Autumn Earth — A Grounding Workshop

Friday, Oct. 4, Urban Yoga

Practiced together, hip openers and forward bends release tension from the top of the spine to the tips of the toes.  It's a magical practice for anyone and is especially beneficial for runners, cyclists, and — believe it or not — folks suffering from lower back pain or mobility limitations.

— In this two-hour, Friday evening session, we’ll gradually work more deeply into the lower back, hips, thighs, and hamstrings.

— We’ll use poses accessible to all levels of students, interwoven with periods of gradually deepening breath practice.

— Through the combination of asana (poses) and pranayama (breath practice), you’ll open to an even more grounding and at the same time expansive experience.

Space is limited, advanced registration is encouraged. 


GET MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTER HERE.

11th Annual Holiday Restoratives

Two Sessions: Dec. 7 and 14, 2024

As has become our tradition, two sessions on two consecutive Friday evenings: Dec. 7 and 14, 2024.

When the holiday season hits, why not give yourself the gift of unwinding and restoring amid the holiday stress and upheaval?

Registration details coming soon. Check back often!


RYT 200 Teacher Training (2025 Dates TBD)

Urban Yoga Teacher Training 200 is a comprehensive program that empowers students with a strong foundation of philosophy, anatomy, asana, meditation, and more, in an incredibly safe, supported, and heartfelt environment. Led by myself and supported by other experienced teachers skilled in training people to teach yoga, Urban Yoga Teacher Training 200 delivers a transformative experience for anyone who would like to:
  • Start on the path of teaching yoga
  • Fine-tune or expand their current teaching skills and toolset
  • Deepen their personal practice and understanding of yoga beyond the traditional studio or studio classes
  • Participate with a nourishing community of others seeking to widen and deepen their yoga experience
The program's modules are designed to appeal to and engage all types of learners by applying the four core human learning styles: visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic. As a Registered Yoga School (RYS) with Yoga Alliance, Urban Yoga Teacher Training 200 prepares students to achieve Yoga Allicance certification at the RYT-200 level.
Registration details coming soon. Check back often!


PREVIOUS WORKSHOPS

Being a Yoga Detective: The Art & Craft of Private Teaching

Saturday, March 5, 2-4p.m

A student has asked if you offer private yoga classes. Now what?

It seems that even if we teach in a studio with established fees for private lessons and a calendar for scheduling them, getting started in private teaching is a very ad hoc, seat-of-the-pants undertaking. We usually just ask teachers we know for advice. Even after we’ve started offering private sessions, we wonder how to find more clients and teach more private lessons.

How much should you charge? What exactly can you offer — what should you offer? What about liability insurance? How do you market yourself? Where should you offer private sessions? Should you charge for travel time? How do you sequence for their unique needs? How much do you need to know about their injuries or long-term conditions? After all, people seek private yoga classes for a huge range of reasons.

As a yoga detective, you learn what your private students need, so you can figure out how to support them. This two-hour workshop will help answer many of the questions that come up when we are asked — or desire — to offer private yoga classes, as well as how to sustain and grow your private-lesson practice. 

Your contribution: $50
Register in advance to reserve your spot. Register here.


Hips and Shoulders — and Restorative Bliss

Hips & Shoulders — Open and Anchor the Four Corners of the Torso

Saturday, May 14, 2-4 p.m.

What happens in the shoulders, doesn’t stay in the shoulders. Ditto for the hips. When we understand how to optimally open and support the hips and shoulders, we reduce our risk of injuries throughout the body, set ourselves up for greater upper body strength and hip and shoulder mobility — on and off the mat.

How the Sausage Gets Made

The Art & Science of Yoga Class Sequencing

Three Saturdays: Aug. 3, 10, 17 | 2-5 p.m.

What You'll Get

In a fun and meaningful style, you'll go step by step to gain a firm understanding of how to optimally build sequences for almost any type of yoga practice. This is a great opportunity not only for experienced, beginning, and aspiring teachers, but also for anyone who wants to learn more about how yoga classes get made — in the best way. Great for people who want to create their own practices.

What We'll Do

  • Session 1: Class setup and structure; a brief history of asana; types of yoga and their relationship to sequencing; the major categories of poses; the relationships between sequences and teaching themes and between sequencing and anatomy … and asana!

  • Session 2: General class templates (with handouts!); speaking to the body; transitions and guidance; demos and partner work; deconstructing poses to inform class sequences; partner work to create sequences … and asana!

  • Session 3: Integrating a theme; group practice with teams or individuals leading their sequences and getting feedback and support.



Rocking the 'Gita
An Ancient Tale That Speaks to Life's Hard Choices Right Here, Right Now

Two Saturdays, Sept. 21, 28 | 2-5 pm.
The  first words that came to Robert Oppenheimer's mind after he witnessed the world's first nuclear explosion were two verses from the Bhagavad Gita: 


"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one..."
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."


The 'Gita indeed is powerful stuff. 

What It Is
The 'Gita is an ancient epic poem that recounts the conversation between Arjuna, a warrior, and his charioteer Krishna, the manifestation of God, on the battlefield where Arjuna has lost his will to fight. Their conversation has become the keystone for many philosophical, moral, and spiritual studies of dharma — understanding one's duty, the right action to take, the laws of cause and effect, and the role of  conscience.

The poem has also been a source for investigating the duality (or not) of individuals and god, and the essence of pure love. It also defines a blueprint for the studies of different forms of yoga and paths to enlightenment.

What We'll Do
Participants who register in advance will be asked to read a specific interpretation of the 'Gita before the workshops. Others can read a version between the two sessions. Don't worry: No one is required to read the text in advance at all. But you'll have more fun if you do. (A list of options will be provided.)

We'll dive into the 'Gita's messages, and different interpretations for life on and off the mat, through guided  discussions as a whole group and also in smaller circles, if enrollment permits.

The sessions will also include a modicum of asana (who wants to sit for three hours?) and meditation.