very point in time. In order to become steady in asana and pranayama, we need personal guidance.

We practice together and learn how to personalize our practice step-by-step by learning to listen to our body’s needs. We learn to understand what our body is communicating to us in different postures and why not every posture looks (or should look) the same on everybody! Furthermore, we take time to (un)learn certain habits and unfold our movements in alignment with our own body.

We analyse specific yoga postures in depth in several Asana Clinics – and find out what real and personal alignment is all about.

Precious time is dedicated to breathing exercises as a preparation to pranayama and bhanda practice.

A typical schedule during Module 1 would look like this:

• 9.00 – Meditation and Chanting

• 10.00 – Pranayama

• 10.30 – Tea Break

• 11.00 – Guided Hatha Yoga Class

• 12.30 – Lunch Break

• 13.30 – Asana Clinic – development of personal practice

• 15.00 – Tea Break

• 15.30 – Pranayama Clinic – development of personal practice

• 16.30 – End

Please note that the schedule might undergo slight changes along the way.

Above all, asana is considered the first part of hatha yoga. Hatha yoga is practiced to achieve a stable posture and mind, health, and lightness in the body. – Hatha yoga Pradipika (1:19)

MODULE 2 – Nada Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and dis-covering the Authentic Voice

Saturdays 23, 30 January 2027; 20, 27 February 2027, 13, 20 March 2027 and 17, 24 April 2027
The Yoga Bar, 3150 Haacht

In this module we offer practices that allow us to tune into the subtle vibrations of our being. Allowing our body to resonate through the use of one’s voice is a very transformative and deeply personal practice.

We learn and practice melodic (raga) and rhythmic (tala) exercises in the tradition of Indian classical music (Nada Yoga).

We dedicate time to learn and chant a repertoire of mantra’s and bhajans (Bhakti Yoga).

And through vocal exercises and the proper use of the breath, we dis-cover our Authentic Voice.

A typical schedule during Module 2 would look like this:

• 9.00 – Meditation and Chanting

• 10.00 – Pranayama

• 10.30 – Tea Break

• 11.00 – Guided Hatha Yoga Class

• 12.30 – Lunch Break

• 13.30 – The Authentic Voice – voice practices and techniques

• 15.00 – Tea Break

• 15.30 – Bhakti Yoga and Nada Yoga – theory and practice of mantra’s and bhajans

• 16.30 – End

Please note that the schedule might undergo slight changes along the way.

From the tiniest atoms to the mightiest galaxies, everything is in a state of vibration and complies with the laws of rhythm and harmony. Nada Yogis use Divine music to move from the gross differentiated vibrations to the subtlest or Para state that is the source of all creation. Their main instrument is their body. They harness that principle of vibration to tune and uplift themselves. This is a powerful process of purification and refinement at all levels that leads back to the Source where the Truth is realized – Book “Sampoorna Yoga” by Shri Yogi Hari

MODULE 3 – Raja Yoga, Meditation and Deep Rest

2 Saturdays in September 2027;  October 2027,  November 2027 and  December 2027 (exact dates TBD)
The Yoga Bar, 3150 Haacht

In this module we offer several concentration techniques as a preparation for meditation. While the state of meditation is something you might aspire to experience, it requires some preparation. We look into how sharpening our awareness, posture and the act of sitting quietly all support us towards a state of non-doing, deep rest and clarity.

We investigate how we can recognize our ‘falling’ into a state of meditation and which supporting practices can help us prepare for it. We practice deep rest through Yoga Nidra, but also dive into the meaning of letting go, detachment and the subject of death.

A typical schedule during Module 3 would look like this:

• 9.00 – Meditation and Chanting

• 10.00 – Guided Hatha Yoga Class

• 11.30 – Yoga Nidra

• 12.30 – Lunch Break

• 13.30 – Concentration techniques

• 15.00 – Tea Break

• 15.30 – Practicing the art of deep rest and meditation

• 16.30 – End

Please note that the schedule might undergo slight changes along the way.

“Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodha” – Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind – Yoga Sutras by Patanjali

MODULE 4 – Uncovering the purpose of life – An introduction into The Bhagavad Gita

2 Saturdays in January 2028; February 2028, March 2028 and April 2028 (exact dates TBD)
The Yoga Bar, 3150 Haacht

In this module we dive into the yoga philosophy that unravels the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, the yogic masterpiece that addresses “right action” and “dedicated duty.”

As we will see, the only technique described in the Bhagavad Gita is meditation. Therefore, understanding the basics of meditation and practicing them is essential to understanding the text. During dedicated and well-designed workshops, parts of the Gita are discussed. We address its key concepts and attempt to translate them to our contemporary reality. During each session, we provide dedicated time for journaling on the topics we cover.

To ensure you take the course effectively and gain the most insight for yourself, you will be given several weekly homework assignments. 

