CATEGORIES OF AWESOME WORKSHOPS ON HOW-TO-LIVE

YOGA LAB - see a class of postures demonstrated, alignment, modifications for you, experience hands on assistance to stabilize your posture and enhance the key actions

AYURVEDA - cooking classes, diet, lifestyle and daily routine by age, bodytype

BODYWORK - hands on gardening for you and your loved ones

COMMUNICATION SKILLS - claim better relationships to self and others now

PHILOSOPHY - learn Sanskrit and from texts like the Yoga Sutras, find God in your own way - the deepest love

VEDIC ASTROLOGY - learn about who I am in relation to the universe, timings + situations of my life

We present these workshops to you at 4 levels:

  • drop in for a single workshop (1.5 hours)

  • 5 week module of 5 workshops offers sequential learning (7.5h)

  • a weekend intensive offers a peak healing experience in your season (19h)

  • 1 year โ€œGarden Uโ€ course changes a lifetime (125h + unlimited yoga)

5 week modules on health topics

see dates here | purchase by clicking on topic

  • RELATIONSHIPS WORK OUT MY KARMA

    • Core admonitions are deeply engrained mind-body patterns that form during early childhood. These patterns for me become akin to a computerโ€™s operating system, and limit the way that I experience the world, especially relationships. I can go through life ignorant of these patterns, repeating the same types of relationship drama, or I can become aware of my patterning. Because I learned the patterns, I can learn to identify, release and replace dysfunctional patterns. As I change me, I change my existing relationships and also what kind of people I attract into my life. **Note - this module is not designed to replace the need for professional psychotherapy** though it can be used alongside it for those who are in need.

    • Ashtanga yoga - the 8 layered limbs of yoga teach the codes of conduct toward self and others

    • Yama Niyama - the first 2 layers of ashtanga yoga that relate to conduct toward others, environment and self

    • Identifying Core admonitions - how was I programmed as a young person?

    • Release and replace dysfunctional core admonitions - because they were learned, I can re-learn, but I need an embodied system

    • Prayers, chanting, and affirmations - conscious, pro-active choices I can make for better relationships

  • SPRING 3 WEEK CLEANSE

    • Our guts are a system of pipes that take in, digest, assimilate, and eliminate. Especially as we age, they become coated (like any pipes) and need a reset. As always in ayurveda, we ask โ€œfor whom and whenโ€ is something appropriate. Please know we will assess your situation and advise if the cleanse is not right for you. Find more info here

  • AYURVEDA INTRO

    • We garden ourselves. My body-mind is a garden, not a machine. How I tend to it matters.

    • How to live basics - 5 elements, 3 organizations, 20 qualities

    • 6 tastes and how they affect different body types

    • Daily routine (dinacarya) is the first step in a healthy lifestyle.

    • Seasons, climate, age of creature, the weather all matter a lot for gardening.

    • Breathing techniques allow me to claim my nervous system. Which kind are best for which people? Includes descriptions of subtle anatomy terms like bija mantra, cakra, bandha, mudraa, susushmnaa, idaa, pingala

  • COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION ESSENTIALS

    • How I speak to myself and others affects my quality of life.

    • We use the tools of non-violent communication to identify clear observations (not evaluations), real feelings (not projections), needs (not desires) and make clear requests (not implied demands)

  • AYURVEDA PERSONALIZED

    • We garden ourselves. My body-mind is a garden, not a machine. How I tend to it matters.

    • Baseline - my bodymind type. What kind of creature am I? Prakrti

    • How is my gardening of myself? Am I in balance? How am I away from my baseline? Vikrti

    • How can I apply the tools of ayurveda to bring myself back into balance?

    • Healthy monthly routines including healthy attitude toward the menses for women.

    • Self-massage techniques for hands on gardening. Includes techniques by body type and condition, oils for different situations, dry brushing

  • TIMINGS AND SITUATIONS OF MY LIFE - JYOTISHA - Vedic astrology

    • The sun and moon affect me. The other planets are magnets that also pull me in certain directions. How?

    • Regions of the universe have different energetics. What are the zodiac signs?

    • Smaller subdivisions of the universe are even more particular. What are nakshatras and what are their qualities?

    • How am I oriented to the macro-environment? How does my time of birth affect how I relate to the world? Rising sign and houses.

