SURYA NAMASKAR (18:00-20:00)

Surya Namaskar means Salutation to the Sun. In the context of yoga, the Sun is not only the celestial body that gives us warmth and daylight, but the solar center of the subtle body, where our vital forces converge. In Surya Namaskar, we are propitiating to these forces, inviting them to rise up through the central axis of the body, burn away our delusions and give us insight. In this session, we explore the internal mechanics of Surya Namaskar, learning to practice this sequence with greater presence, precision and fluidity. Open to practitioners of all levels.

VINYASA (8:00-10:00)

This vinyasa class will focus on the integration of prana and apana, the two patterns of breath that we explored on Friday night.  The idea is to establish a steady and rhythmic flow of breath that lifts the energy from the ground up, leaving us feeling exhilarated and refreshed.  This will be a dynamic practice, full of challenges, but open to all. We will do this practice together, breathing together, and focusing together, as one living organism.

PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION (10:00-11:00)

Pranayama is the practice of giving space to the breath, and contemplating the energy that gives us life. This session will teach you a simple but potent pranayama sequence that you can practice on your own, a practice that can completely transform your experience of breathing.  The session will end with a deep, embodied form of meditation.

BACKBENDING (12:00-14:00)

The practice of backbending is about making ourselves vulnerable, while finding the internal support to handle that vulnerability with elegance and grace.  When we connect to our internal support, backbending becomes an exhilarating experience, and one that encourages deep psychical release.  In this session, we learn to work intelligently with the diaphragm, the psoas, the pelvic girdle and the obliques to create a long and supple spine that can reach gracefully into these difficult forms.  This session is open to practitioners of all levels.

TALK – THE FIVE PRANAS (14:00-15:00)

This talk will explore the role of the five pranas in the process of deep breathing.  It will explain how to work with each of these pranas, in concert, to invite deep psychical release.  This traditional yogic teaching will give you a whole new perspective on the internal dynamics of vinyasa yoga.

VINYASA (8:00-10:00)

This vinyasa practice will give more emphasis to backbending. Using what we learned on Saturday afternoon, we will explore the possibility of going deep into backbends  that feel amazing, and that encourage our creative currents to flow.  This will be a dynamic practice, full of challenges, but open to all. We will do this practice together, moving together and breathing together, into the space of our hearts.

PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION (10:00-11:00)

Pranayama is the practice of giving space to the breath, and contemplating the energy that gives us life. This session will teach you a simple but potent pranayama sequence that you can practice on your own, a practice that can completely transform your experience of breathing.  The session will end with a deep, embodied form of meditation.

MULA BANDHA (12:00-14:00)

Some say that mula bandha is the toning of the pelvic floor.  Others say that mula bandha is the experience of non-duality.  What do these have in common?  This workshop aims to clarify.  Observing the subtle breath, we discover a thread of sensation that reaches from the pelvic floor to the soft palate, a thread that connects us to the primitive source of our vitality.  By awakening our adoration for where that thread leads, we invite some of the finer experiences of mula bandha to arise.  This session will involve light asana, pranayama and subtle visualization practices.  All practitioners are welcome.

PHILOSOPHY: THE CREATIVE PRINCIPLE (14:00-15:00)

In Tantric philosophy, the feminine is the natural principle of creation.  She is abundant, excessive, unpredictable, and threatens to overwhelm us when she overflows.  The secret of yoga practice is to make space within consciousness for the spontaneous movement of the feminine principle, and to adore its immediate unfolding, even as it overwhelms the ego.  In this philosophy talk, we explore the nature of this principle, and the possibility of relating to it intimately, through a colorful retelling of the Myth of Sati, “she who is.”