Andreas Economou leads improvisation-based movement sessions in Pervolia

Pervolia, Cyprus. Movement coach Andreas Economou holds regular Sunday movement sessions at the playground next to Theta Mediterranean in Pervolia, using an improvisation-led approach shaped by his training and personal practice.

Outdoor movement practice

Economou’s sessions take place in an outdoor playground near the seafront. Participants are encouraged to explore movement instinctively, while receiving guidance intended to provide structure and safety.

He said the flow of each practice depends on the people present and on the knowledge he has gained over years of study and practice. His instructions are limited, with the sessions placing emphasis on fluid movement and improvisation.

Training and experience abroad

Economou studied sports science in the United Kingdom and Russia before moving to Hong Kong, where he worked as a personal trainer at a boutique studio.

He said that while working with wealthy clients in Hong Kong, he began questioning whether material abundance brought fulfilment. During this period, he started practising capoeira, contemporary dance, tai chi, qigong and asanas.

After Hong Kong, he moved to India to study asanas in greater depth. He said the work of Eckhart Tolle and Sadhguru influenced his approach to awareness, energy and tantra techniques.

Movement and awareness

Economou said he sees movement as a way of recognising physical weaknesses and blind spots, which he believes can also reflect patterns of the mind.

“When we seek the weaknesses in our body, we seek the blind spots of our body,” he said. “And through seeking them physically, we realise that the mind is also, in a way, a reflection.”

He said traditional asanas were developed in a different social context and that people whose lives are governed by rules and structure may benefit from less linear and more unexpected movement.

Combining different disciplines

Economou also teaches alignment, which he studied in India with Usha Devi, a direct disciple of Iyengar. He said alignment practice gave him further knowledge of stillness and the body.

His current approach combines contemporary dance, yoga, tai chi and qigong. He said the practice focuses on awareness and on relationships between the mind, breath, body and muscles.