Once or twice a month we offer a Sunday morning workshops
of
3 hours, from 10.00 till 13.00, giving the opportunity to deepen your yoga practice. The following Sunday workshop 'River of Life - the Fluid Body' is on 19 Febuary.
For students with some experience. Some Sundays are also open to beginners.
Space is limited, please contact us beforehand to ensure your booking.
Autumn 2011 to Summer 2012:
Core Support 6 November |
The object of this workshop is to experience what it means to find ‘Core Support’: through movement, in a coordinated response to ground & space, as an expression of embodiment & strength. Essentially the core is activated by the way we meet the world and in the majority of back pain, core support is missing or does not engage in time. The Core has been described in terms of muscles and yet it’s something greater than the sum of the parts. It’s a sign of integrity in the body, and is expressed in resilience, responsiveness, effortlessness and even grace. The perfect combination of stability and mobility is achieved through core support. This primitive action is at the base of every yoga posture and many movements we make in everyday life. It gives support & meaning to our expression and can enable us to be more responsive and less reactive. This workshop can be taken together with ‘Sitting - The Key to Ease in Sitting ’ to further expand its application and understanding and is also complete on its own. |
Breath of Life - Breathing 27 November |
Pranayama is the study of breathing in yoga. Prana means breath of life, respiration, vitality, vigor, energy, power & spirit. According to old yoga texts, everything is based on prana. The movement of the breath throughout the body helps to rejuvenate and nourish us. For example, the possibility that the spine is moved by the breath supports fluid movement & the nourishing of this vital center. The breath is also as intimately linked to the voice as it is to posture. Awareness of the breath is one of our most valuable tools in discovering much of our potential and is a key to the depth of most yoga postures. For many yoga practitioners approaching breathing indirectly can be particularly effective, that means we will explore what supports the full capacity to breathe with ease. |
Meditation 29 January 2012 |
Traditionally, the goal of yoga is ‘to slow down and calm the movements of the mind’.…so we can realize who we really are. We will practice yoga postures to create space, ease and alertness in the body as a preparation for sitting meditation. Using simple meditation techniques, mostly from Tibetan Buddhism, we will practice down to earth skills, such as being present and developing an attitude of friendliness toward oneself.
|
River of Life - 19 February |
We are mostly fluid and this fact contributes greatly to a fluid quality of movement, ease & grace. Many things including stress and a lack of movement can contribute to a loss of this quality. The fluids provide lubrication for the joints to move more easily and, since they are one of the most extensive information carriers of the body, they provide support for the nervous system. The ‘mercurial’ quality of mind is an expression of the embodiment of the fluids. The fluids support our capacity to respond appropriately in the moment, to change gear or direction in an instant – and so, essentially to refresh moment by moment our impression of the world, to update our image. We will explore how getting in touch with our fluids can help to free up habitual movements, de-stress, enliven yoga postures, support the breath and the movement of ‘prana’, support movement sequencing through body, rejuvenate and most of all, be a lot of fun. |
Awakening 18 March |
The Psoas is a deep core muscles which runs from both sides of our spine, at the height of the lower back, all the way down through the pelvis to the legs – simply speaking, it directly connects our upper body with our legs. A well functioning Psoas supports upright posture and, at the same time, allows the legs to move freely. Being located so deep at the very core of our body, the Psoas could be said to be an instinctive muscle since it responds to the ‘fight-flight’ mechanism; that means the muscle might contract and shorten when fear is experienced and release and lengthen with trust. Working with the Psoas muscle, one of the things you may discover can be a sense of lightness through the body, ease of movement and a comfortable, spacious feeling through the core and around the hip joints. |
The Key to 22 April |
The purpose of this workshop is to become familiar with a neutral sitting position where the pelvis is free. If we sit in a way where the body is not clearly relating to ground & space, postural muscles are not activated and movement muscles try to do their job. The movement muscles are not designed to work 24 hours a day and so get tired, they also give a message to the nervous system that we are bracing in anticipation of some event, this can be exhausting for the muscles as well as the nervous system. Finding a neutral sitting position where we experience a rebound from gravity can support ease of movement, stability & mobility and easy breathing. This provides a peaceful ground, from which we can move, relate to others and is traditionally the base for all Meditation practices. This workshop can be taken together with ‘Core Support’ to further expand its application and understanding and is also complete on its own. |
The Feet - 13 May |
Feet stimulate our body’s ability to stand & sit upright with ease, when the feet are not functioning properly this has a huge impact on the rest of the body. We will awaken the inner activity of the feet which can often improve knee, hip, lower back and may other complaints even as far away as the neck. There are not many ‘local‘ parts of the body that can have such a ‘global’ influence. Feet are like a dynamic that when missing gravity becomes a mystery and our core elusive. |
The Pelvic Floor Sandra |
The pelvic floor is one of the most intimate parts of our body and yet it can be surprisingly foreign territory for many. The natural functioning of the pelvic floor is essential for stability of the pelvis (including the Sacro-Iliac joint) and lower back, proper functioning of the organs of the pelvis including the bladder and urine control. It plays an essential part in the ease of upright posture in sitting, walking, standing, in many movements and supports carrying. Many people can be locked in a pattern of use, such as a tucked under pelvis or tight anus, which inhibits a natural functioning of the pelvic floor. The way we use the feet and perception is nature’s way to engage the pelvic floor, this is like switching on our natural ‘core support’. In yoga we call this Mula Bandha although it is often misinterpreted and over contrived. Simply becoming more clear about this part of the body can have a far reaching influence on the body and psyche. |
| Suggestions for forthcoming Sunday themes are welcome. | |