This immersion in the Bhagavad Gita and its remarkable principles is your gateway to discovering your life’s purpose. We endeavour to delve deeper into your role and purpose here on this earth, at this precise moment in your life. 

A typical schedule during Module 4 would look like this:

• 9.00 – Meditation and Chanting

• 10.30 – Guided Hatha Yoga Class

• 12.00 – Lunch Break

• 13.30 – Philosophy

• 15.00 – Tea Break

• 15.30 – Journaling and Discussion

• 16.30 – End

Please note that the schedule might undergo slight changes along the way.

Required reading material for Module 4 is  “The Great Work of Your Life” by Stephen Cope and the Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Eswaran (Nilgiri Press). Both books are available through Bol and Amazon.

One who sees “inaction in action” and “action in inaction” is truly wise, intelligent, and in a divine state, even while performing all actions. – Bhagavad Gita (4.18)

Practical Details

When?
Each module takes 8 days (50hrs).
2 Saturdays per month, from 9h – 16h30 (1h lunch break)

Where?
The Yoga Bar, Haacht, Belgium.

Cost?

Each Module costs 960 EUR (VAT included).
A payment plan is available on request.

For whom?

For yoga teachers and practitioners who want to deepen their own yoga practice.

What to bring?

• Bring your own lunch – tea and snacks are provided during breaks

• Yoga mat – there is plenty of material in the studio that you can borrow

No certification will be given

Please, let us know if you need a proof of attendance

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About the teachers

Both teachers, Eknath Erwin Vann and Sophie Claeys, are experienced and certified Sampoorna Yoga Teachers.

This form of Hatha Yoga was developed by Shri Yogi Hari, who was himself trained by Swami Vishnudevananda, the founder of the Sivananda Yoga Center in Montreal and himself trained by Swami Sivananda, on the one hand, and by Swami Nadabrahmananda, on the other hand, a true and brilliant master of Nada Yoga (Yoga of sound/vibrations).

Sampoorna Yoga is a dynamic form of Hatha Yoga that shows similarities with Ashtanga Yoga due to its fixed and dynamic structure.

Sophie has been guiding successful Hatha Yoga retreats for several years in which various satkriyas (purification techniques) and pranayama are practiced. This experience and recognized training from different yoga branches form the basis for this yoga training. Sophie is the owner of The Yoga Bar, yoga studio in Haacht, Belgium.

Eknath has been guiding various Sampoorna Yoga Retreats in Belgium and Spain for over a decade. Eknath is a professional musician who taught music (saxophone, theory, harmony, composition, ensemble playing, improvisation) at the Royal Conservatories of Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp, and the Conservatory of the City of Luxembourg for 25 years, including breath and voice control, next to being a jazz performer and a composer/arranger. As an experienced yogi, Eknath deepens his musical experience through Nada Yoga. The yoga philosophy and lifestyle is evident in the life paths of both Sophie and Eknath.

Sophie Claeys

Sophie discovered yoga in her teens while playing the violin. Yoga helped her relax mentally and physically, both during long rehearsals and while preparing for concerts. Gradually, yoga became part of her daily life. During her years as a PhD student at Ghent University, Sophie used breathing and meditation techniques on a daily basis as a way to sharpen concentration and focus. Yoga helped her maintain her energy during international lectures and the many travels that came with it.

From 2006, Sophie regularly followed intensive yoga training in Sweden, Bali and Miami and is certified as “Sampoorna Certified Yoga Teacher (500h)” and “Certified Children’s Yoga Teacher”. Sophie attended several “Sampoorna Yoga Teacher Trainings” and “The Yogabeez Children’s Yoga Teacher Training Program”, the founding organization behind the “Kids Yoga Foundation”. Sophie also followed the “Fundamental and Advanced Yin Yoga Teacher Training” with Joe Barnett. In 2025, Sophie started the “In Depth Training” with Kia Naddermier.

Sophie is the owner and driving force behind The Yoga Bar studio in Haacht.

Eknath Erwin Vann

Eknath has been teaching yoga since 2008, offering Sampoorna Hatha Yoga classes in the lineage of Swami Sivananda, as well as Yin Yoga classes, yoga related workshops, guided meditation sessions, mantra chanting and kirtan, personal sound massages with Tibetan singing bowls, sound baths and yoga retreats.

Eknath has been a student of Yoga Master Shri Yogi Hari for almost 20 years. Eknath studied Yin Yoga and functional anatomy with Paul and Suzee Grilley.

In 2010, he co-founded the Sampoorna Yoga Studio in Brussels, which he co-directed for 7 years. Eknath loves to spend time in nature, breathe clean fresh air, listen to bird sonatas and the sound of mountain rivers. Eknath is also a professional musician. He has played the saxophone for over 50 years and has taught and performed music professionally for over 40 years. Eknath is an improviser. He believes in the power of kindness and practices daily to see beauty in all and everyone.