Ty Landrum - Thread of Breath

July, 21 - 23

In Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, we work with opposing forces of breath to balance the mind and to open ourselves to the wonder of embodied experience.
The traditional technique is to gather the breath at the base of the pelvis and draw it upward along the spine. As the breath ascends, it touches old tangles of thought and memory and releases the psychical energy that is held withim them. The practice is to be present with this experience, while breathing sweetly through the forms, and reveling in the quiet exhiliration of coming undone.

In this weekend intensive, we explore the simple but potent techniques that bring the Ashtanga practice alive - tracing internal currents of breath, balancing subtle patterns of sensation, moving our bodies from the inside, and giving space for the creative forces to flow. These techniques allow us to bring consciousness deep into the body, where we can engage ourselves, shadows and all, with kindness and clarity.

PROGRAM

FRIDAY

Surya Namaskar (6pm-8pm)

SATURDAY

Vinyasa (8am-10pm)
Pranayama and Meditation (10am-11am)
Backbending (12pm-2pm)
Talk - The five pranas (2pm-3pm)

SUNDAY

Mysore (8am-10am)
Pranayama and Meditation (10am-11am)
Mula Bandha (12pm-2pm)
Philosophy: the creative principle (2-3pm)

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

FRIDAY

SURYA NAMASKAR
Surya Namaskar means Salutation to the Sun. In the context of yoga, the Sun is not only the celestial body that gives us warmth and daylight, but the solar center of the subtle body, where our vital forces converge. In Surya Namaskar, we are propitiating to these forces, inviting them to rise up through the central axis of the body, burn away our delusions and give us insight.
In this session, we explore the internal mechanics of Surya Namaskar, learning to practice this sequence with greater presence, precision and fluidity.
Open to all levels.

SATURDAY

VINYSA
This Vinyasa class will focus on the integration of prana and apana, the two patterns of breath that we explored on Friday night. The idea is to establish a steady and rhytmic flow of breath that lifts the energy from the ground up, leaving us feeling exhilirated and refreshed. This will be a dynamic practice, full of challenges, but open to all. We will do this practice together, breathing together, and focusing together, as one living organsism.

PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION
Pranayama is the practice of giving space to the breath and contemplating the energy that gives us life. 
This session will teach you a simple but potent pranayama sequence that you can practice on your own, a practice that can completely transform your experience of breathing.
The session will end with a deep, embodied form of meditation.

BACKBENDING
The practice of backbending is about making ourselves vulnerable, while finding the internal support that handle that vulnerability with elegance and grace.
When we connect to our internal support, backbending becomes an exhilirating experience, and one that encourages deep psycical release.
In this session, we learn to work intelligently with the diaphragm, the psoas, the pelvic girdle and the obliques to create a long and supple spine that can reach gracefully into these difficult forms. 
This session is open to all levels.

PHILOSOPHY TALK: THE FIVE PRANAS
This talk will explore the role of the five pranas in the process of deep breathing. It will explain how to work with each of these pranas, in concert, to invite a deep psychical release. This traditional yogic teaching will give you a whole new perspective on the internal dynamics of vinyasa yoga.

SUNDAY

MYSORE
This is a Mysore-style asana class. We practice together, mostly in silence, following the natural cadence of our own breath. This is not a guided class, so you must know your own sequencing to attend. Ashtanga Vinyasa will be the predominant style, but other Vinyasa-Kram styles are welcome.
This is an opportunity for individual attention and support.

PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION
Pranayama is the practice of giving space to breath and contemplating the energy that gives us life. 
This session will teach you a simple but potent pranayma sequence that you can practice on your own, a practice that can completely transform your experience of breathing.
This session will end with a deep, emodied form of medtation.

MULA BANDHA
Some say that mula bandha is the toning of the pelvic floor. Others say that mula bandha is the experience of non-duality. What do these have in common? This workshop aims to clarify. Observing the subtle breath, we discover a thread of sensation that reaches from the pelvic floor to the soft palate, a thread that connects us to the primitive source of our vitality. By awakening our adoration for where that thread leads, we invite some of the finer experiences of mula bandha to arise. This session inolve light asana, pranayama and subtle visulization pracitces. All practitioners are welcome.

PHILOSOPHY: THE CREATIVE PRINCIPLE
In tantric philosophy, the feminine is the natural principle of creation. She is abundant, excessive, unpredictable, and threatens to overwhelm us when she overflows. The secret of yoga practice is to make space withing consciousness for the spontaneous movement of the feminine principle and to adore its immediate unfolding, even as it overwhelms the ego. In this philosophy talk, we explore the nature of this principle, and the possibility of relating to it intimately, through a colorful retelling of the Myth of Sati, "She who is."