    • What does my basic birth chart tell me? Individual analyses are done.

full list of our workshops (open to public) during our weekend intensives:

AYURVEDA

Standard review = each module begins w/ the 3 great qualities, 5 elements, 3 organizations, 20 qualities

  • A101 ayurveda: intro | 5 elements, 3 organizations, 20 qualities

  • A102 ayurveda: daily routine | daily routine (extra -> weekly, monthly, seasonal routines), teach nasya/neti, gargle oil/saline

  • A103 ayurveda : baseline constitution - prakrti | body types, emotional types, pulse basics

  • A104 ayurveda : current condition - vikrti | physical signs, emotional signs, climate, diet worst offenders

  • A105 ayurveda: seasons | seasons, age, time of day

  • A106 ayurveda: 6 tastes | theory, taste examples, how tastes affect doshas, seasonal + climate examples of how to adjust diet and cooking

  • A107 ayurveda: breathing 5 vayus | 5 inner movements, breathing techniques and effects on doshas

  • A108 ayurveda: subtle anatomy | cakras, bija mantras, bodywork, kundalini, ida, pingala, sushumna, bandha,

  • A109 ayurveda: healthy vegetarian cooking | how to make dal (healthy beans), ghee, yogurt, how to pop seeds, how to use a pressure cooker

  • A110 ayurveda: female healthy monthly routine | healthy attitude toward menses, doshas and PMS, hot water bottle, mud treatments, exfoliation / ovulation, cervical mucous, basal temperature, food cravings

  • A111 ayurveda: abhyanga - self-massage | include dry brushing, massage oils/techniques by body type, important areas for each body type, have products for sale

BODYWORK + ANATOMY

Standard review = each module begins with the anatomy of the bones and muscles of a region

  • B101 bodywork : touch of respect | finding a boundary = line up across from each other and take 1 step forward with eye contact; listening to CS rhythm with hand on leg; speaking up around pressure and placement of hands

  • B102 bodywork : acupressure basics | how to listen energetically (establish good physical connection, penetrate, back off and be magnetic); neck and shoulder release

  • B103 bodywork : acupressure low back | hand holds, finger holds, lower back release flow

  • B104 bodywork: acupressure meridians | expanded neck and shoulder release

  • B105 bodywork: thai seated | palm press, stretches, feet->back

  • B106 bodywork: thai prone | palm press, stretches, knees->hips

  • B107 bodywork: thai supine | palm press, stretches, face work

  • B108 bodywork: ayurveda oil neck, head, scalp | working together with recipient (press against glide), oils for types

  • B109 bodywork: ayurveda oil abdominal | gradually increasing depth, working with breath, palpating organs

  • B110 bodywork: ayurveda oil feet, calves | intro to foot reflexology

  • B111 bodywork : yoga postures + massage | shavaasana adjustments

  • B112 bodywork: yoga postures + massage | bodywork in passive postures: cat stretch, plow, forearms up the wall, forward bend

  • B113 bodywork: yoga postures + massage | bodywork in passive postures: supported fish, supported bridge, legs up the wall

  • B114 bodywork: subtle body | cakra handholds from manual and acupressure book

  • B115 bodywork: subtle body | intro to craniosacral therapy

CONDUCT, COMMUNICATION, ETHICS

Standard review = each module begins w/ the 10 yama-niyama in sanskrit+english

  • C101 conduct : yama | review of the 5 yama and weekly journaling

  • C102 conduct : niyama | review of the 5 niyama and weekly journaling

  • C103 communication : NVC intro | 4 step technology: observe, feel, need, request; using I statements; clarifying language choices

  • C104 communication : NVC practice | listening only

  • C105 communication : NVC practice | self-empathy

  • C106 communication : NVC practice | ask for empathy = share upsetting event with neutral person

  • C107 communication : NVC practice | use NVC to share when life has been enriched

  • C108 core admonitions : identify core patterns | intro to core admonitions as a limiting operating system to transcend, separate mother/father learning, review list, identify 10 worst

  • C109 core admonitions : release, replace core patterns | technology for releasing and replacing, on one's own, with a mentor

  • C110 ethics : teacher-student relationship | navigating safe boundaries in teaching yoga, using yama-niyama as a guide to modeling how to live

MEDITATION, BREATHING, CHANTING

Standard review = each module begins w/ the "build energy, refine energy, go into the subtle energy", and introduces alternate nostril as a substitute for contraindicated practices

  • M101 breathing | techniques (covered in detail in ayurveda) to be taught in order from gross to subtle

  • M102 meditation | longer meditations have chanting/reading gaps at 30m

  • M103 chanting | chanting workshops in English, Sanskrit, Spanish or native tongue

PHILOSOPHY, SANSKRIT

Standard review = each module begins with the sanskrit alphabet, 8 limbs, 5 kosha, 5 minds, Yoga Sutras 1,2,3,4,12

