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Flow…..Awareness.
Why is there a set progression of poses in a yoga practice? Why do we start with Sun Salutations then move on to inversions, then to backbends? How does our awareness in the practice affect our awareness in life? This session will reveal a clear explanation of the sequencing of the practice. We will concentrate on the subtle internal actions of the poses where people habitually don’t pay attention to the form. Flow happens when a path is made clear, when obstacles large and small are removed: be they lazy bellies or toes that aren’t pushing back, goal orientation or frustration.

The first step and most important step in clearing obstacles from our path is conscious awareness. Learning the correct form of a pose means nothing if the student does not actively engage his awareness in the practice. Awareness is a quality that people lose as they get caught up in the daily routine of life. Awareness in our yoga practice teaches us to become more aware of exactly what we are doing in our lives and why. The capacity for joy exists in direct proportion to the intensity of our awareness of ourselves, and the world in which we live. Working the poses in such a way will expand that capacity.

Inversions
Do you have problems kicking up into handstand? Is balance in handstand something you accomplish only in your dreams? Does your upper body feel too weak to hold you up in forearm balance? Does your neck start to hurt in headstand? This workshop refines the students inversion techniques by establishing the principles that support an inversion. We will move slowly through each step. We will learn the physiological benefits of each pose. To purposely put ourselves in such an awkward relationship to the world around us familiarizes us with sensations that make us feel uneasy and literally uprooted. Familiarity, and a sense of safety gained through practice, is the way to work through these feelings when your world is turned upside down.

Oppositional Forces
This workshop hones in on poses that rely on opposing directions of energy for their stability. The lesson to be learned in this workshop is balance. That balance is not about simply finding the middle-fulcrum point so that all seems effortless. Balance is a very alive and demanding form of existence, and is the only way to achieve any form of stability in our lives. The stability flows from the very Taoist principle of opposing forces. The constant negotiation of the two forces is what ironically gives rise to the stability, and negotiation requires flexibility and fluidity.

An Air of Strength
This workshop approaches our sequence of poses with particular awareness on the breath. Experience how something as literally ethereal as breath is the true source of strength in the pose. Learn to visualize the breath feeding into the lines of energy as you move through the poses. Explore how the breath supports vinyasa flow. Learn to temper the breath in the face of challenge and confrontation. At the end of practice our bodies are vulnerable, wide open; feel the life force moving evenly through the open energy channels. Consider how the breath gives us life. ••