The Yoga Sutras offer practical insight into how to work with the mind, both in daily life and in your asana practice. In this session, David will give a talk on Book 1, Sutras 18 to 22, a key passage that points to the inner qualities that support real progress on the path. We will explore five essential qualities to cultivate:
• Sraddha: faith
• Virya: energy and strength
• Smrti: memory
• Samadhi: meditation
• Prajna: wisdom and insight
These five can be understood as inner “containers” you keep filling through steady practice. David will unpack each word, what it means, and how to apply it in a grounded way.
Life is constant change, and a common response is hesitation and doubt - protecting ourselves, playing it safe, not even noticing we’ve stopped taking risks. This shows up in practice: transitioning doubtfully, arriving at poses tentatively, accepting mediocre outcomes without realizing you’re squandering the chance to build real strength.
This workshop introduces crouch and spring mentality - the decisive, committed quality that builds both physical power and confidence. We’ll work with foundational transitions and poses, learning to set up, commit, and spring instead of hesitating our way through.
**What we’ll practice:**
- Transitioning into Chaturanga Dandasana in a way that builds strength
- Sun Salutation transitions, especially into Upward Dog, using decisive setup and spring
- Moving into standing poses (Warrior sequences) to develop leg and core strength
- Basic forward bends with commitment, not collapse
- Basic hip openers: the half-lotus progression through Tree Pose and Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana
- Jump-back transitions that create power instead of grinding
You’ll learn to take risks in controlled conditions, to act decisively instead of doubtfully, and to practice in a way that actually builds capacity.
Standing poses are often dismissed as basic warm-ups - five breaths per side, then move on to the “real” practice. This is a fundamental mistake. These are the gold mines of Ashtanga. Standing poses are where you learn the craft of asana: how to set your foundation, free your spine, and become expressive in your body.
This is where you discover that complexity isn’t what makes practice valuable - depth is. You don’t need advanced poses to build strength, find absorption, or access the healing power of yoga. Standing poses are universally accessible, safe, and inexhaustible. You can practice Triangle, Warrior, and the standing sequence for your entire life and keep learning, keep discovering, keep finding meditation in movement.
This class teaches you how to use your feet, legs, and hips to create real power and stability. You’ll learn how grounded support in the lower body awakens the breath, engages the bandhas (mula and uddhyana), frees your spine, and opens the possibility of expressing yourself through spinal gesture - that central column within you. From this foundation comes steady gazing (drishti) and dynamic meditation (dhyana).
Get your head on straight about where to put your energy. The standing poses are the foundation of everything - treat them like it.
Traditional Mysore-style class with one-to-one guidance in the Ashtanga system - but taught through David’s principle-based approach. You’ll learn the set sequence while developing the intelligence to modify, use props, and apply crouch-and-spring dynamism to your transitions. The focus is on building strength and skill through smart repetition, not forcing yourself into positions your body isn’t ready for. Each student works at their own pace. David circulates, offering hands-on adjustments, verbal cues, and specific technical guidance tailored to where you are in the practice - whether you’re learning your first sun salutation or refining advanced postures.
This is Ashtanga without the rigidity. You follow the system, but you learn to practice intelligently.
*No experience with Second Series necessary.
Backbends demand that you meet intensity without collapsing or bracing. Most people approach them either by forcing or by holding back - both are forms of doubt that prevent real development.
This workshop teaches you to backbend with precision and commitment, using Primary and Second Series poses to build universal principles you can apply to any backbend.
What we’ll practice:
- Purvottanasana and the transition from Upward Dog
- Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel/Upward Bow)
- Dropping back from standing with commitment, not collapse
- Shalabasana (Locust), Bhekasana (Frog), Dhanurasana (Bow)
- Ustrasana (Camel)
- Kapotasana (Pigeon Pose)
The focus: activating legs, glutes, and core; opening the chest without collapsing into the lower back; positioning your spine with precision and power. You’ll learn to meet challenge decisively, building strength and flexibility without fear or force.
