 Chief Trainer - Michel Besnard
Originally from France, Michel is currently based in Hong Kong where he founded YOGASANA, the very first Ashtanga Shala in Hong Kong in 2002 and was also one of the first to in Hong Kong to establish Yoga Teacher Trainings.
Prior to Hong Kong, Michel ran a successful Iyengar school “Noosa Yoga Centre” in Australia from 1987 to 1996 and from 1997 to 2000 he taught Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in Vienna Austria. In the past two decades, Michel has taught yoga and conducted teacher trainings in different parts of the world including Asia, the United States, Austria, England, France and Australia.
Michel's teaching philosophy is to provide students with clear and sensitive guidance, encouraging them to listen to the needs of the body without pushing or straining, thus making space for their own understanding. Ultimately, Michel encourages everyone to take the practice, but not themselves, seriously.
As a student, Michel has been immersed in the tradition of yoga with 30 years of study with world-renowned teachers. He began practicing yoga in 1978, and has been teaching since 1983. He started with Iyengar yoga and was a direct student of BKS Iyengar himself, having made regular trips to study under his teacher in Pune, India. He later discovered Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and studied directly under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India on several extended trips to India. After 1993, Asthanga Vinyasa became his primary focus and he now teaches and practices this powerful, ancient system of yoga. Subsequently in 2002 Michel met Ramesh Balshekar an Avaida Vedanta Teacher from Mumbai and has been avidly his student since.
Along with yoga, Michel has an extensive background in bodywork and postural alignment. He is an advanced Reiki practitioner and a certified Advanced Postural Integrator certified by Psycho-Physical institute of San Francisco and holds a certificate from the Gestalt Institute of Melbourne Australia. Truly a teacher’s teacher, Michel has trained instructors in 10 different countries and is accredited by IYTA (International Yoga Teacher Association) and Yoga Alliance at the 500-hour level trainer level (highest possible). Michel brings the depth of knowledge and years of experience into class that is so often lacking from modern yoga teacher trainers. |
