– WORKSHOPS –
The Zoom link will be sent to you close to the Workshop date.
First Year of the Advanced Studies Program
Practice of Backbends
with Mary Lou Weprin
Mondays, April 26-June 21
5:45-7:15 p.m. | 8 classes/$240
Backbends restore a normal spinal curve and strengthen the back muscles. They open the chest, stimulate the nervous system and increase vitality. This class is meant to deepen our understanding of backbends and explore different ways of practicing them
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
By permission of the teacher, Mary Lou, or enrollment in the Advanced Studies Program.
First Year of the Advanced Studies Program
The Wisdom of Yoga
with Phid Simons
Mondays, April 26-June 21
7:30-9:00 p.m. | 8 classes/$240
This course will introduce the principles and common themes of Indian philosophy, as taught in the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. We’ll apply the wisdom of these ancient teachings as a guide to self-understanding, more effective practice, and greater happiness.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
No prerequisite required.
Moving Deeper Into the Shoulders with Twists and Inversions
with Benjamin Flowers
Saturday, June 19
2:00-4:00 p.m. | $40
In this class we will practice twisting poses to build strength and mobility in the shoulder girdle to prepare for inversions. Using props we will explore different ways to modify poses and make poses more accessible.
This class is appropriate for students newer to yoga, but some experience is required.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Benjamin Flowers is a graduate of The Yoga Room’s two year teacher training program and is a student of Mary Lou Weprin. He is also certified as an Elise Browning Miller Yoga for Scoliosis teacher trainer and he has been greatly inspired by Patricia Walden’s work in Yoga
Yoga for Your Hips
with Gay White
Saturday, June 26
2:00-4:00 p.m. | $40
This afternoon practice is for learning about and practicing specific asanas that ease, open and bring healthy strength to the hip joints.
There will be a specific warm up and then we will practice and discover certain movements that are useful for you individually.
The workshop is appropriate for everyone, but is not geared toward those with significant injuries.
Please contact me if you would like to see if this workshop is appropriate for you. (gay.yogagarden@gmail.com).
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Gay White, Director of The Yoga Room and Co-Director of The Yoga Room's Advanced Studies Program, has taught yoga in the Bay Area since 1991. Her longtime teacher, Donald Moyer, taught with great joy and passed along deep understanding to his students. Gay's classes and workshops are dedicated to alignment and awareness in an open-hearted, safe and creative mixed-level learning community.
Zen Meditation on Great Compassion: Zazen 7-Week Series
with Reb Anderson
Tuesdays, July 6, 13, 20, 27, August 3, 10, 17
7:00-8:45 p.m. | $126 Series, $20 Single Class
This series will focus on teachings and practices of great compassion.
Each evening will begin with a period of quiet sitting followed by an introduction and recognition of the members of our meeting.
And teachings and compassion will be offered together with group dialogue and discussion.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Tenshin Reb Anderson is Senior Dharma Teacher and former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center. He is the author of Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains, Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts, and The Third Turning of the Wheel: Wisdom of the Samdhinirmocana Sutra.
Introduction to Yoga
with Gay White
Mondays, July 12, 19, 26, August 2, 9, 16
5:15-6:15 p.m. | Series of 6 classes $60 | $12 Single Class
In this series we will learn the basic movements and poses so that you can begin to practice with a solid foundation and in a safe way.
Each person will receive individual attention and we will practice to experience the joy of yoga.
These classes will be via zoom.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Gay White, Director of The Yoga Room and Co-Director of The Yoga Room's Advanced Studies Program, has taught yoga in the Bay Area since 1991. Her longtime teacher, Donald Moyer, taught with great joy and passed along deep understanding to his students. Gay's classes and workshops are dedicated to alignment and awareness in an open-hearted, safe and creative mixed-level learning community.
Back Care: Building Strength Evenly with Yoga
with Deborah Wolk
Saturday, July 17
2-4 p.m. | $40
When we have a back injury or asymmetry, collapse and atrophy weaken us due to our imbalances. Often those who suffer from injuries or pain are told to strengthen the abdomen or "the core" to heal, but workouts building one muscle group can often lock in asymmetry and ultimately create more imbalances and pain.
Once we start healing the body with good alignment, strength is needed to maintain that alignment, to rebuild confidence in the body mind, and to sustain internal lift. Where do we begin? What is strength if it is not just muscle building? and what techniques and skills are needed to build strength symmetrically?
Basic props will be needed for this workshop. No brand new beginners to yoga.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Join Deborah Wolk, Back Care specialist and Founder/Program Director of Samamkaya Yoga in New York City for a sensory understanding of the anatomy of strength building for back care and an asana practice to build strength evenly and with intelligence. Help your body heal for the long term from asymmetry, chronic injury and pain.
Scoliosis: Yoga for the Heart and Lungs
with Deborah Wolk
Sunday, July 18
10 am-12 p.m. | $40
Due to the curve and concavity in the thoracic rib cage, those of us with scoliosis are more prone to heart and lung conditions or weaknesses than others. Many of us have conditions like Mitral Valve Prolapse for instance which may need eventual surgery. But we can use the techniques which help our curves through yoga such as breathing into the thoracic concavity, changing the position of the ribs in the concavity by side bending and stretching specific intercostals and stuck areas in the diaphragm to increase our breathing capacity and strengthen the heart. We can change blood flow through inversions and increase or slow down the heart rate/respiration with backbends, forward bends and pranayama. Join Deborah for Wolk, long time scoliosis specialist and Founder/Program Director of Samamkaya Yoga in New York City for an experiential anatomy lesson on the heart and lungs in relationship to scoliosis and a yoga asana practice especially designed to strengthen, open and make space for the heart and lungs.
Basic props will be needed for this workshop. No brand new beginners to yoga.
Here's a list of recommended minimum props:
3-4 blocks
4-5 Mexican style cotton blankets with no pattern in the weave
2 Pune belts (1 long, 1 short)
a metal folding chair
and a sticky mat.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Join Deborah Wolk, Back Care specialist and Founder/Program Director of Samamkaya Yoga in New York City for a sensory understanding of the anatomy of strength building for back care and an asana practice to build strength evenly and with intelligence. Help your body heal for the long term from asymmetry, chronic injury and pain.
– INTENSIVES –
July Intensive
with Mary Lou Weprin
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, July 2, 3, 4
Mornings 9:00 am-12:00 noon, Afternoons 2:00-4:00 p.m.
$240 Full Series, $40 Single Class
Our 31st annual Yoga Room Practice Intensive will help you to deepen your yoga practice, further your work on more challenging poses, and develop your skills.
You are eligible for this intensive if you:
• regularly attend a Level 2–4 or 3–5 class at the Yoga Room,
• are a graduate of or currently enrolled in the Advanced Studies Program, or
• by permission of the instructor.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Mary Lou Weprin taught the Practice Intensive in partnership with Donald Moyer from 1992 until his retirement in 2014 and now continues as the leader of the workshop. She has been teaching ongoing classes and workshops at The Yoga Room for over 30 years. With Donald Moyer, she founded The Yoga Room’s Advanced Studies Program, a two-year teacher-training program now in its 29th year. For information email mweprin@comcast.net.
