Events/Workshops
with Mary Richards
with Mary Richards
Saturday 8a-5p, Sunday 8a-2p
What’s a spine? (Hint: We are not talking about the vertebral column at present …) Where do you find a tuberosity, trochanter or malleolus? How does any of this pertain to yoga practice or instruction?
Knowledge of skeletal anatomy is immensely useful for those of us who teach and practice asana, especially when offering modifications, since people come in all shapes and sizes. Skeletal anatomy also provides a point of reference for studying muscles because many muscles are named according to their relationships to nearby bones. Furthermore, the palpable and visible bony features of our skeletal anatomy provide us with valuable information about the movement and orientation of our joints. From the foundation of the skeleton, we can offer anatomically correct and functional movement instructions, offer safe and effective assists to our students, and place props to support the body properly in asana.
Join Mary Richards, CYT, e-RYT, and anatomy fanatic, for a two-day adventure that explores the bony features of our magnificent skeletal structure. We will explore the planes of movement, how different types of joints move, and learn about the law of concave-convex motion. This workshop involves active practice, so be ready to practice from your bones.
CECs: 8 hours anatomy and physiology, 1 hours philosophy, 3 hours teaching techniques. Yoga Alliance is self-reporting for CECs. Students log the hours in their account. SIGN UP!
with Mary Richards
Sometimes our arms are not long enough to wrap around our bodies. On other occasions, we need a lifted base or additional padding. Then, there are times when we need something to push against or something to help hold ourselves together, literally and figuratively. Thank goodness for props! We can use tools such as blankets, blocks, bolsters, chairs, sand bags, straps, walls — maybe even the kitchen sink — to inform our asana and pranayama practice. Props can serve as personal training guides when practicing unfamiliar or different pose variations. Props can also be used to modify poses when healing injuries, working with restrictions, and practicing with respect to other circumstances like pregnancy.Join Mary Richards for an interactive romp that will involve getting trussed, weighed down, lifted up, and tucked in. Our time together will include a brief lecture, active and restorative pose practice, and open discussion. SIGN UP!
Exploring the Axial Body: Mapping the Vertebral Column
with Mary Richards
The vertebral column is the central organizing axis of the body. Composed of multiple bones that articulate with one another, the shoulder and pelvic girdles, skull and rib cage, it’s safe to say this structure is immensely important to posture and movement. In addition to the bones, the vertebral column is composed of cartilaginous discs. These discs are vitally important to the structure and function of the column. Furthermore, the vertebral column is home to the spinal cord. It is the major thoroughfare of the central nervous system. The vertebral column also interacts profoundly with the peripheral nervous system and internal organs of the body.Join Mary Richards, CYT, e-RYT, for an engaging weekend dedicated to the vertebral column in all its glory. We will construct models of vertebral bodies, act like spinous processes and facet joints, and take our vertebral columns through their full range of movement via asana. In addition, this workshop will include a discussion of respiratory physiology and pranayama.
CECs: 8 hours anatomy and physiology, 1 hours philosophy, 3 hours teaching techniques. Yoga Alliance is self-reporting for CECs. Students log the hours in their account. SIGN UP!
Winds of Change: Pranayama as a Practice
with Mary Richards
In various yogic systems of thought, it is a commonly held belief that we humans are allotted 10,000 breaths per day for 100 years. Did you know that the average person breathes 20,000 times per day? The overwhelming majority of a typical person’s respiratory activity is short and shallow, which produces profound effects on numerous body functions. So, how do we create greater respiratory efficiency and improve actions like our digestion? In short, with Pranayama! The breathing exercises of yoga can help us engage the lungs more fully with less strain — and this is just the tip of iceberg.Join Mary Richards, e-RYT, CYT, for an afternoon dedicated to the most important of the body’s “senses,” the breath. This workshop will include a brief lecture about the respiratory system and offer participants the guided opportunity to practice several different pranayama techniques. There will be some active and passive pose practice as well, to prime the body for the breathing exercises. Dress comfortably and bring water. SIGN UP!
Butterflies in the Belly: Asana and the Inner Body
with Mary Richards
Saturday 8a-5p, Sunday 8a-2p
We tend to associate the physical practices of yoga with muscles and bones. Asana and pranayama also massage the body from the inside-out. Each movement that we perform in asana — and every breath we take — has a physiologic effect on the organs. During our practice together, we will explore the relationship between the movements of the spine and the abdominopelvic organs. By expanding our awareness of how the actions of the respiratory and musculoskeletal systems change conditions in the inner body, we increase our capability to identify and release obstacles within us, literally and figuratively, that contribute to bodily discomfort and emotional pain. Over the course of two days, we will learn about the internal organs and how the alignment of the organs is affected by and affects the movement of the outer body. This workshop includes active and restorative pose practice as well as pranayama techniques.
CECs: 6 hours anatomy and physiology, 3 hours philosophy, 3 hours teaching techniques. Yoga Alliance is self-reporting for CECs. Students log the hours in their account. SIGN UP!