Yoga and Meditation at Your Venue

Ergin Ündeğer, RYT 500

I have been a yoga and meditation teacher for thirteen years. I studied yoga therapy at S-VYASA University in India, and in the last six months of the program I worked with patients at the university's hospital.

I ran my own studio in Istanbul for eight years, and I teach in studios, on retreats and in organizations. I teach five practices that I have developed over the years, drawing on different schools of yoga and meditation.

I can hold group classes, events and talks at your venue.

You can find more detailed information about me, and my CV, below.

What I Can Offer You

Regular Classes and Sessions

Group Classes

You choose from the five practices, Dynamic Flow Yoga, Deep Stretch Yoga, Meditation, Yogic Breathwork and Dream Yoga, and I teach them as group classes, weekly or at whatever intervals you prefer.

You can find a detailed description of these practices below.

Events

Yoga Workshop

This is mostly practice. I choose a theme and select the practices to fit it. It lasts an hour and a half or two hours, as you prefer. Depending on the theme, participants need a yoga mat or a meditation cushion.

Talk and Practice Workshop

This is mostly talk, supported by practices I choose for the topic. It lasts an hour and a half, and participants need a chair or a meditation cushion.

Talk

It does not include any practice. For an hour, I talk about a topic and answer questions.

Below you can find sample topics for events and talks, such as mindfulness, healthy living and yoga philosophy.

Instruction can be in Turkish only, in English only, or in both languages in the same class. Dream Yoga is instructed in one language only, chosen to suit the group.

We can decide together which of these to do, when, and how often.

Get in touch

The Practices

Drawing on different schools of yoga and meditation, I have developed five connected practices. I tested each one in my classes until it reached its present form, so each one is a complete practice with its own name. Dynamic Flow Yoga energizes and strengthens, and Deep Stretch Yoga relieves chronic tension. Meditation focuses attention and calms the mind, Yogic Breathwork teaches participants how to stay calm under pressure, and Dream Yoga gives deep rest. In every session I choose the practices according to your request and the time available, and I explain to participants what we do and why.

Dynamic Flow Yoga | AWAKEN

This is a dynamic flow yoga practice I have developed over the years to build energy and strength. Strength poses, core and back work, and stretches are linked to the breath. The poses are ordered according to movement science, and each one prepares the body for the next. The one-hour session ends with relaxation and meditation. With regular practice, strength and range of motion increase and posture improves. It is suitable for all levels. It is based on hatha and vinyasa.

Deep Stretch Yoga | RELEASE

This is a deep stretch yoga practice I have developed over the years to relieve chronic tension. Participants stay in the poses for a long time, and gravity slowly releases tension in the neck, shoulders, upper back, lower back and hips. The one-hour session ends with relaxation and meditation. With regular practice, flexibility increases and the nervous system learns to relax again. It is suitable for all levels. It is based on yin and restorative yoga.

Meditation | SETTLE

This is a meditation practice I have developed over the years to strengthen focus and to teach participants to stay calm when emotions come up. Participants bring their attention to the body and notice, with curiosity, the sensations that appear. When they notice they have drifted into thoughts, they come back to the body. When participants meet these sensations with compassion, the sensations calm down. With regular practice, awareness grows stronger and self-compassion develops, and even if a participant gets caught up in an emotion, the feeling does not last long. It is based on mindfulness and vipassana. It can be done sitting or lying down.

Yogic Breathwork | TUNE

This is a yogic breathwork practice I have developed over the years to teach participants to stay calm under pressure. Participants use techniques that slow the breath, deepen it and change its rhythm, and as the breath calms, the nerves calm too. With regular practice, breathing capacity increases, and reactions to pressure become both less frequent and milder. It is practiced sitting or lying down. It is based on pranayama.

Dream Yoga | DREAM

This is a dream yoga practice I have developed over the years for deep rest. Participants lie on the floor and listen to me as I guide their attention through the body, part by part, until they reach the point between sleep and waking. There they stay awake and consciously go down into a deep relaxation that ordinary sleep does not reach. With regular practice, sleep quality improves and chronic tiredness goes away. No meditation experience is needed. It is based on yoga nidra.

