Arm balances can present an impressive and sometimes intimidating visual quality, especially to practitioners with less experience.

If we take the time to peel away the first few layers of any arm balance, we can see that their main functional foundations rely on open range of motion in our hips and a firm connection to the ground through our hands.

Through seated hip opening postures we are not only able to further explore the motion of our hips, but also gain an even closer connection to our primary source strength…  The ground.

Join Frank Mauro as he guides you through a series of postures both standing and seated that will bring a necessary awareness to the mobility of your hips and build confidence in the strength and technique of your arms, as it all comes together to relate to arm balancing.

This workshop welcomes all levels of experience from basic to advanced students, although previous experience practicing asana will be helpful.

Saturday, June 11:
Day 1 Holding Space : How to create and maintain and strong energetic healing energy in the room. Learning to bring your most authentic self – voice and all – to your teaching and shed teacher “persona”.

Sunday, June 12:
Day 2 Trauma Sensitivity/Restorative : Recognizing trauma and strategies for helping students. Basic restorative and Yin, and continuation of day 1 ethos.

THESE 2 DAYS GO TOGETHER AS A COMPLETE TRAINING.
You may receive 20 hours towards a 200 or 300 hour teacher training certificate

The Scapulo-Humeral Rhythm and Arm Balances

Are you regularly told, or do you tell your students, to take the shoulders “down” or to keep the shoulders blades “on the back” when the arms are up overhead (full flexion)? Learn what you really want to be doing/teaching by studying the wonderful scapulo-humeral (shoulder/upper arm) rhythm in the context of asana practice. You will have a better understanding of how the arm positions in chatturanga, plank, tripod headstand, headstand, handstand and shoulderstand are quite different from each other and ask of us different things. Understanding the scapulo-humeral rhythm is fundamental to a strong and graceful practice.

Translate this information into Forearmstand and Handstand, and see how they differ from Crow and Peacock Poses and how to prepare for these joyful odes to courage and strength.

BIO

Alison West, Ph.D, ERYT, named one of the most influential Yoga teachers in America, is director of Yoga Union and the Yoga Union Backcare & Scoliosis Center. She first established Yoga Union in 1996 in SoHo after studying widely (Sivananda, Iyengar, Astanga Vinysasa Yoga) and teaching in NY for ten years. Her first studies at the Sivananda centers of Munich and NY in the early 80′s have led to a life-long interest in Yoga philosophy and the subtle practices of pranayama, meditation, mantra, yantra and mudra. She is ever grateful to Robert Moses, Kevin Gardiner, the late Mary Dunn, Sri K. Patthabi Jois and others for their selfless teaching and inspiration.

After studying with Bobbie Fultz and completing her Yoga for Scoliosis training with Elise Miller, Alison has gone on to develop new material and create the largest dedicated Yoga for Posture, Backcare, Herniation and Scoliosis in the world and conducts the only 100-Hour Backcare and Scoliosis Certification Program.

Alison conducts demanding “Gold Standard”* 200-hour Three-Pillars of Practice Teacher Trainings and a full 500-hour Mandala of Yoga Masters program in New York City, teaches workshops and master classes nationwide, in Europe and in the Middle East, and group and private classes in Manhattan.

She is currently writing her first Yoga book, Yoga for Backcare, which will be followed by Yoga for Scoliosis.

Note: Prior to her becoming a full-time Yoga professional, Alison obtained her Ph.D in Art History (1985) at NYU’s renowned Institute of Fine Arts under H.W. Janson and Robert Rosenblum. Her now-classic book on French Sculpture, From Pigalle to Prèault: Neoclassicism and the Sublime in French Sculputre, 1760-1840, was published by Cambridge University Press n 1998 and reviewed in all important publications including the New York Review of Books.

Yoga, which is a practice that originated in the Hindu tradition, speaks of two activities of the universe, karma (action) and dharma (purpose). Throughout our lives, we float in and out of alignment with these two, sometimes knowing who we are and what we should do, and sometimes not. In this evening’s lecture, we’ll talk about these concepts, and how social engagement can help to clarify our purpose and lead to positive action.

Eddie Stern is a yoga teacher, author, and lecturer. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the classical ancient Indian treatise on the practice of Yoga. While Yoga conjures up images of bodily postures and stretches in popular western culture, this aspect of yoga, the asanas, is only the third limb of the eight limbs outlined in the Yoga Sutras — and, indeed, Patanjali pays only passing attention to this aspect of the system. This seminar series will consist of a close reading of Patanjali’s original text, focusing on the opening section of the work, wherein Yoga is defined and the state of samadhi, liberation, described, as well as on the eight limbs of yoga covered in the heart of the text, which outline the step by step methods for attaining this enlightened state. Attention will be paid to the pre-modern commentaries of the text, thus exposing students to the traditional understanding of the practice of classical Yoga and its goals. Students are advised to bring any copy of the Sutras which has the Sanskrit text in romanized script as attention will be focused on the original source rather than its westernized manifestation.