  • P100 philosophy : satsanga | questions and answers with teacher trainer

  • P101 philosophy : 5 minds + saangkhya + yoga scriptures | full description with examples of each of the 5 mind vesels, a full description of saangkhya, examples from each yoga scripture

  • P102 philosophy : 5 layers, 8 limbs | detailed description and practices for each

  • P103 philosophy : affirmation, prayers, chanting | detailed description and practices for each, each creates a safe place for the mind and clearly sets a boundary - protecting us from the material world

  • P104 philosophy: Yoga Sutra ch. 1 intro | covering the sutras in the manual

  • P105 sanskrit : sound for inner experience | 5 mouth positions, tones/marks, bija mantra

  • P106 sanskrit : alphabet | covering all sounds, elemental correspondences, lots of practice making the different sounds

  • P107 sanskrit : yoga sutras, chants, prayers | sanskrit as a gateway to the Divine, teaching the chants listed in the manual and any popular songs, if songs are in English - teach how sanskrit helps distinguish english (long tone e, o, ai, au... resonant sounds m, n)

TEACHING INDIVIDUALS 1-on-1

Standard review = each module begins with the intake form's most important lines, and a reminder to give 1-2 homework items max so that a client can feel initial success at a program

  • T101 teaching individuals 1-on-1: overview of 1-1 teach | intake form, goals, concerns, most important questions, assessment, homework, using studio resources

  • T102 teaching individuals 1-on-1: adapting tools to individuals | adapt the entire level 1 flow to an individual student's needs, including modifying, omitting, substituting and enhancing poses

  • T103 teaching individuals 1-on-1: building a home/work practice | breathing + postures for individual needs, 5-10 min daily practice

TEACHING PRACTICUM LAB

Standard review = each module begins with the 4 stages of teaching, who is at which stage, and the 3 kinds of assists (if someone is at stage 4)

  • TL101 teaching lab: 4 stages of teaching, 3 kinds of assists | to be repeated each week with each participant being asked what stage they are at, and evaluating that stage

YOGA LAB

Standard review = each module begins with the 3 focal points, 7 loops, muscular/expressive energy, 3 kinds of assists

  • YL101 yoga lab : setting space to practice, beginning class | altar, preparing to teach, mat spacing, lead from front+side, teach from back, use experienced students as models, temperature, drop-in class vs. pre-registration, voice quality, counting, lighting, music should not distract, pacing (when to teach all poses in 60m, how to modify if needed, how many breaths in each pose), welcome, double breath with tension, invocation, OM

  • YL102 yoga lab : alignment basics | Learn about the balance of strength <-> flexibility in yoga posture practice. Explore muscle energy, expressive energy, 3 focal points (roots of poses), 7 body segments, the inner spiral, and the outer spiral of the legs.

  • YL103 yoga lab: assist basics | 3 kinds of touch: stabilize the base, light touch for awareness, enhancing the key action; how to approach students, how to communicate during assists, chip use

  • YL104 yoga lab : basic warm ups | supine knees to chest -> leads into abdominal curls, rotate around sacrum, moving spinal twist, rock+roll, cat-cow, extended cat-cow, cobra w. no hands, moving grasshopper, extended cat stretch

  • YL105 yoga lab : strengthening warm ups | plank, downward dog, lunge, side plank, spiral twist

  • YL106 yoga lab : standing crescent moon series | side bend (1 arm, 2 arms, versions hold head, lift opposite leg); back bend; forward bend

  • YL107 yoga lab: standing chair pose series | chair, balancing chair, rotated chair (extra -> knees together balancing chair, 1 leg chair, rotated crow)

  • YL108 yoga lab: standing hips>front | teach rooting the legs through the pelvis in the front plane: lunge, warrior 1, tracking in front plane, stretch the flank (held version of tracking), finish with wide legged forward bend for symmetrical end. [extra -> rotated lunge, rotated triangle, balancing rotated side cross]

  • YL109 yoga lab: standing hips>side | teach rooting the legs through the pelvis in the side plane: tracking in side plane (moving triangle), warrior 2, extended triangle, finish with wide legged forward bend and versions for symmetrical end. [extra -> extended side angle, side cross (balancing half moon)]

  • YL110 yoga lab: standing balancing | column, moving column, airplane, balancing stick, tree

  • YL111 yoga lab: supine + side lying | wind removing pose 1 leg, both; 1 leg series straight, wide, crossover; ab curls, crossovers, rock and roll, moving spinal twist (extra -> starfish, leg figure 8s, leg lifts, roll ups), side lying with leg lifts, side bend in cat stretch, side bend in wide legged forward bend, (Extra -> gate latch , rotated head to knee

