This workshop will take place in the Fairfax Studio. In person only.
Learn to align yourself from the inside out to transform your physical and mental wellbeing
When we move the way we move habitually, we are always figuring out how to reach farther with less perceived effort. Reaching farther satisfies our goal-oriented mind and makes us feel more accomplished. Unfortunately, reaching farther with less perceived effort REQUIRES us to deform our spine and compromise our breath, and makes our movements less effective, less beneficial for our wellbeing, and less safe.
Moving to reach farther with less effort means never stretching what is tight, and never engaging what is weak, because both those actions feel like wasted effort. When we move habitually, we simply strengthen what is already strong, and stretch out what is already overstretched. Two classic examples of this: excessive neck tension, and an over-rounded, over-stretched upper back. The irony of course is that strengthening what is weak (the upper back) is significantly more important than strengthening what is already relatively strong (the neck extensors), so goal-oriented movement is rather ineffective at increasing wellbeing.
So how do we disrupt this detrimental pattern of wanting to move farther with less effort? We need to learn to prioritize the freedom of our breath, which ALWAYS requires more neutral spinal alignment. Gernot calls this Spinal Intelligence, which is prioritizing the creation of more neutral spinal alignment to free the breath.
We can easily experience this connection between spinal shape and the spaciousness of the breath by observing our breath while standing. Any spinal movement away from the natural double S-curve of the spine compromises our breath. This is true regardless of whether that movement is a backbend, side bend, forward bend, spinal twist, or some combination. When we focus on freeing our breath, we necessarily create a more neutral spine. Learning to choose a more neutral spine over reaching farther has a number of positive benefits, including
Learning to turn off the autopilot
Reducing overuse injuries of the spine
Disrupting neck tension and chronic stress
Reducing slouching and disrupting depression
Creating a more neutral lumbar shape and reducing lower back pain
Increasing range of motion in the shoulder and hip joints, which have lost the greatest percentage of their original range of motion
Strengthening the mind's synaptic connections to the core, which are notoriously weak
Building core strength
Increasing our capacity for mindfulness and joy
In this workshop, we will learn exercises that train spinal intelligence as we begin to notice how reaching farther with less perceived effort requires us to deform our spine. We will then explore a wide variety of yoga poses to learn to notice the temptation of moving farther with less effort in increasingly complex shapes, so that we can begin to replace that goal-oriented pattern with the present-centered act of freeing the breath through more intelligent spinal alignment. Learn a set of yoga exercises that can reverse an overly rounded upper back. Slouching or hunching is far from flattering, but more importantly, recent studies are confirming that a hunched posture is associated not only with increased neck tension and impaired mobility but also with increased risk of falls, shortness of breath, heart and lung disease, as well as depression and anxiety. The good news is that a hunched posture (hyperkyphosis) is reversible. Once you learn the key yoga exercises, all you need is 2 yoga blocks and 5-10 minutes a day.
Saturday 1p: Neutral Spine Poses, Front-to-Back Alignment
Saturday 3:30p: Neutral Spine Poses, Side-to-Side Alignment
Sunday 1p: Twists and Bends, Forward and Back
Sunday 3:30p: Complex Shapes, Arm Balances, and Accessible Inversions (no experience required!)
with Gernot Huber
Individual Sessions: $60
Full Weekend: $210
