June 5, 6, and 7 (yep, this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!), Heather Tiddens is in town to share her yoga with us. She's teaching 4 sessions over the weekend, and you can come to any or all of them! Never been to a workshop before? Worried that you aren't "good enough" at yoga yet? Nonsense! The workshop is for all levels, and if you've never been to a workshop before, Heather is a compassionate, experienced, and skilled teacher who will make you feel welcome. Here's a note from Heather about her experience and her plans for the weekend. See you there!
I'm writing to invite you to join us at 5 Points this weekend for the Yin & Yang Yoga workshop. Bringing these two styles of practice together in my own life has had profound effects on my asana practice, as well as creating more balance off the mat.
My first 10 years or so of asana practice was in strong yang style (Ashtanga, Forrest Yoga, Power Flow...). I really value that time of having this style of practice help me into a very intense healing process, and exploring new territory of my physical, mental and emotional edges. I also am very physically active with surfing, running, hiking, etc.
About 8 years ago, I took a Yin yoga class with Paul Grilley - I hated it. But...I think because of my strong reaction to it, I realized there was something here for me. I had also been meditating for about a year at that point. I began to realize that my physical life (my yoga practice, surfing and all the other physical activities) was really really yang, and out of balance. I was exhausted all the time. Also, the way I approached practice and life, how I worked with my edges, how I used my breath, what I was asking my body to do, how I was in relationship with others and myself was way out on the yang end of the spectrum.
Enter Yin. These words we use to describe yin practice: surrender, receptivity, acceptance, letting go...had always had such negative connotations for me. I associated these words with weakness and victimhood, so I had a lot of negative judgment about the practice. But I did come back to it every day, studied with Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers, and the past 5 or 6 years, I have been doing Yin before my yang practice.
The gifts of bringing these two styles together into balance were unimaginable to me before. I feel more than ever, at home. At home in my body, in my mind, and with my emotions. At peace with the ever-changing relationship of strength, receptivity, control, surrender.
So with the workshop classes, my intention is to create the environment for you to explore these relationships for yourself. How you are in relationship with your body, your mind, your emotions, and how do you meet what arises in the experience of the poses? I don't view yin style as "better" than yang, or vica versa. Rather, when brought together in appropriate measure to our practice, our time on the mat can then support us in walking our life's path much more in harmony with ourselves and the world around us. I'm looking forward to sharing this yoga time with you this weekend.
I'm writing to invite you to join us at 5 Points this weekend for the Yin & Yang Yoga workshop. Bringing these two styles of practice together in my own life has had profound effects on my asana practice, as well as creating more balance off the mat.
My first 10 years or so of asana practice was in strong yang style (Ashtanga, Forrest Yoga, Power Flow...). I really value that time of having this style of practice help me into a very intense healing process, and exploring new territory of my physical, mental and emotional edges. I also am very physically active with surfing, running, hiking, etc.
About 8 years ago, I took a Yin yoga class with Paul Grilley - I hated it. But...I think because of my strong reaction to it, I realized there was something here for me. I had also been meditating for about a year at that point. I began to realize that my physical life (my yoga practice, surfing and all the other physical activities) was really really yang, and out of balance. I was exhausted all the time. Also, the way I approached practice and life, how I worked with my edges, how I used my breath, what I was asking my body to do, how I was in relationship with others and myself was way out on the yang end of the spectrum.
Enter Yin. These words we use to describe yin practice: surrender, receptivity, acceptance, letting go...had always had such negative connotations for me. I associated these words with weakness and victimhood, so I had a lot of negative judgment about the practice. But I did come back to it every day, studied with Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers, and the past 5 or 6 years, I have been doing Yin before my yang practice.
The gifts of bringing these two styles together into balance were unimaginable to me before. I feel more than ever, at home. At home in my body, in my mind, and with my emotions. At peace with the ever-changing relationship of strength, receptivity, control, surrender.
So with the workshop classes, my intention is to create the environment for you to explore these relationships for yourself. How you are in relationship with your body, your mind, your emotions, and how do you meet what arises in the experience of the poses? I don't view yin style as "better" than yang, or vica versa. Rather, when brought together in appropriate measure to our practice, our time on the mat can then support us in walking our life's path much more in harmony with ourselves and the world around us. I'm looking forward to sharing this yoga time with you this weekend.
In Beauty,
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