• Tava vā mama vā sadānusaraṇāt namanān mananāt prasanna-cittaḥ bhagavan vāñchitam akhilaṃ datvā kiṃ te bhūyaḥ priyam iti hasati

    Your Lord or mine, it does not matter
    With a quiet mind, meditate with humility
    The Lord, pleased, gives what you seek
    and happily offers more.

    RetreatsWorkshops

  • प्रयत्नशैथिल्यानन्तसमापत्तिभ्याम् ॥ Prayatna-śaithilyānanta-samāpattibhyām

    Make the asana practice effortless, focusing for the breath and surrender to the divine.

    Yoga Sutra of Patanjali 2 / 47

  • नास्ति मायासमो पाशो नास्ति योगात्परं बलम । नास्ति ज्ञानात्परो बन्धुर्नाहंकारात्परो रिपुः ॥ nāsti māyāsamaḥ pāśo nāsti yogāt paraṃ balam nāsti jñānat paro bandhur nāhaṃkārāt paro ripuḥ

    There is no bondage like illusion,
    There is no power stronger than yoga,
    There is no friend better than knowledge,
    And there is no worse enemy than ego.

  • सर्वे मानवाः स्वतन्त्राः समुत्पन्नाः वर्तन्ते अपि च, गौरवदृशा अधिकारदृशा
च समानाः एव वर्तन्ते। एते सर्वे चेतना-तर्क-शक्तिभ्यां सुसम्पन्नाः सन्ति।
अपि च, सर्वेऽपि बन्धुत्व-भावनया परस्परं व्यवहरन्तु। Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantratāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api cha, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu.

    All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
    They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of humanity.

    The Sanskrit translation for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

1234

Petri “Rähjä” Räisänen

Petri Räisänen (born August 13, 1967) is internationally known and respected Ashtanga Yoga teacher.

Petri Räisänen (born August 13, 1967) is internationally known and respected Ashtanga Yoga teacher. Petri started practicing Ashtanga yoga in 1989 and teaching in 1991. He is co-owner and director of Ashtanga Yoga Helsinki, Finland, which he found with his friend and colleague, Juva Javanainen, in 1997. Since 2000 Petri has been teaching Ashtanga yoga internationally around the world. He got his teaching authorization from K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois in 2001. In 2023, he and Wambui Njuguna opened Yoga Roots Odeceixe in the Algarve, Portugal.

Petri focuses on integrating healing and therapy with yoga, meeting student’s individual needs and guiding their progress. Petri’s yoga pose adjustments are gentle, effective, therapeutic and, according to some, almost magical, and originate (besides his own practice and teaching) from his past work as a traditional Finnish folk healer and naturopath. His friendly, relaxed behaviour and intuitive perception give an open, energetic and meditative atmosphere to his classes.

In 2005, Petri wrote “Ashtanga Yoga – The Yoga Tradition of K. Pattabhi Jois” in collaboration with K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson, R. Sharath Jois. The book introduces the primary series (1st series) Astanga Yoga “vinyasa” method and philosophy, as well as its potential as a physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual practice. His intermediate series (2nd series) book “Nadi Sodhana” was released in 2008 and is written from the interviews with K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharath Jois from 2006-2007 in Mysore, India. Both books are written as part of Petri’s ongoing pilgrimage into Astanga yoga’s inner word, with a great sense of respect towards the Yoga Tradition.

About
Ashtanga Yoga