Yoga Landing

August 23 - 25

All Levels

Chatanooga, Tennessee  

Register here - https://www.yogalanding.net/

Join me for an Inspiring Weekend Workshop on Asana Excellence

I’m excited to invite you to a transformative weekend dedicated to deepening your asana practice and advancing your journey towards excellence in yoga.

Friday Night: We’ll kick off with an exploration of my 7 Core Asana Principles, using Surya Namaskara A as our focal point. Together, we’ll dissect every transition and pose, applying these principles to enhance your practice and understanding. Expect to leave with fresh insights into Surya Namaskara and a set of principles that you can use to approach any pose with greater knowledge.

Saturday Morning: Our focus will shift to the standing poses of the Ashtanga Yoga sequence. This class will help you understand how to create a powerful stance, emphasizing intelligent legwork and the role of the legs and arms in supporting every pose. Learn how to open the hips effectively and express your poses with skill and precision.

Saturday Afternoon (Teachers’ Session): Designed specifically for teachers, this session will explore how to integrate anatomical knowledge into your teaching. Discover how to use anatomical terms dynamically to guide students, and master the art of delivering precise verbal cues that bring postures to life.

Sunday: We’ll delve into backbends, focusing on a single method for working with the legs and arms that applies to all backbends. Learn how to arch your spine safely and evenly, avoiding common pitfalls and harmful practices.

My goal for the weekend is for you to leave feeling inspired, with a deeper clarity and understanding of what constitutes excellence in asana. Join us for a weekend of insightful study and transformative practice!

Schedule

FRIDAY -  8/23

SURYA NAMASKARA & THE 7 CORE ASANA PRINCIPLES 

Explore the transitions and poses of Surya Namaskara A through David’s 7 Core Asana Principles:
1. Samasthiti is Every Pose
2. Crouch and Spring to Transition
3. Foundation First (Ground Legs and Arms)
4. Awaken the Spine
5. Tap Breath
6. Seal in Energy with Mudras
7. Play with Opposites
 
Learn how to apply these principles to Surya Namaskara A, providing you with a valuable template to enhance your practice in any pose.
 

SATURDAY - 8/24 

EXTRACTING STRENGTH THROUGH STANDING POSTURES

In this class we’ll explore how the cultivating a combination of dynamism and stability in the standing postures provides you a perfect means of entrance into the internal practice of Ashtanga Yoga. We’ll explore the importance of using the feet, legs, and hips to create strength, stamina and concentration. Better understand how the standing postures are an essential key to building a strong asana foundation. Learn to better access to mula and uddhyana bandhas (locks), see how the grounded support of the lower body can awaken the breath and the spine and lead the way to steady gazing (dristi) and to dynamic meditation (dhyana).

SATURDAY – 8/24 

HOW TO SEAMLESSLY WEAVE ANATOMY INTO YOUR TEACHING  

In this class, David will explore these themes:

1. Being openly curious about how your body instrument works structurally and anatomically in movement and posture 
2. The role of imagery and visualization in gaining anatomy knowledge
3. How asana actions are often simply applied anatomy instructions
4. Understanding arm positioning and arm movements from the fascinating perspective of the scapula, the root or base plate of the arm. 
5. Utilizing dynamic opposing forces within the arms, ribcage, and spine to align all poses as well as increase shoulder flexibility and upper body strength. 
6. Discovering the intelligence of your legs to strike a grounded stance and revolutionize your pose
7. Express the circularity of the hip joint as a great way to increase the range of motion of the hip joint and safely approach classic hip opening poses that feature half or full lotus.  
8. A set of steps for safely taking half or full lotus pose and how to use the same steps whether doing standing, seated, or inverted half or full lotus poses. 

9. How to absorb and transmit anatomy information dynamically and experientially as opposed to theoretically.  
10. How to utilize dynamic alignment to protect the knees, hips, shoulders, and spine.  

SUNDAY – 8/25

ART OF SAFE AND JOYOUS BACKBENDS

This class will help you better understand how to make progress in all back bends through a study of the foundational back bends in Hatha Yoga.  We'll look into how to create a sound, well-grounded foundation in each asana.  Focusing on setting a foundation leads you to find an aligned, nectar yielding spinal position.  We will also look at strategies for creating smooth transitions into and out of the asanas, and how to effectively and economically combine repetition, rhythm, and breathing in order to stay longer and have more ease.   Lastly, we'll look into how to devise strategies for how to either increase or decrease the challenge of the positions depending on how you choose to approach your work.