Sample Topics

Mindfulness

Focusing attention
Making peace with emotions, and self-compassion

Healthy Living

Sleep and deep rest
Neck, shoulder and lower back tension
Mindful eating
A healthy daily routine
Healthy aging

Yoga Philosophy

Chakras and the subtle body
The five elements of nature

About Me

I have been a yoga and meditation teacher for thirteen years. I studied yoga therapy at S-VYASA University in India, and I spent the last six months of the year-and-a-half postgraduate program working with patients at the university's hospital, under the supervision of doctors. After that, I practiced meditation for five months in monasteries and retreat centers in Nepal. I received my Yoga Alliance RYT 500 certification in Thailand.

I ran Kaivalya Yoga Studio in Istanbul for eight years and was its lead teacher. I have lived for a time in India, Nepal, Thailand and Bali, and in these world centers of yoga and meditation I saw for myself what international participants expect from a class and from a program. I have organized more than thirty yoga and meditation retreats in Türkiye, Thailand and Bali.

I have also worked with organizations for years. I taught regular yoga classes at many companies in different sectors, at Bilfen High School in Istanbul and at Optimum Tennis Academy, adapting all my practices to the needs of each organization. With employees I worked on productivity and stress management, with students on exam anxiety, and with tennis players on range of motion and mental training. I now live in Cyprus, where I teach in person, and I also work online with my international students.

Over these years I have worked with hundreds of people from many countries, whose physical condition varied widely. That is why I can comfortably teach people of different levels in the same class. I offer an easier option for every pose, I pay attention to each person, and each participant decides how much to do. Instruction in my classes is in Turkish and English.

In everything I teach, I try to connect Western exercise science and psychology with the Asian tradition of yoga and meditation.

Credentials

EXPERIENCE

2014

Hospital work

Arogyadhama, Bengaluru, India

Six months at Arogyadhama, S-VYASA's holistic medicine hospital with 600 beds. He worked as a yoga therapist in every department of the hospital, under the supervision of doctors and senior therapists. The departments were neurology, oncology, cardiology, pulmonology, psychiatry, rheumatology, spine, diabetes and metabolic disorders, gastroenterology, endocrinology and obesity, and Positive Health.

2015–2023

Kaivalya Yoga Studio, Istanbul

He ran the studio full time and was its lead teacher.

2015–present

Retreats

He has organized and led more than thirty yoga and meditation retreats in Türkiye, Thailand and Bali, each two to eight days long.

2015–present

Corporate work

He has taught regular yoga classes at companies in a range of industries, at Bilfen High School in Istanbul and at Optimum Tennis Academy, each program adapted to the institution's needs. With employees the focus was productivity and stress management, with students exam anxiety, and with tennis players range of motion and mental training.

2013–present

Private sessions

He has given one-to-one yoga and meditation sessions to people with personal goals, and to people with specific health conditions, following the recommendations of their doctors and therapists.

2020–present

Online Studio

He has run the Online Studio, an international community of students practicing in live classes.

EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS

2013–2014

Post-Graduate Diploma in Yoga Therapy

S-VYASA University, India

A postgraduate program lasting a year and a half, at a university where yoga therapy is taught as an academic subject. The curriculum covered anatomy and physiology, yoga psychology, common health conditions and the classical yoga texts. He completed his clinical training at Arogyadhama hospital.

2023

RYT 500, Yoga Alliance

Samma Karuna, Koh Phangan, Thailand

Qualified to teach the anatomy, philosophy and sequencing modules in teacher trainings.

2013

350-hour teacher training

S-VYASA University, India

2020–2022

Foundation of Buddhist Thought

with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Tashi Tsering

ongoing

Mindfulness Mentor Training

with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach

TRADITIONAL TRAINING

2014

Kopan Monastery, Nepal

Tibetan Buddhist studies and meditation retreat

2015

Panditarama Meditation Center, Nepal

Vipassana meditation retreat