Team
SWAMI VISHWESHWARANAND
HEAD OF INSIGHT : MINDFULNESS, MEDITATION, EASTERN WISDOM & SPIRITUALITY
As the Head of Insight at Eclipse, Swami Vishweshwaranand is in charge of conducting all mindfulness & meditation practices. He is an expert in the ancient wisdom of Yoga & the Eastern Traditions & their translation into modern life practices. Born in a Brahmin family of scholars, Swami Vishweshwaranand left his home at the young age of 7 years & started his spiritual journey under the benign guidance of Param Tapaswi Baba Shri Kalyan Das Ji of Amarkantak. On the banks of Narmada he received divine Diksha of Shri Krishna & got the esoteric Vidya of Vedas & Gita in a mystic manner. Â He traversed most of India with his master at a very young age & got versed into various Indian Vedic scriptures. At the age of 10 he was sent to Nainital for his elementary education & later on received his university education from Pune & Varanasi. Due to his deep understanding of life & dedication, the epithet yogi was bestowed upon him in his early days & he then started teaching Dhyan Praveshika – entrance into meditative state, a technique based on the Pranava Naad Sadhna of Udasin tradition. He was also fascinated by the mystical aspects of philosophy & therefore was trained under the mystic Kashmir Shaivite Pt. Kamlakar Mishra of Varanasi. As a result, Swami Vishweshwaranand started teaching at Shri Kalyanika Himalaya Devasthanam & has been a key leader in various institutions of the Matha, nestled in the Himalayas. Known as a natural scholar, the Swami has edited various journals & books; he has played a vital role in structuring ancient texts. He is passionate about seeing people connect with their true self & is driven to put all his energy to support others into thriving in their life’s journey.
DEVADATTA
YOGA
Devadatta comes from Pune, India & started practicing Yoga when he was only 13 years old under the guidance of Chandrakant Pangare the Captain & Coach of the Indian Yoga Team & 8 times International Yoga Gold Medallist. With his natural inclination to the practice, his love & dedication to the yogic path, Devadatta started participating in yoga conferences & competitions by the time he was 14 years old across India & abroad; along the way he won 55 medals out of which 9 in international yogasana competitions, in Korea, Argentina & Indonesia. Devadatta pursued his education on Bachelor in Yogashastra & earned his degree from Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, and formalised his 14 year old teaching experience with his academic qualifications. Devadatta continued his career in Vietnam, where he delivered classes on all styles of Yoga, with emphasis on intermediate & advanced practices, including classes with special focus on the purposeful use of props. At Eclipse Devadatta reveals the depth of his knowledge & experience across different styles that range from Hatha & Alignment all the way to Advanced Flows & Restorative practices. His passion & experience of yoga in its entirety is reflected in the manner he engages with his students, his attention to detail & his ever-positive energy.
Anand
Breathing Techniques
Anand is an E-RYT® 500 Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Teacher, a Meditation facilitator & an expert in Pranayama (Breathing Techniques) & Shatkarma (Yogic Purification Practices).
Anand comes from Jharkhand in Northern India and was drawn to the yogic tradition at an early stage. Progressively he started practicing as a way of life, found passion in the authentic ways of Yoga and inspiration from the effects that the practice had onto his own personal balance. He then onwards decided that it is Yoga and the holistic approach to life that he desired to dedicate his energy towards and embarked on studying his 200-Hour Ashtanga Vinyasa Teacher Training Programme under Yog Namito in Goa, India. He then continued his practice & studies by completing his 300-Hour Multi-Style Course in Dharamshala. His Spiritual Teacher Dev Rishi Giri taught Anand Pranayamas and ancient meditation techniques which he himself had learned by his great Himalayan Master in Gangotri.