  • YL112 yoga lab: prostrate back bends | strengthen the posterior core muscles, stretch the front body and place weight (encouraging movement) on the assimilation/elimination organs, and emphasize the inhale: cobra variations (no hands, regular, wide- legged), grasshopper (moving variations hands on sacrum, hands clasped behind back, arms over head), strengthening on the diagonal (alternate arm/leg lifts while prostate), bow

  • YL113 yoga lab: hips | rock the baby, cradle the baby, figure 4, head to knee, hero, (extra -> preparation for 1 legged pigeon with knee and hip down, windshield wiper, one foot up the wall for deep lunge, reclined hero, preparing legs for seated spinal twist without twisting, one legged version of cow face pose, cow face pose, stacking shins)

  • YL114 yoga lab : floor forward bends | emphasize spinal flexion and the exhale: head to knee (jaanushirshaasana) with figure 4 as alternate, bound angle, star, wide legged forward bend, stretching the backside pose (paschimottaanaasana)

  • YL115 yoga lab: other back bends | crescent lunge, camel, bridge (variations moving drawbridge, elbows down with hands up, clasped hands, feet on wall), fish, supported fish, moving stretching front pose

  • YL116 yoga lab: twists + completing a practice | teach the deep cleansing from rotation through the spinal column: seated spinal twist with 1 leg straight (explore arm positions), seated spinal twist (extra -> moving reclined twist with knees bent and small rotations, full reclined twist (bent top knee or both knees bent), kapaalabhaati, alternate nostril, bringing class to the next level - breathing techniques, chants, prayers, affirmations, readings

  • YL117 yoga lab: final relaxation | variations on shavaasana: bent knees, hands on belly, eye pillows, supported wrists, feet up wall, side lying with pillows, belly lying with hands under face and feet supported; teachers assists: using lotion on neck and shoulders, face acupressure for sinuses, endless hand, fallen leaf for legs/low back

  • YL118 yoga lab: pregnancy modifications | alternate limb cat-cow (extend/flex)+(adduct/abduct), pelvis awareness/hold the baby in all standing poses, wide leg forward bends, use wall for balancing (no falls), no belly backbends, wide twists

  • YL119 yoga lab: prop use, chair modifications | with chair, follow the flow - modify when possible, skip when needed, get out of chair as much as possible - it is there to try and get out of eventually if possible; blocks, straps, chairs, walls (hands up the wall, 1 foot up the wall, chest opening in warrior 1 with an arm back), when to use, how to demonstrate as a teacher - in sight line of class

  • YL120 yoga lab: sequencing | review the basics of how to structure a general attendance class: examples from levels 1-2-3 for different movement capacity and pace; sequencing of classes of poses - warm-ups, standing, floor; review the level 1 flow and describe how the postures prepare for each other or are counter postures to each other; give assignment for students to design 5 minute at work flow using 5 poses for a specific region (example: shoulder stiffness: 1) extended cat/cow emphasizing different hand use, 2) extended cat with hands in prayer and elbows lifted, 3) stretching the wing, 4) crescent moon series with hand on head for side bends, 5) standing forward bend with hands clasped behind back

  • YL121 yoga lab: inversions | legs up the wall/chair, standing wide-legged forward fold focus on inversion with chin squeeze, supported shoulder stand, plow supported

  • YL122 yoga lab: developing arm strength |downward dog, forearm downward dog, dolphin, downward dog lifting one arm/one arm and opposite leg, half-handstand

  • YL300 yoga lab: joint exercises standing + seated | ankle rotations, knee rotations, hip rotations, hip abduction, irish dancing hip external rotation, long lunge steps, shoulder width stance with arm swinging spinal twist, abdominal clearing in/out, abdominal clearing waves, big arm circling from the shoulders, neck rotations with low tension

  • (continued) | joint exercises seated |ankle/toes extend/grab and flex/spread, ankle rotations, knee/hip flex and extend, hip rotations holding 1 foot, butterfly abduction/adduction, lower back twist with breath, cactus/rock spinal extension/flexion, shoulder rotations touching shoulders w/ thumbs, elbow extension/flexion, wrist/fingers extend/spread and flex/touch all fingers toward soft forearm, wrist rotations with arms parallel to ground, neck rotations, neck lateral stretch, throat opening/squeezing

  • YL301 yoga lab: tโ€™ai chi basics | arm swings in horse stance, arm circling in 70/30 stance, universal post - separating the weight and praana- vyaana, beginning move, horse stance with wrists crossed and breathing/contracting into my eggshell; short Yang form to the 4 directions