My (shared) practice
Here's a revised version that more explicitly introduces ritual, presence, embodied awareness and your choreographic background:
My yoga shared practice is deeply informed by my background as a contemporary dancer, choreographer and curator, as well as by artistic research rooted in breath, rhythm, repetition and embodied presence. It is primarily intended for practitioners with experience in movement who use the body as a vehicle for connection, awareness and transcendence—whatever that may mean for each individual. The class follows the structure of a traditional Hatha Yoga practice, including Mantra, Kriyā (purifications), Āsana (physical postures), Yoga Nidrā (relaxation), Prāṇāyāma (breath work) and Meditation, always in dialogue with the realities of the present moment.
Each class carries specific focuses and intentions—alignment, particular body areas, energetic pathways or qualities of breath. I often incorporate imagery and knowledge from other disciplines such as somatic practices, artistic research and astrology to deepen the understanding of each posture. For me, the āsana is not only a shape but also a state: a container of intensity, breath, movement, stillness, internal locks, tempo and attention. The practice unfolds as a contemporary ritual of presence, where repetition becomes a way of listening, and where the body is approached not as an object to be improved, but as a living site of perception, relation and transformation.
This is not only a physical practice, although it is fully embodied. It is also a way of bringing yoga into daily life, trusting that repetition creates the conditions for revelation and that technique exists to organise energy, perception and presence. Influenced by principles of Advaita Tantra, the practice recognises the body not as an obstacle but as a sacred instrument of consciousness, where the material and the spiritual are not separate, and where awareness is cultivated through sensation, attention and lived experience. Through breath, movement and stillness, the practice invites a deeper inhabitation of the body as a ritual space—both intimate and collective—through which we may encounter ourselves, others and that which exceeds us. The body becomes a microcosmic vehicle of alignment with the macrocosmos: we enter the body more fully in order to experience what lies beyond it.


Certified Yoga Teacher – 200H (Yoga Alliance International) by Casa da Alma, Porto - 2020-2021 (1 year)
Extensive Education at Casa Ganapati, Porto - 2022 - 2024 (2 years)
The development of Cristina Planas Leitão’s practice arises from her previous experience as a performer and from a long-term engagement with embodied, philosophical and contemplative studies. Her research includes Hatha Yoga, Advaita Vedanta and later Advaita Tantra, studied with teachers such as Harmony Hannigan, Miguel Homem, Ana Sereno, Tomas Zorzo, Cláudia Villadelprat, Simão Monteiro and Jorge Saraiva. She has also studied Katonah Yoga with Dages Juvelier Keates and with Katonah Yoga teachers internationally, integrating its symbolic, architectural and energetic approaches into her wider practice. Her interest in symbolic systems and embodiment further extends to astrology, having studied Astrology and Embodiment with Renée Sills and, since 2018, Vedic Astrology with Rita Diamond Casais. These diverse fields of knowledge inform a contemporary practice where movement, perception, ritual and critical inquiry intersect.