Anand has over 11 years of experience as a Yoga Teacher in India and Dubai with a breadth & depth in distinctive styles, ranging from Classic Hatha Yoga to Yoga Alignment, Vinyasa Flow & Advanced Practices, all the way to Restorative ones. He is also into Meditative practices & has robust experience as Lead Teacher and Educator in International Yoga Alliance Teacher Training Programmes in UAE & India.
Esther
Dance & Barre
Born in Marseille, France, Esther moved to Düsseldorf in Germany when she was only 5 years old. From an early age she pursued her passion for dance; her journey began at the age of 10 with African dance, leading her to a tour with an African dance group. Four years later she started dancing samba and by the age of 16, she already started emanating her passion for dance by teaching different styles.
Over the years, Esther’s love for the stage evolved and expanded to Hip Hop New Style and Street Jazz making her a familiar face in German dance schools since 1998. At 29, she ventured into the world of Latin dance, specializing in Ladystyling in Salsa and Bachata Sensual, leaving her mark on studios, galas, and festivals in Germany and France.
At the same time she found her passion in Kizomba Urbankiz and became global. She started teaching at Kizomba Festivals, Congresses and dance schools worldwide! Her influence reached as far as South Africa, Canada, the USA, Singapore, Morocco, Mexico, UAE and many more for over 10 years now!
In 2018, Esther added the flair of Heelsdance to her repertoire, conducting workshops across Germany. Drawing from her diverse experiences, she crafted a unique dance style showcased in her choreographies of Heelsdance, Kizomba, Salsa, and Bachata Lady Styling. Esther is a certified Barre & Mat Pilates teacher; in her classes she mixes dance techniques flexibility and barre workout creating fascinating practices suited for every student!
Antoaneta
Sound Meditation & Yoga
Antoaneta is a dedicated practitioner & teacher of Yoga and Sound Healer. Her knowledge & expertise spans different Yoga styles, including Ashtanga Vinyasa, Hatha, and Yin Yoga.
Antoneta discovered her love for Yoga in her 40s , following a surgery that limited her ability to lift heavy weights. Following recommendations from experts, she was advised to turn to Yoga as a means to strengthen her body. She soon discovered that the asana practice went far beyond physical strength; it encompassed enhanced flexibility, improved balance, and a profound impact on her mental and psychological well-being. Prompted by that realisation, Antoaneta decided to turn her passion into knowledge & get qualified to share with other people the practice that benefited her so much. She first earned her International Yoga Alliance 200- Hour Certification in 2018 from Tattvaa Yogashala & continued her education in Ashtanga Yoga Style via attending various workshops across different geographies with worldwide renowned Teachers, like Laruga Glaser & David and Jelena Robson.
Seeking a holistic approach to integrate the mind, body, and spirit, Antoaneta ventured into the realm of sound healing. Fascinated by the powerful effects of sound on mental health, stress alleviation & sleep improvement, Antoaneta went deeper by undertaking Integral Gong Training in 2018 & becoming a Level 3 certified Sound Therapist. She also earned specialised Tuning Forks Certification to complete her expertise in healing instruments. Her Gong Meditation & Himalayan Bowls sessions have a profound soothing effect & reveal the experiential impact that sound creates on our overall wellbeing & ability to connect with ourselves.
KARTHIK
YOGA
Karthik was born & brought up in Channai, South India, where yoga is practiced in its most authentic forms. Though Karthik started his career as an artist, he soon drifted to the path of yoga motivated by his genuine love for the practice; he spent years under the guidance of 4 different teachers & different styles at different times. Karthik is a firm believer that ‘Knowledge should come from different sources. If it came from the same source, it would become stiff & stale’. He started his training by learning the integral style of yoga from his first teacher for many years, and got the opportunity to practice Ashtanga Yoga under the guidance of Sri Sharath Jois in Mysore & Sri. Ravi and Sri Srimathi in Chennai, India. Karthik not only practices the asana (posture) part of yoga but also pranayama (Breath) and dharana (concentration). He is certified from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Meenakshi Ashram, Madurai. Later on, at the beginning of 2018, he graduated in Advanced Teacher Training certification, learning Vinyasa Krama as taught by the revered Sri. Srivatsa Ramaswami, the more than 30 year student of Sri Krishnamacharya, renowned for the purity of his teaching. Karthik believes that “the strength of a teacher is not in his teaching but in the willingness to be a student himself.” He loves to pass on the knowledge that has gathered along his journey in the path of yoga & continues to be a student at the same time. He is deeply interested in Ayurveda and in his class he integrates the two ancient traditions into one. Faithful to the traditional styles of Yoga, Karthik conducts Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Krama & Ashtanga Led (Primary Series) sessions at Eclipse, inspiring with his style all practitioners to do the extra mile.