Edwin Bryant received his Ph.D in Indic languages and Cultures from Columbia University. He taught Hinduism at Harvard University for three years, and is presently the professor of Hinduism at Rutgers University where he teaches courses on Hindu philosophy and religion. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, published six books and authored a number of articles on Vedic history, yoga, and the Krishna tradition. In addition to his academic work for the scholarly community, Edwin’s Penguin World Classics translation of the Srimad Bhagavata Purana, the traditional source for the story of Krishna’s incarnation, is both for Indology specialists as well as students and those interested in Hinduism from the general reading public and the yoga community. As a personal practitioner of yoga for 35 years, a number of them spent in India studying with traditional teachers, where he returns yearly, Edwin strives to combine academic scholarship and rigor with sensitivity towards traditional knowledge systems. In addition to his academic course load, Edwin currently teaches workshops on the Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and Hindu Philosophy at yoga studios and teacher training courses throughout the country. His translation of and commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (North Point Press, a division of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2009) is specifically dedicated to contributing to the growing body of literature on yoga by providing insights from the major pre-modern commentaries on the text with a view to grounding the teachings in their traditional context.

We are excited to hear from the Walker Adams Project, as well as a representative from ACLU. Artwork by Katy Smail will be available for perusal and purchase. Light fare and beverages will be offered, and guests are encouraged to BYOB. Everyone welcome.
Bios + Mission Statement

The Walker Adams Project
Enticing the mind and compelling the booty, Walker Adams Project plays danceable funk-jazz. The Berklee grad and former St. Vincent drummer leads his group of schooled musicians through catchy and original songs featuring infectious grooves, soaring melodies, and blistering solos.

ACLU
For almost 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Katy Smail
Katy Smail is a Scottish artist based in Brooklyn, NY, where she works as an illustrator, painter, and art director.

Our bones and joints offer pathways for weight and force to travel through the body – allowing for movement and support at the same time.

In the first workshop we will learn the pathways in the spine, from the skull to the sacrum and tail. In the second workshop we will learn the pathways in the upper limbs and lower limbs, from hands and feet into the spine.
In both workshops we will explore simple movements to help find an internal sense of these pathways, and how these pathways might support an inner sense of alignment in asana.

*No refunds or exchanges.

 

Amy Matthews, CMA, IDME, BMC Teacher, RSMT/RSME has been teaching movement since 1994. She is a Body-Mind Centering® Teacher, a Certified Laban Movement Analyst, an Infant Developmental Movement Educator, and a movement therapist and yoga teacher.
Amy was on the faculty of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies for ten years and co-taught with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen for five years. She has taught embodied anatomy and movement workshops for programs in the United States and internationally, and is a Program Director for the School of Body-Mind Centering.
Amy co-authored with Leslie Kaminoff the best-selling book Yoga Anatomy, and is the Education Director of The Breathing Project in New York City, where both Amy and Leslie teach. Visit Amy’s website at www.embodiedasana.com

for our first community night, esteemed playwright, screenwriter, novelist, musician, and yogi suzan-lori parks will play music with her band, Sula & the Noise, and a spokesperson from Grow NYC will discuss the nonprofit’s mission and work in the city. please join us for an evening of discussion and song. 

Get out those combat boots and mala beads. march in solidarity and stomp out discrimination against women!

Come with supplies to share like thick magic markers, poster boards, foam board, fabric, etc (no glue, paint, or glitter please)

Are you a teacher, therapist, or care giver? Do you feel overwhelmed, over-tired, hopeless or burnt-out? If so this workshop is for you. Join us as we explore methods for self-care to combat vicarious trauma and burn-out that many care givers experience. Taking care of yourself is vital to continue to work under challenging circumstances, in a challenging world. We will explore methods of yoga, therapeutic art making, ayurveda, and the importance of connection as a community.

This workshop will be geared toward teachers, therapists, social workers, and care givers, but all are welcome. No yoga or art experience necessary. Art supplies, yoga mats, chai and snack will be provided.

We appreciate the work you do to make this world a better place. Let us take care of you for an evening, and hopefully you can leave with some ideas for your own self-care.

Please sign up on line. Email ashleydorr@hotmail.com with any questions.

Maria Rubinate has been teaching yoga in the New York area for the past 22 years. She has taught for Jivamukti, Ashtanga Yoga New York and Jois Yoga in Connecticut. She has also studied Ayurveda with Dr. Vasant Lad and holds a level 2 Authorization from the Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute.

Ashley Dorr is licensed and board certified art therapist with over 16 years experience. She worked for 12 years at The Door: A Center of Alternatives with at-risk adolescents and has travelled globally providing therapeutic art groups, trainings, and supervising art therapy projects with children and women affected by trauma, war, and natural disaster. Currently she is in private practice in Manhattan and Brooklyn and also teaches yoga at the Shala.