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| Teaching Yoga Classes that Flow for Mixed Levels A yoga class that uses the technique of vinyasa (flowing from one posture to the next by linking the breath to the movements) can be particularly powerful for students who wish to integrate many of the practices of yoga, such as asana (posture), pranayama (energy and breath work), and dharana (concentration). However, many students of yoga today practice in classes with mixed levels. In one class, there may be beginners along with students who are experienced, and there will be diverse levels of physical fitness and varying abilities to focus. The same exact sequence is not necessarily best for all those students. How can we incorporate individual modifications and safe alignment into a meditative and graceful flow of postures? How do we balance the types of postures practiced and bring equanimity to the breath? How do we encourage inner awareness during movement rather than focusing attention on the people and objects around us? We will practice together and we will discuss the principles of sequencing, pacing, and cueing that build a class with both challenge and ease for a wide range of students. Sunday, Oct 8, 2006, 9:45am-1:00pm, University of Cincinnati Campus Recreation Center |
| Wake Up Your Practice A Jivamukti Workshop with Elizabeth Silas at It's Yoga in Cincinnati January 25 and 26, 2008 Friday evening, January 25, 6:00pm - 9:00pm Know Your Options and Form Your Intention Unveil and refine your own unique breath, movement, and intention in vinyasa. Put them to work for you and lose yourself in them. Discover your intention in each practice: Is it physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual? Is it therapeutic? interpersonal? Which postures and movements will best support your intention for that day? Learn your options for vinyasa movements and frequently-practiced postures so that you can adapt your practice--even in a led class--to what your needs and intentions are in this present moment, rather than relying upon what someone else tells you today or always doing what you did yesterday. Seek out the edge of your practice in this moment, where you can put forth effort to change and simultaneously let go to how things are. In this session, we'll first focus on exploring these elements, asking questions, discussing alignment, and trying out many of the various options of breath, posture, and intention that you can use in any practice. (Bring your questions and current practice 'issues.') Then we'll put it all into action in a Jivamukti vinyasa class: a sequence of postures linked by the breath that you will be able to adapt to your intention, complete with musical soundtrack, chanting, scripture, and meditation practices. Saturday morning, January 26, 11:00am - 1:30pm Free Your Pelvis and Unbind Your Heart Explore multiple ways of opening the hips, releasing all of the major muscle and connective tissue areas that restrict your pelvic range of motion. Find mobility in the outer, inner, front, and back pelvis and its relationship to the spine and legs. This intense hip opening will be alternated with opening the chest, shoulders, and upper back. This will be a slow-paced session that can be practiced gently or with more intensity, depending upon your needs. To move gently, you can focus on the yin methods offered-Taoist and restorative postures. To work more intensely you can use the yang methods offered in the muscular effort-and-release of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). All levels welcome. Saturday afternoon, January 26, 3:00pm - 6:00pm Let Go of Your Inversion Habits Maybe your habit is avoiding inversions...or maybe it's doing them a lot, but using the stronger areas of your body to prop up the rest of it. We all have habitual ways of moving and holding the body and breath (and mind!). In this session, we'll move from unconscious habits to conscious muscular, respiratory, and mental efforts in specific areas that are weak, numb, or unnoticed. When you put in the work of becoming aware of what you've always done and changing it, that effort will eventually transform into a profound release--an ability to let go, both in inversions and in everyday life. Basic to advanced variations will be offered. This session will follow the format of Friday evening: we'll first focus on exploring the core work and optimal alignment of inversions, and we'll try out various options. Then we'll put it all into action in an intense Jivamukti vinyasa class: a sequence of inverted and other postures linked by the breath and intention, musical soundtrack, chanting, scripture, and meditation practices. Some acquaintance with inversions recommended. The cost for all three sessions is $100 if preregistered by January 15; $120 thereafter. Contact the studio at 513.961.9642 for individual session pricing. They're located at 346 Ludlow Ave. (upstairs), Cincinnati, OH 45220, and they're on the web at www.yogagarage.com. |
| If you are interested in attending or hosting a specific workshop in the future, let me know by clicking here. If you attended a recent workshop and are looking for notes on what we did together, click here. |
| Change Your Perspective: Inversions and Backbends We will explore safe ways to build awareness and confidence in upside-down postures and backbends.
