Intermediate Yoga Workshop Wrap-Up
Great having everyone out for the workshop this afternoon – what a great dynamic you all created! The cooperation and sharing was wonderful. And for those who did not get the chance to be there here’s some of the things we covered.
We started with a short overview and I told the story of this below player – doing it all on one leg. That is not to say we should do all our yoga on one leg – even though sometimes it feels like that is going on. The spirit is that we should not let our perceived shortcomings stop us from doing something that we can do. Here is that player:
Then we began our practice: A short meditation to focus and center and then a 20 minute moderate flow sequence to get warmed up.
Then we went into poses for detailed review, practice, and corrections:
Triangle & variations including revolved triangle; Warrior 2 refresher and reversal; Half Moon and revolved half moon. And then back to standard half-moon for the all-important “foot grab” variation. Everyone did extremely well in this series – the hips and shoulders did exactly what they were supposed to do.
Then we shifted to Warrior I -> Warrior III and thoroughly reviewed balancing and lengthening the body in Warrior III, including squaring the hips, and concluded with a quick turn into half-moon from Warrior III.
From there it was side-plank in all shapes and sizes – lots and lots to go around, followed by a critical look at chaturaunga dandasana. Then came everyone’s all-time favorite: crow and friends. Many made great progress in advancing their crow.
Next up: Pincha Mayurasana or forearm balance. Here again, many were able to kick up nicely into the pose. Then it was down onto to the back for shoulderstand, plow, fish & more.
Finally – ahhh – shavasana.
Of course what made the program was not the poses per se, but the interactive sharing and caring throughout the session. Lots of questions were raised, all took time to watch & support one another to learn and grow; it was a very open afternoon. In the end we all noted how the time literally flew by. I truly felt that we could have gone on for another 2 hours or more!!
Thanks to all for coming out and look forward to seeing you at the next one!!
Hi Satyam,
Today’s workshop was wonderful! I so enjoy getting a chance to ask you some specifics about the poses; just hope I don’t monopolize things too much! It felt like a combination private lesson – cooperative learning experience. There was a very pleasant spirit of camaraderie in the hall, and it was great to get your advice, and the perspective of others as well as we tried the poses. You focused on several poses I’d developed questions about – especially the revolved poses and the cool new variation of half-moon where you grab your foot. I was unsure of how your hips faced in the revolved poses, and I definitely feel more confident in warrior one, and the transition from one to warrior 3 also makes much more sense to me now…
Anyway, it was great! Thank you, thank you, thank you…and see you Wednesday
Annie
I had a great time today. As much as I like pushing myself in faster paced sequences, it’s refreshing to slow down and work on alignment. I’m really happy to have done a forearm stand; I hope we can do more in classes!
Thanks, Satyam, for a most enjoyable workshop!
Melissa
Thanks Satyam, I really enjoyed the workshop yesterday. It was great to get some of my questions answered about triangle and warrior poses. I have a lot of flexibility in my hips which I realize now isn’t always the best thing for certain poses, your adjustments were a big help. Now I know what to ask my hips to do. I also really enjoy trying new poses.
The group was great, realxed and supportive. The individual attention you gave to each of us was wonderful, Thanks once again for a great class!
Sharon
Hi Satyam,
I was planning on sending a note yesterday, but the day got away from me. Bob and I both really enjoyed the workshop yesterday. I appreciated the corrections and could feel the difference as soon as you made the adjustments to my positions. It also really helped to take our time and think through the poses and what they are to accomplish for us. The time flew by and we could have easily spent another couple of hours going over everything. It was also fun to be with people from the different classes since everyone has a slightly different view, body type, and ability level. I think these type of workshops are so vital and would continue to participate in them as you offer them. This one was different from the first one I attended and there is always room to learn and improve. Just think, I might even try crow again without the block, although I’m not sure about that peacock pose!
Thanks for putting such a great workshop together.
Coni