Yoga Therapy Workshop

Friday Evening: Therapeutic Insights into the Bandhas — This asana practice will include some lecture, demonstration and pauses for insight into the anatomy of the bandhas — the essential core actions in yoga poses — which provide the most fundamental therapeutic benefits in yoga. This will give us deeper insight into how and when to use the bandhas properly, and to the greatest therapeutic benefit in a straightforward yoga practice. The sequence of poses we’ll practice will include insights into therapy for the hips, sacrum and lower back, as well as for the neck and shoulders. Some intermediate poses will be thrown in for fun, and we’ll finish with applications in a seated pranayama practice. 2½ hours.

Saturday morning: Lower Body Therapy Training - An in-depth look at specific muscles of the sutras in the lower body, having to do with therapeutic problems in the low back, sacrum, hips and knees. This will be a combination of active practice and insights into fundamental structural therapeutic problems in the lower body — the function of key muscles that play a role in these problems, and specific stretches or modifications of asanas for targeting these muscles. As a part of the practice, we will go through series of asanas for working productively with these problems. 3 Hours.

Saturday afternoon: 'Rasa Sadhana' - Watching Your Emotional 'diet' — A talk and meditation practice covering the role of the 'Rasas' or Emotions in Yoga and Yoga Therapy; the nature of emotion, its relationship to your own individual constitution, recognizing and understanding the factors that influence your emotional state, and how you can incorporate this awareness into your practice for a deeper and more fulfilling experience of yoga. Therapeutic issues related to the emotions will be touched upon. We‘ll end with some stretches and a guided pranayama and meditation practice, incorporating the techniques of ‘Swara Yoga’ covered in the talk. 2 hours.

Sunday Morning: Advanced Therapy Training An in-depth look at specific muscles of the sutras in the upper body, having to do with therapeutic problems in the upper back, shoulders and neck. This will be a combination of active practice and insights, with special in-depth focus on shoulder assessment and problems related to the rotator cuffs. Specic stretches for the shoulders, as well as applications in the full range of asanas, including inversions and preparations for inversions. 3 hours

Full Weekend: $180