Ana Forrest & Jose Calarco
CREATRIX OF FORREST YOGA
Ana Forrest is an inspiration and has been changing people’s lives for over 45 years. She is an internationally-recognized pioneer in yoga and emotional healing. She is the Creatrix of Forrest Yoga, a mystic, visionary, philanthropist, author, and Medicine Woman. Ana crafted Forrest Yoga while working through healing from her own life’s traumas – abuse and addictions, the feeling of helplessness around the addictions, and the ongoing suffering from chronic injuries & illnesses. The process of healing herself inspired her to teach others to heal themselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Forrest Yoga is a powerfully physical, internally focused practice that emphasizes the integration of transformative experiences from the mat into purposeful daily life.
Ana’s Story
Ana took her first yoga class at age 14 and became a certified instructor in 1975. Ana used yoga and Native American ceremony to save her own life. It is her intent to pass that lifesaving ability forward. Her study and clinical application of healing modalities is vast, and includes homeopathy, naturopathy, anatomy, reflexology, acupressure, craniosacral treatments, regression therapy, reiki, polarity and hands on healing. All these inform her work and make her a wise, intuitive teacher & healer. In her life-long love for evolving, Ana has journeyed into Indigenous Sacred ceremonies, like Sweat Lodge, Pipe Ceremony, Vision Quest, and Sundance. Ana has now taught and toured in over 33 countries.
Ana is at heart a woman of the wilderness. She has spent many years in the mountains and forests learning from the animals, trees, rocks, water, and the seasons. Prior to becoming a yoga teacher, Ana spent her early years training horses, dogs, cats, birds, and the occasional snake. She brings her deep understanding of the animal kingdom to her teaching with humans
Dedication to Global Healing
Ana and Jose have a saying: “Authenticity in Spirituality can be gauged by our conduct in everyday life”. With their dedication to global healing, the couple co-creates a magical and safe arena for transformation. To learn from Ana & Jose means to dive into a transformational treasure chest. They teach throughout the year around the world. Discover the sacred potency of JoseAna’s life’s work at a Forrest Yoga event near you.
CEREMONY LEADER / MEDICINE MAN
Jose Calarco is Ana’s co-director of Forrest Yoga. Jose comes from a long history of shamanism, the arts, music and healing, bringing his decades of experience as an artistic prodigy to Forrest Yoga. Jose is also Director of the legendary Australian Indigenous company Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance
Theatre www.descendance.com.au. Descendance won the UNESCO (United Nations) competition as the world’s best Indigenous live show in a field of over 70 countries.
Jose’s Story
Jose Calarco is a bridge to the spirit world. As Ceremonial Leader for Forrest Yoga and co – teacher with Ana Forrest, he creates and teaches ceremonies, tells creation stories from the traditions of the First Peoples of Australia and other shamanic traditions and weaves these into the yoga practice. Jose brings his passion, playfulness and heartfelt respect for the ceremonial traditions of the First Peoples to every Forrest Yoga event. A musician and songwriter, Jose uses the language of music to convey messages of the spirit for which there are no words. Jose’s music invites students to attune to the cosmic vibrations all around us, which helps us realize that we are that vibration: Jose’s music is an invitation into the feeling of coming home.
Jose’s experience as a faith healer and Medicine Man spans over 30 years. He has collaborated with Indigenous wisdom keepers like Medicine Woman and Australian cultural treasure Kathy Marika of the Yirrikala People of central Northern Australia, and he co-created Descendance Aboriginal with Indigenous elder and Song Woman Imelda Willis of the Yidinji and Kandju tribes. Imelda is Jose’s Spiritual Mother, and was a rare woman who had been fully initiated. She adopted him as an equal into her tribes in Far Northern Australia, sharing knowledge and hope with each other and with the world. Jose’s extensive travels with Descendance to over 40 countries has guided him to participate in a multitude of Indigenous ceremonies with a vast array of different cultures from around the world.
