Ashtanga Yoga works with two opposing patterns of breath. These patterns are called prana and apana, or the ascending and descending breaths, and alignment can be thought of as the continual rediscovery of balance between the two.  In this week-end intensive, we explore the movements of these patterns as they present in our bodies. We learn to recognize their unique physiological signatures, and we practice integrating them in key postures from the Ashtanga Vinyasa system. Through these explorations, we rediscover the breath as an axis of alignment, one that brings unusual depth and vibrancy to the postures themselves.

Friday, March 17:

18.00h → 20.00h – Lab 1: “SURYA NAMASKAR” – The backbone of the Ashtanga system is Surya Namaskar, the 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. These forces propel our bodily processes and illumine our minds from within. In Surya Namaskar, we are propitiating to these forces, and inviting them to rise up through the central axis of the body, burning away our delusions and giving us insight. In this session, we explore the mechanics of Surya Namaskar, so we can undertake the practice with greater presence, elegance and grace.

Saturday, March 18:

→ from 8h: “MYSORE STYLE” 

13.00h –> 15.00h – Alignment Lab 2: “STANDING POSTURES” – Standing postures have a secret life, a secret inwardness, a secret drama that is easy to miss.  They can seem simple and accessible when we first learn them, but as we feel into them with closer attention, they start to reveal an unfathomable depth. Each standing posture is a unique stage for the dynamic interplay of prana and apana, and when we learn to direct those subtle forces into one another, using the structure of the postural form, their drama begins to unfold.  In this session, we learn to balance prana and apana within the standing postures of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system.

15.30h –> 17.30h – Alignment Lab 3: “TWISTS AND FOLDS” – Folding forward is a matter spreading ourselves out, and then diving into the unknown, while keeping an open mind about whatever we encounter along the way.  The descent can be disorienting, but if we remain receptive, we find that we eventually return to ourselves.  In this session, we explore the mechanics of forward folding, and the mental impact of different ways of holding ourselves within the folded form.  Through these exploration, we learn to use forward folding not only to stretch the back of the body, but to stretch the back of the mind, and to ground ourselves more fully in the present moment.

Sunday, March 19:

→ from 8h: “MYSORE STYLE” 

13.00h -> 15.00h – Alignment Lab 4: “BACKBENDS” – The practice of backbending is about making ourselves vulnerable, and finding the internal support to handle that vulnerability with steadiness and grace.  When we backbend with internal support, we create opportunities for deep psychical release.  In this session, we learn to work intelligently with the breath, the psoas and the diaphragm, to create a long and supple spine that can reach gracefully into these difficult and exhilarating forms.

15.30h – 17.30h – Lab 5: “PRANAYAMA – PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHY” – Pranayama is the practice of giving space for the breath.  When the expansive and contractive movements of the breath begin to merge into one another, they reveal their perfect continuity, and they suspend the mind in the liminal space between creativity and emptiness.  This session teaches the essentials of pranayama, including posture, visualization, suspension, balance and absorption.  It introduces you to a potent sequence of pranayama and subtle body visualization that you can explore endlessly on your own.  Whatever you might have learned about pranayama in past, this session promises to illumine your understanding, and to take you deeper into the sublime experience of the breath. 

The intensive is suitable to all levels of practice. Though a little knowledge of the sequence will help you to fully enjoy the Mysore practices. So, make sure you know at least the standing sequence to attend them. If you’re not sure, get in touch.

→ Mysore classes will runs on shifts which will be communicated closer to the event

→ The Mysore style classes will be held over several shifts which will be communicated near the event on the basis of the number of participants