Video Course_3: Beyond Asana (10hr 7mins)

Description

Yoga Course Video : Beyond Asana (10hr 7mins)
5 Masterclasses

Join Catherine Annis to explore the subtle, transformative power of yoga through this series of immersive yoga masterclasses.  Expand your yoga practice and create a richer, more meaningful yoga practice for you and your students.

Aimed primarily at yoga and movement teachers and serious students, this series is suitable for anyone who’s interested in exploring what we’re really doing in asana and how we can deepen our understanding and experience.

Join us to :

• immerse yourself in the practice
• develop your inner teacher
• discover how to create an authentic and personal practice
• adapt your yoga to become more accessible and meaningful for everyone
• experience yoga with a sensitivity and rigour which will transform your teaching and practice

 

Suitable for anyone who’s interested in exploring what we’re really doing in asana and how we can deepen our experience

 

Fundamental Movement Patterns : (2 hour video)

If we like yoga, we tend to do it a lot.  And in these circumstances it makes sense to really understand what we’re doing and why.  How do our movements reflect normal, everyday functional movement patterns?  What are the fundamental building blocks of movement and how do we learn to make them as infants?  How do the patterns we create in very early life affect the way we move as children, adults and on into old age?

During this workshop, we’ll:

• identify the 6 fundamental movement patterns
• discuss what we mean by “functional movement”
• investigate how we can adapt our approach to yoga postures to become more compatible with healthy, functional movement
• investigate how habitual movement patterns and postures may have affected our ability to move and feel these fundamental patterns
• examine how yoga helps us explore fundamental patterns
• discover how to let go of unhelpful movements and move with more ease and fluidity

NOTE: also available for purchase as a stand alone workshop – click here

 

The Spine & its Importance in Yoga : (2 hour video)

At the earliest stage of our development, the spine is one of the first structures to form.  It comes into being to house and protect our nervous system and, as we grow, our bodies organise around it.  In this context our spine develops to be at the heart of everything we do, both physically and psychologically.

Throughout life, it is central to our ability to move and enjoy that movement and yoga provides us with exciting possibilities to play with that potential.

During this workshop, we’ll:

• Understand the structure and function of our spine
• Consider the spine as the central powerhouse of the physical body
• Develop an appreciation of the spine’s role as housing of the central nervous system, structural support and sensory receptor
• Investigate how all movement begins within the spine
• The intimate relationship between our spine and everything we do in daily life and our yoga practice

NOTE: also available for purchase as a stand alone workshop – click here

 

Shoulders & Upper Back : (2 hours 3 mins video)

Our shoulders are complex joints, incredibly flexible and adaptable and yet often prone to feeling stiff and tense.  Stress and anxiety is often expressed in this area, causing discomfort which may then radiate up into the neck, down the arms into the wrists or throughout the torso, leaving us feeling grumpy and out of balance.  Today we’ll give our shoulders and upper back a sensory treat, let go of deep seated tensions and experience space and freedom in this overused area of the body.

During this workshop, we’ll:

• Understand the complex structure and function of the shoulder joint
• Explore the anatomy of the shoulders, arms, ribs and neck
• Discover the intimate relationship between the upper spine, shoulders and the breath
• Learn more about the rotator cuff
• Give your shoulders and upper back a sensory treat, learn to let go of long held tensions
• Practice some gentle, deliberate and focused techniques to help you change movement habits and release tensions which may restrict you in everyday life

NOTE: also available for purchase as a stand alone workshop – click here

 

Legs & their Connection to our Sense of Self : (2 hours 4 mins video)

Our legs are intimately bound up with our sense of choice and personal power.  We first experience ourselves as individuals, separate from our mothers, as we begin to walk.  Taking our first steps, we start to express personal agency and preference.  We experience ourselves as “growing up”, literally reaching away from the floor, into space and thence to adulthood, learning to find balance and “stand on our own two feet”.

This creates a connection between our experience of using the strong muscles of our legs and hips and selfhood.  There’s a strong association too, with personal autonomy and wellbeing.  So it’s no surprise that, during the early lockdowns of the pandemic there was a marked increase in physical exercise as individuals expressed their desire to feel more control over their choices and situations.

During this workshop we’ll:

• Explore the developmental role of the legs in creating a sense of individuality and personal choice
• Consider whether and when it might be helpful to straighten the knees and how we can work with knees that are prone to collapsing – into hyper extension or bending
• Discuss how the pandemic has caused an increase in both physical activity and sedentary living and how that might affect our sense of self and wellbeing
• Explore the feeling of strength and support that arises from our legs and how it supports our mental health

NOTE: also available for purchase as a stand alone workshop – click here

 

Self Care & CranioSacral Therapy : (2 hour video)

Have you ever wondered how to create that deep bliss you feel after a wonderful massage?  That sensation of being both grounded and light, refreshed and ready for deep rest?

During this session, we’ll be exploring what stimulates that delicious feeling of being “yoga stoned” and how we can generate it ourselves, through our own personal approach to practice. Whilst some yoga is all about our experience of movements and muscularity, there’s an another way to practice which takes us into the deep rhythms and pulses of the fluid body and this is how we’ll approach our final session in the Beyond Asana series.

The central nervous system is bathed in craniosacral fluid (CSF), which surrounds the brain, flows through the spinal canal and down into a pocket within the sacrum.  When the fluid is optimally balanced and flowing harmoniously, we feel calm, that all is well with the world and within us.

Usually we visit a therapist who will provide touch and tiny delicate movements to promote harmony within the system.  During this class we explore how it’s possible, with sensitivity and attention, to stimulate a harmonious sense of fluid movement and bring ourselves into a sense of balance and ease and quiet.

During this workshop we’ll:

• Explore how movement can become free, exploratory and reflective of our fluid natures
• Move away from muscularity and powerful movement and dive into our fluid nature
• Tune into the deep rhythms and pulses of your fluid body, particularly your craniosacral fluid (CSF),  which bathes the brain, flows through the spinal canal and on down into a pocket within the sacrum
• Find balance and harmony through your fluid system to bring a sense of calm and well-being
• Explore how to invoke a sensitive, delicate attention which can stimulate our own fluid balance, thereby generating a sense of ease and restful quiet
• Delivered in a practical, accessible style, this workshop is not to be missed.

NOTE: also available for purchase as a stand alone workshop – click here

 

As soon as we receive confirmation of your payment, our admin will email you a link to the video (mp4 format) where you can play or download your own copy.