In this workshop we will explore the use of bandhas and breath to help your Yoga practice feel lighter. We will look at the mindful placement of the limbs and direction of the gaze to help support our exploration of flight and inversions.

Inverting the body can be fun but it also can be injurious if it is not done mindfully and by building the necessary strength and mobility to come up without excessive force.

To balance your pelvis and legs on your ribcage requires excellent control of your core and the strength and mobility to organize your shoulders in a stable position and to balance your legs over your hips.

We will play with exercises to help develop this strength and mobility and we will use the wall and partners to explore going upside down safely.

Inverting safely and mindfully is not the key to happiness or to being a good Yogi but it is a great way to understand the relationship between the alignment of the ribcage and the pelvis, to develop the strength and skills to stabilize your core, and to explore that magical balance between steadiness and ease, sthira and sukha.

Would you like to make your transitions from one posture to the next feel lighter? Do you feel like you jump when you want to float? Do your arm balances feel heavy? In this workshop we will explore the use of bandhas and breath to help your Yoga practice feel lighter. We will also look at the mindful placement of the limbs and direction of the gaze to help support our exploration of flight.

Although there are no quick fixes and ‘flying’ safely takes years of practice, subtle adjustments to the tilt of the pelvis, the placement of the hands and where we are looking can have a dramatic effect on our ability to float on the mat, allowing us to flow with gravity rather than against it. The principles of this workshop are relevant to all levels but it is recommended that students feel comfortable weight bearing in the arms and exploring balances and inversions.

The dynamic flow of Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation) is the foundation of Ashtanga Yoga. It establishes the rhythm and mood of each practice. In this workshop we will explore the various parts of both Sun Salutation A and Sun Salutation B so that we can piece together their flow with greater confidence. The salutations should be a joyful experience that allows everyone ‘to place their limbs and move’ (the literal meaning of vinyasa) with ease and fluidity. 
We will discuss the physical benefits of these simple movements when harmonised with the breath. 
When co-ordinated, regardless of the modification that might be necessary on any given day, these simple movements can become a moving meditation, freer, and more joyful, as prana (the breath) becomes the source of the movement, and the practice begins to transcend the physical. 
There will be an open opportunity to discuss the history of the Sun Salutation sequences and the symbolism that goes beyond the physical practice. 
Please feel free to forward to anyone you think might be interested. All questions welcome.