Ashtanga Weekend Workshop with Ty Landrum

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Ashtanga Weekend Workshop
with Ty Landrum
April 12 – 14, 2019
 

THE BLISS OF BREATH

Ashtanga Vinyasa works with opposing forces of breath and invites these forces to align.  When the breath aligns, the experience of the body opens up, revealing endless patterns of sensation.  The practice is to be present with sensation, allowing it to unfold in the open expanse of awareness.  Through this practice, we give ourselves space, and we allow our minds to breathe.  Our thoughts and feelings begin to expand and contract in an open flow of consciousness.

In this workshop, we explore some techniques from the Hatha tradition that bring this experience alive—moving our bodies from the inside, tracing internal currents of breath, balancing subtle patterns of sensation, and settling ever more deeply into the postures themselves.  These techniques reflect the Tantric origins of Ashtanga.  They expose us to the inherent depth and brilliance of embodied experience, and they reawaken our sensory engagements with the world.


PROGRAM

FRIDAY, APRIL 12th

7:30 – 9:30 pm Surya Namarkar
Surya Namaskar means “Salutations to the Sun”.  In the context of yoga, the Sun is not only the celestial body that gives us warmth and daylight, but the radiant center of the human body, where our vital forces converge.  In Surya Namaskar, we are propitiating to this center, inviting our vital forces to rise up from the altar of the pelvis and burn away the sediment of our conditioning, giving us insight.  In this foundational session, we rediscover the internal dynamics of Surya Namaskar, and we explore the immediate impact of those dynamics on our consciousness.  Open to practitioners of all levels, this session introduces the basic concepts on which the other workshops depend. 


SATURDAY, APRIL 13th

9 – 11:30 am Backbending
The practice of backbending is about making ourselves vulnerable, and finding the internal support to handle that vulnerability with grace.  When we backbend with internal support, we create opportunities for 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.  This session will involve a full asana practice, involving postures from first and second series, with variations given to accommodate a range of abilities. 

1:30 – 3:30 pm Opening the Hips
The hips are the storehouse of apana, the dissolving force that removes excess from the body and mind.  Opening the hips can help us access the dissolving force, and release the psychical energy that is entangled in the densest places in the body.  In this session, we explore hip opening through forward folding, twisting, and putting the legs behind the head.  This session will involve a full asana practice, involving postures from the first and second series, with variations given to accommodate a range of abilities. 

4:00 – 5:00 pm Philosophy: The Feminine Sublime
In Tantric philosophy, the feminine is the natural principle of creation.  She is abundant, excessive, unpredictable, and threatens to overwhelm us whenever she overflows.  The secret of yoga practice is to make space for this principle, and to adore its unfolding, even as it overwhelms the ego.  In this philosophy talk, we explore the nature of the feminine, and the possibility of relating to the feminine intimately, through a colorful retelling of the Myth of Sati, “she who is.” 


SUNDAY, APRIL 14th

8:00 – 10:00 am Mysore
This is a traditional Mysore-style Ashtanga Vinyasa class.  We practice together, mostly in silence, following the natural cadence of our breath, and the brilliant sequencing of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system.  This is an opportunity for individual instruction and assistance.  Beginners are absolutely welcome, but instruction on sequencing will be limited.  Basic familiarity with the sequencing is strongly advised. 

10:30 – 12 noon Pranayama and Guided Meditation
Pranayama is the practice of giving space to the breath.  When the movements of the breath merge together, they reveal their perfect continuity.  They suspend the mind in the liminal space between creativity and emptiness.  This session teaches the essentials of pranayama, including posture, suspension, balance and absorption.  It introduces a potent sequence of pranayama and subtle body visualization that you can explore endlessly on your own. 

2:00 – 4:00 pm Thread of Breath
Ashtanga Vinyasa amplifies the internal currents of the breath.  With assiduous practice, we can learn to ride these currents, gliding from posture to posture with elegance and grace.  In this session, we look closely at the techniques of banda and mudra that underlie this ability, and we apply them to some of the more dynamic movement patterns of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system, including pressing up, piking, jumping back and jumping through.  We will also explore some basic arm balancing and hand standing techniques, as these are closely related to our theme.  Practitioners of all levels are welcome to attend.


 
PRICING:

10% Early Bird Discount (before January 31, 2019) 
Whole Workshop: €234
Individual sessions: €40.50 per session.

Normal price (from February 1, 2019)
Whole Workshop: €260
Individual sessions: €45 per session.


 
REGISTER:

Regular registration: Fill and sign the registration form & join your payment.
Please send by (snail) mail, e-mail, or bring at the studio directly if you’re coming to a class.
Payment by check, cash or bank transfer.
Download the Registration Form

 

Online registration: only available for signing up for the whole workshop
Secure payment by credit card.


CANCELLATION POLICY

Payments of 25 euros or less are non-refundable.
An admin fee of 25 euros will be deducted for cancellations made more than 21 days before the workshop.
Only half of the sum paid will be returned for cancellations made 8 to 20 days before the workshop.
Sum paid is non-refundable 7 days before the workshop.
We don’t accept transferring of a paid reservation to another person after 2 weeks before the workshop.
We advise to those coming from out of Paris to purchase travel insurance as travel issues will not change this policy. Medical issues will also not change this policy.
As the teacher is confirming their presence and is guaranteed the amount of people who are attending 21 days before, we ask for your understanding of this policy.


 
LOCATION:

Ashtanga Yoga Paris
Room: Patanjali (downstairs)
See on map