Yoga Deconstructed® Immersion – Houston, TX

Yoga Deconstructed®: Creativity Meets Science

Each workshop can be taken individually. A certificate of attendance is awarded to students who take all four workshops. Qualifies for 12 Yoga Alliance CEC’s.

Workshop 1

Movement Science Meets Asana – A New Paradigm

Are you finding that your students often struggle to do even the most basic poses in your classes? Or, if they’re able to do all the poses, do they complain of wrist, back or hip pain?

Unfortunately, most people are desk bound and their only movement for the day is during yoga class, so their bodies aren’t well adapted for the large ranges of motion required. Conversely, many of our students who are able to practice all the poses are still in pain, because they aren’t balancing out their extreme ranges of motion with stability and strength.

If you’re struggling with helping your students become more embodied and want strategies to create a safer class environment, this workshop is for you.

This Yoga Deconstructed® workshop will teach you:

• How to apply modern movement science to your yoga teaching.

• How to bring functional movement into your classes, while still feeling like you are teaching yoga.

• An exercise science based approach to sequencing to prepare the body for movement and minimize the risk of pain and injury.

• Understanding the components of a pose, such as directions of movement at each joint, loading principles, and biomechanics.

• An introduction to taking an interdisciplinary approach to teaching yoga and how to add techniques from other modalities to your teaching toolbox.

Workshop 2

A New Beginning : An Updated Approach to Prepare Your Students for Asana

In yoga classes, we’re trying to create an environment that nurtures your mind as well as your structure. However, many of our students don’t feel safe in classes, because they’re afraid of doing the poses “incorrectly” or receiving an unwanted hands-on adjustment.

Additionally, in most yoga classes, a typical warm up doesn’t facilitate joint differentiation. For example, in cat/cow most students will flex and extend their spine in the places that already have the most mobility, rather than finding movement in places that are underused.

Beginning your classes with somatic exercises and sensory feedback methods before a preparatory exercise such as cat/cow, helps your students become aware of movement blind spots that may contribute to pain in more advanced poses later in class.

This Yoga Deconstructed® workshop will teach you:

• How to choose somatic exercises to encourage active ranges of motion, promote dynamic full body movement, and help prepare the body for larger static poses.

• The application of myofascial release techniques to help your students embody the anatomical concepts taught in traditional yoga, so they can better understand the purpose of the pose.

• How to apply the pain science paradigm* to empower your students to trust that their bodies are robust and resilient.

• Strategies to introduce variability and neuromuscular re-education into class that help facilitate tissue resiliency, neuroplasticity, and new motor patterns.

*for a definition of pain science paradigm go to: https://bodyinmind.org/resources/journal-articles/full-text-articles/reconceptualising-pain-according-to-modern-pain-science/

Workshop 3

Corrective Exercise: Introducing Creativity & Critical Thinking Into Your Classes

Modern postural yoga uses poses that in theory prepare the body for a peak pose at the end of class. However, exercise science has shown that there is a more effective way. By incorporating preparatory exercises into our classes, we can better prepare the body for more challenging asanas, while bridging the gap between our sedentary lifestyle and yoga asana. This also helps to reduce the risk of injury.

Also, asana is a highly specialized form of movement that often emphasizes aesthetics over function. Through preparatory exercise, we can balance out our practice, by including movements that don’t exist in yoga poses, thus reducing our risk of pain and overuse injuries.

If you’ve been trying to incorporate preparatory exercises in your teaching, but have been struggling with selecting the right exercises and sequencing them within a class, then this workshop is for you.

Oftentimes, alignment cues are thought to be synonymous with safety. However, not all alignment cues correlate with biomechanics or function. This is why critical thinking skills can make you a more effective teacher.

In this Yoga Deconstructed® workshop, you will learn to apply critical thinking when teaching, creating and selecting preparatory exercises.

This will help you understand:

• How to choose the right preparatory exercises for your students’ needs and based on what you see in the room.

• How to use preparatory exercises to prepare your students’ tissues and joints for specific asanas.

• The application of preparatory exercise to improving function in everyday life and athletic performance.

Workshop 4

Putting It All Together: A Revolutionary & Non Dogmatic Approach to Asana

Have you been trying to keep up with the latest research, but you aren’t sure how to apply it to your classes?

Are you looking for a way to differentiate yourself and specialize in movement, so you can establish credibility, be the go-to expert in your community, fill your classes, and get more private clients?

Do you just want to know how to keep your students safe?

If so, you’re in the right place.

Unlock your creative potential and movement smarts by learning how to combine applied anatomy with the transformative aspects of yoga.

This updated, evidence based formula will keep you current in your teaching, prepare you to foster a safe environment for multi-level classes, help you attract more private clients, and build your following.

This workshop will synthesize everything you’ve learned in the previous workshops, so you can:

• Structure classes and layer exercises in a fun and challenging way, while keeping the heart of yoga.

• Teach from a skills based approach, instead of lineage based approach.

• Feel confident teaching complex poses and exercises in multi-level classes.

• Incorporate exercises and theories from multiple modalities into your teaching.

• Help your students build strength and stability to balance out their yoga practice.