A couple of questions were sent in about two of the classes on our schedule; here are some answers!
Q: What's the story with the Sunday class? How much of primary and intermediate is being taught, and do I have to know all of intermediate to take the class?
A: To answer the last question first,
no, you do not need to know all of intermediate or even a little of it in order to take Sunday's class. Each week we do something a little different, but the gist of it is we do most of primary, usually leaving out about 5 postures, to make room and time to add in about 5 intermediate postures, all which complement the primary asanas. We also do two or three pranayama practices to balance the nervous system, and the whole class, including rest, runs about an hour and forty-five
minutes.
Q: What happens in One Hour Ashtanga?
A: One Hour Ashtanga is the primary series without as many jump backs. We group some of the poses together that fall into the same category, such as maricyasana A & B, and after doing both of those, jump back. It's a slightly more relaxed approach to Ashtanga Yoga. You still get to work, but you also experience the restorative effect that the primary series can have on you. It also takes less
time, so there's that, too.
A note on Sunday's talk with Sat Bir Khalsa
I mentioned in my email yesterday that Sat Bir's lecture is a precursor to an upcoming
yoga therapist teacher training. The training itself is being held by an organization called Yoga Bharati in conjunction with a group called VaYU Shakti. While they are using the temple for the course, I will not be teaching in this training. Their partnership is with the temple as a space to hold the training in, but I have no direct involvement in it, content or otherwise.
Yoga Education Collective Teacher Training
In 2024, Robert Moses, Harshvardhan, and I will be teaching our own teacher training through Yoga Education Collective. This will most likely be held in three modules, one for philosophy, one for asanas, and one for
pranayama. The asana portion will not be Ashtanga Yoga, but will be an exploration and application of asanas for different purposes and uses. We are very excited about the course, and more information will follow.
In the meantime...
From June 5th to June 16th we will be leading a pranayama intensive, Monday thru Friday, 6am to 7am. It will be online and in-person at BSGT. This will primarily be a practice intensive, with very little in the way of philosophy or science. We will be teaching a very interesting sequence of pranayamas that have a profound effect on the mind, body, and nervous system. You should be familiar and comfortable with
kapalabhati and short breath holds in order to attend, and can learn more here.
Thank you, and see you in class, in-person or
online!
Yours,
Eddie