PAOLA
YOGA & GYMNASTICS
Paola was born in Italy, where she spent the early years of her life; her inquisitive spirit soon prompted her to leave her birthplace and start travelling in a soul searching journey around the world. A natural wanderer and world explorer, a lover of nature and healthy life, Paola felt that Asia resonated better with her soul. And so she decided to travel around the continent, visiting many countries and faraway places until she settled down in Thailand, the country which conquered her heart. During her three-year stay there, the passion for holistic matters bloomed and prompted her to study and practice Thai Traditional Massage, Foot Reflexology, Reiki and to move into her first steps as a “SADHAKA” (“spiritually adept”). Yoga was the platform that brought her many times to India, where she earned her RYS 200+100 Yoga Alliance Certifcation specializing in Hatha, Vinyasa, Power, Yin Yoga and Aerial Yoga with more than 2,000 hours of teaching. On top of Yoga, Paola is a gymnastics coach, certified by the Italian Gymnastics Federation, a Pilates Mat teacher (certified by the Federazione Italiana Fitness), and a Swing Yoga instructor (certified by Body Fly International Academy). Paola has been living in Dubai for the past 5 years, where she engages in sharing the power of those disciplines – Gymnastics and Yoga – in diverse institutions including schools. Her love for the practices registers with her students with whom she explores a Holistic approach to practice. Her goal is to help people express themselves through the conscious use of their bodies, and to reconnect with their real souls. Her classes at Eclipse bring different elements from all her skills as a trainer, challenging the students to go beyond their natural and mental limitations, with sequences inspired by gymnastics, which test their abilities in strength, balance, flexibility, and coordination. Suited for intermediate to advanced practitioners, Paola’s sessions offer a sense of focus and accomplishment mental & physical, while tantalizing the senses with her choice of sounds and incenses.
GANESH
IYENGAR YOGA
VERONICA
YOGA & Pilates
Veronica, a traveler by nature, was born in Italy, lived in the UK, and landed to Dubai a year ago. Being a dancer since her childhood years, she fell in love with dynamic movement early on in life. She continued her practice alongside her academics in Communication Science & International Relations in Milan. Progressively Veronica developed a profound interest in spiritual matters & holistic treatments that led her to become firstly a Reiki Practitioner, then a Reflexologist, and further down the line a Pilates and Yoga teacher. These explorations & studies brought her personal growth to the next level, and sparkled the desire within her to share this passion with other people. Fascinated by the clarity and lightness of Pilates as a practice, which helped her discover the strength and potential in her body, she cultivated a deep appreciation for mindful movement and eagerly began her teacher training through STOTT Pilates in London, followed by a Pre-Post Natal qualification and her 200 Hours Yoga Teacher Training. Veronica aims to spread the wealth of knowledge that Pilates & other mindful practices can offer in an upbeat and personal atmosphere, and help her students be more present & conscious of the powerful connection between body and mind, not just during the practice, but also during their daily life. Warmly welcoming people from all walks of life, at all stages of their journey, her classes are focused on hands on assisting, adjustment, conscious breathing and attention to details. She strongly believes that this versatile practice can transform any aspect of our life, as it has done so for her own.
