Itzhak Helman

Itzhak was born in 1970 in Israel. In 1992 he visited India and Thailand where he started to be interested in knowing more about Eastern Philosophy including the practice of Yoga and meditation.

After a long journey in India, Thailand and Japan, Itzhak returned to Israel where he found himself working as a carer in an institute for adults with special needs.

This encounter with the human soul made him want to develop more contact with people through healing.

In 1995 he decided to deepen his studies in the Art of Healing and he took a course in Reiki 1 & 2 with Avigail More, an Israeli Master.

In 1996 he visited India, this time in the region of Ladhak where he experienced his first 10 day Vipassana meditation held in a Tibetan monastery. In 1997 he did his second long (30 days) Vipassana retreat with Asokananda, who is well known as the founder of the Sun Shine Network in Thailand.

The meeting with Asokananda encouraged Itzhak to study further with him and in the same year he participated as his student in one of his Thai yoga massage courses held in Chiangmai, Thailand.

From that point the ball started rolling and Itzhak’s experience in Thai Yoga massage includes: learning with other masters like Piched and Chaiyuth, and participating in a large number of courses as a student / assistant.

At the end of 1997 Itzhak made his way to the East of Thailand and was ordained as a short-term monk. There he was asked by many of the monks to practice his art of massage on them.

After a month he accepted an invitation from Asokananda to establish the Sunshine house in Calcutta where he taught yoga and gave massage. In 1998 he went back to Thailand and stayed for 6 months in Asokananda’s ashram where he deepened his studies.

From 1999 Itzhak was authorized by Asokananda to teach Thai yoga massage on a regular basis at the Sunshine network in Chiangmai Thailand. Since then Itzhak has taught more than 200 courses, both for beginners and advanced practitioners.

In 2001 Quiet healing centre in Auroville, India, invited Itzhak to give a course for therapists at the Quiet healing centre. The experience in Quiet together with the strong connection to Auroville made him decide to make Auroville a home for 4 years (2001 to 2005). During those years, in addition to teaching at the Sunshine Network, Thailand, Itzhak has trained many students in Auroville as well as continuing to work as a practitioner.

These days (2010) Itzhak is teaching Thai Yoga Massage around the world including places like: India, Thailand, Egypt, Mexico, Spain, Costa Rica, Sweden, Germany, England, Greece, Switzerland and Israel.

Bebe Merino

Bebe Merino was born in Madrid, Spain in 1973, and has a background as a classical and modern dancer. She started her career as a physical therapist in London, England in 2000; and has obtained certificates and diplomas in Reflexology, Hipnotheraphy, Acupressure, Reiki , Indian Head Massage…. Additionally, she is a yoga instructor certified by the Sivananda Yoga Ashram  in Kerala, India.

She began her studies in the art of Traditional Thai Massage on her first trip to Thailand in 2001, and since then, it has been the focus of her work and studies ever since. In the years since she has travelled to Chiang Mai, to the north of Thailand, and continues her studies with different teachers and masters of thai massage, such as Pistchet, Itzhak Helman, Arnaud and others teachers.

These days her main activities are teaching yoga, vipassana meditation and thai massage in various parts of the world.