Workshop with Michael Stone
Freeing the Body, Freeing the Mind: Integrating Yoga Postures, Buddhist Meditation, Pranayama and Study - Public lecture, weekend workshop & 3-day intensive course
Time: 19-24 November 2010
Place: Yogamudra shala, Strandgade 36 D 2nd floor, DK-1401 Copenhagen (map)
"Michael is one of the rare teachers that can weave together yoga postures, deep philosophical inquiry and daily life, and also explore aspects of yoga that are rarely taught and rarely understood. True to tradition and very contemporary, he teaches a true transformation of mind, body and heart," says Richard Freeman, senior Ashtanga yoga teacher.
Note: Spaces are limited and distributed on a 'first come, first served' basis! All classes are taught in English.
About the course
Basics for beginners and creative new approaches for teachers and students alike.
Yoga postures are the foundation for studying and working with the habits of body, mind and nervous system. Even though yoga postures are often separated from the practice of meditation, breathing, insight and ethics, these aspects of practice are all intertwined. We will look at the importance of integrating meditation practice, asana (posture) practice, therapeutics and study, based on Michael's books:
"The inner tradition of yoga" (Shambhala Publications, 2008), "Yoga for a world out of balance" with a foreword by B.K.S. Iyengar (Shambhala Publications, 2009), and his new release "Freeing the body, freeing the mind - Writings on the connections between yoga and buddhism" (Shambhala Publications, August 2010).
Workshop schedule
Lecture
Friday, 19 November 2010
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17:00-20:00 Freeing the Body, Freeing the Mind: How to bring yoga practices to life through meditation and creative engagement with each moment.
Drawing on yoga and Buddhist teachings Michael will talk about what it means to have a spiritual practice that is engaged with the world in creative and relevant ways. And how commitment to a belief system or even a theological framework may give way to a more modern way of using the body and our communities as a way of waking up.
If possible bring a cushion or blanket to sit on. This talk is open to everybody incl. those with no previous yoga experience.
Weekend workshop
Saturday and Sunday, 20-21 November 2010
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08:00-09:00 Meditation and chanting
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09:00-11:30 An internal approach to yoga asana.
In the morning we will practice the standing poses, followed by creative sequencing that will allow us time to choose postures and learn modifications and techniques that will open up known poses in profoundly new ways, especially inversions.
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13:00-15:30 Meditation, yoga philosophy and practice therapeutics.
How to develop a daily meditation practice and how to work with the obstacles that arise in meditation and asana. We will study teachings by the Buddha and explore how this relates to yoga practices.
Students should bring a meditation cushion to class.
3-day intensive course: Time and Natural Body
Monday to Wednesday, 22-24 November 2010
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08:00-09:00 Meditation instruction
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09:00-11:30 Asana will be treated as the context and base for meditation, the practical ground for making our yogic inquiry genuine and relevant to real life. We will slow down and practice the Ashtanga vinyasa sequences and how to release effort and find ease through little tricks and subtle adjustments in form and attitude. This will be a methodical and internal approach to asana based on a slow study of the primary postures of Ashtanga yoga with many slow detailed variations.
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13:00-15:30 After sitting meditation instruction we will study yoga philosophy through chanting and detailed exploration of the teachings of Patanjali and the Buddha.
Students should bring a meditation cushion to class.
Details and preliminary readings
The flowing postures of vinyasa are known for both their meditative qualities and how postures link together into a continuous flow. Although not often taught with subtlety, vinyasa is based on a profound internal principle of alignment and energy conjunction, which teaches us how to work with our minds. This core alignment removes obstacles to internal breath and feeling so that meditation and insight easily arise.
The weekend workshop and 3-day intensive course is a step-by-step exploration of the basic thread of form, breathing, and movement upon which the classical series of postures in the Ashtanga vinyasa system is strung. We will explore effective and natural patterns of alignment that open core breathing. Then we will explore the role of the mind in practice and relationship between physical and psychological holding patterns.
Students will learn small, subtle adjustments in form and attitude that can make problematic and difficult poses produce their fruits.
We will also address the problems and obstacles which commonly arise through this type of practice. This will give the teacher better tools with which to see the individual nature of the student and to assist them in avoiding injury.
Recommended reading: Yoga Sutra attributed to Patanjali (download from Arlingtoncenter.org) and Michael's books, see above. Participants in the 3-day intensive must also print, read and bring this pdf (31 pages).
About Michael Stone, M.A.
Michael is a psychotherapist in private practice and teaches yoga (postures, meditation, psychology, therapeutics) in teacher training, conference, academic and monastic setting internationally. He is known for elegantly combining the various traditions of Krishnamacharya (Iyengar, Ashtanga, etc.) and has a unique capacity for bringing together a practice-oriented study of yoga with a strong background in academic scholarship. He has been a long-time student of Richard Freeman.
Michael lives in Toronto, Canada, where he leads Centre of Gravity Sangha - a thriving community of yoga and Buddhist practitioners interested in the integration of committed practice and social action. For more information visit the Centre of Gravity website.
Participants
Everybody can attend the weekend workshop, which may be of interest to anyone interested in or involved with the study of how the mind works, whether you are new to yoga, an experienced teacher, or a therapist with no prior yoga experience. If you attend the weekend workshop and/or the 3-day intensive course the lecture Friday evening is included. Also, if you have a friend who would like to come to the lecture who don't practice asana but may be interested in yoga pshilosophy, bring him/her along.
To attend the 3-day intensive course Monday-Wednesday you must either participate in the weekend workshop or know Michael from one of his previous workshops at YOGAMUDRA or elsewhere. Otherwise, let us know your backgound and we may be able to accomodate you.
Payment and booking
You can choose between the following options:
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Full workshop, Saturday-Wednesday: 3,200 DKK (approx. 430 EUR)
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Weekend workshop, Saturday-Sunday: 1,800 DKK
Fully booked! Write to
if you want to join the waiting list.
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3-day intensive course, Monday-Wednesday: 1,800 DKK
Spaces available.
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Lecture, Friday: 200 DKK if you do not participate in the course; free for you and a friend if you participate in the course (please, inform us of name, email address, and telephone number of your friend)
Spaces available.
To sign up, click on log in in the menu above, create a profile and/or log in, then go to prices, and book/buy the workshop option that you would like to attend. Your space is secured when we have received your payment.
Accommodation
Hotels, hostels, bed & breakfast and private housing are available all over Copenhagen. Look here for more information.
Contact
+45 3296 9591