Power Yoga classes. Sunday, July 16, 2006, 1:15-3:15 pm Miami University Recreational Sports Center |
Come explore the method developed by Sharon Gannon and David Life: an integration of yoga traditions and modern life in the Jivamukti method. We willl begin with the basic principles of the method, and then engage in a vigorously physical and intellectually stimulating practice. Each Jivamukti class focuses on a theme, which is supported by challenging, flowing sequences of postures, teachings from ancient and modern yogic texts, inspiring music, yogic breathing practices, and meditation. Previous yoga experience is recommended; this workshop will include a physically demanding sequence of forward bends, backward bends, twists, and inversions. There will be time for questions as we close. Tuesday, June 13, 2006, 6:00pm-8:00 pm yoga hOMe |
| Breathe Easy: Breathing and Meditation Breathing exercises develop the mental focus necessary for meditation, and they provide a multitude of physical benefits, as well. When you balance the flow of air as you breathe, you can begin to calm the nervous system. As you become calm, your awareness of the body, breath, and mind can expand. We will explore pranayama (breathing practices), dharana (concentration practices), and dhyana (meditation practices). You’ll leave with a handout of techniques you can incorporate into your own practice and use while taking classes. Sunday, June 11, 2006, 1:15-3:15 pm Miami University Recreational Sports Center |
Tight hips? This one-day workshop will explore postures that release tension from all the areas around the pelvis, using both yin and yang approaches. The yang approach involves actively positioning the body in a stretch, resisting that position with muscular effort, and then releasing that effort. The yin approach includes supporting the body with props so it can relax fully into a position. These kinds of postures can allow long-held tension to release slowly, gradually, from areas that are often most resistant to stretching. As we hold postures, we will explore the stories and metaphors of yoga that are related to this very kind of “holding on” to tension. We will focus on:
We’ll complement this lower-body work with chest and shoulder openers. This workshop will provide you with new ways to work these postures in classes, new postures to practice on your own, and safety points for the knees and ankles when stretching the hip area. Sunday, June 4, 2006, 1:15-3:15 pm, Miami University Recreational Sports Center |
Past Yoga Workshops
| Yoga for Beginners workshop is for those who want an opportunity to slowly explore the fundamentals of yoga and body awareness. Wear clothes that allow you to move freely. No prior yoga experience is needed. This class is suitable for all fitness levels and is especially designed for those who want a gradual and gentle introduction to yoga. Thursdays, 8-9pm, January 18 to March 8, 2007 University of Cincinnati Campus Recreation Center, Room C |
| Sunday, February 24, 2008 at Gratitude in Motion Jivamukti Led Practice (Mixed-Level Vinyasa) 10:30 am – 12:30 pm Something for Everyone: How to Sequence Vinyasa Classes for Students of Mixed Levels 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Habits of Movement, Habits of Mind: The Art of Adjusting Students |
| Yoga & Pilates for Mothers Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1pm-3pm The postpartum body has gone through immense structural and hormonal changes over nine months, and even more in the hours of delivery and the immediate postpartum weeks. Add to those changes the strain of lifting heavy car seats, strapping on front carriers and slings, nursing around the clock, falling asleep in the rocking chair. . . . That’s why new mothers’ bodies need specific, targeted movements to gently regain core strength, good posture, and full functional movement. Even if your baby’s not such a baby anymore, you can unlearn the physical habits that throw off your alignment and cause pain, fatigue, and stress. In this workshop, you’ll learn safe, easy ways to rebuild strength in the core and other key areas. We’ll discuss special issues associated with the postpartum body, including abdominal separation, pelvic floor weakness, and common aches and pains in the back, shoulders, and neck. We’ll end with simple relaxation and meditation to use throughout your day. $35 Call Practice Yoga in Dayton at 937.321.7676 to register. |
| at Gratitude in Motion Jivamukti Led Practice (Mixed-Level Vinyasa) 9:00 am – 10:30 am Jivamukti Yoga was created by David Life and Sharon Gannon in 1984. It is a vigorously physical and intellectually stimulating practice leading to spiritual awareness. Each class focuses on a theme, which is supported by Sanskrit chanting, readings, references to scriptural texts, music, spoken word, asana sequencing and yogic breathing practices. Taking Your Adjustments to the Next Level: The Art of Adjusting Students 10:30am – 1:00 pm Have you ever heard students refer to physical adjustments as "corrections," assuming they've done something "wrong" that needs to be fixed? Yet their bodies are not broken, and adjustments are not just opportunities to guide them into safe alignment. In this workshop, we'll explore adjustments as methods to wake up students to new ways of moving their bodies and minds. We all have habits--some we're aware of, some we're not--and sometimes hearing a teacher tell us about an alternative to those habits is not enough. We need to feel that alternative kinesthetically in order to wake up to its possibilities; and a skillful adjustment can do that! Come expand your attitude about what a physical adjustment can be and explore specific new ones. We’ll expand upon your foundation of adjustments for beginner, intermediate, and advanced postures, and we’ll cover techniques from physical therapy as well as traditional yogic methods. Come try these out on fellow teachers and add them to your repertoire! $70; $20 led practice only, if space is available For more information or to register, contact: www.gratitudeinmotion.com | info@gratitudeinmotion.com | 888-899-9642 |