Teaching Pre-Natal Yoga
Saturday & Sunday, June 5 & 6
12:30-5:30 both days

Yoga can be a wonderful practice when pregnant, a source of continued health, balanced energy and more subtle bodily awareness as body and baby change day-to-day. It’s also great preparation for giving birth and reintegrating the body when in the glowing presence a newborn baby. Whether you’re pregnant or a teacher with either pregnant students or new moms, it’s essential to practice or teach in a way that is informed by knowing what to do and not do during each trimester, after your baby is born, when lactating and under a variety of maternal conditions.

This workshop is designed to give you a basic foundation for safely practicing and teaching pre/post natal yoga. Topics include:

• Basic maternal anatomy and physiology;
• Guidelines for asanas (postures) specific to each trimester and various pre- and post-natal conditions;
• Adaptations and contraindications for a variety of asana and pranayama (breathing) techniques;
• What to expect and how to support emotional changes;
• Creative use of yoga props and hands-on adjutments to ensure safety and support
• Pelvic floor exercises designed to ease delivery and recovery;
• Breathing and relaxation techniques designed to create more comfort during pregnancy, labor and early mothering.

Open to Students & Teachers. With satisfactory completion of an outside written assignment, this workshop qualifies for 12 hours toward teacher certification or Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

Price: $85

Tantra in Vinyasa Flow
Saturday, June 12, 1:30-4:30pm

Tantra is often simplistically reduced to sacred sex or spiritual sexuality, reflecting the obsession in Western culture with all things sexual. The fuller meaning and practice of tantra is found in experiencing a sense of wholeness and fully awakened presence of body-mind-spirit in all we do in our lives. This practice gains most traction when engaging with the most intense things in our lives while remaining open to all the associated sensations that arise, discovering in the moments of greatest intensity the deepest sense of awakened being.

In this workshop, we will approach doing Vinyasa Flow yoga as a tantric practice by playing the edge of intensity amid a steady flowing sequence of pranayama, asana, more pranayama and meditation. Moving slowly, stretching the breath while stretching and openingthe body and mind, we will tap into ancient mindfulness techniques to explore sustaining awareness of our essential being amid the flow of the practice.

Price: $25

Breathing the Body: A Yoga & Zen Retreat at Tassajara

With Mark Stephens & Kodo Linda Galijan

June 13-18, 2010
12:30-5:30pm both days

Awakening the energy of the body-mind within the constant flow of breath, we will create a calm awakening of inner vibrancy.

The Practice: Rather than trying to tie yourself into knots, yoga is a practice of unwinding and finding freedom in your true nature. In Vinyasa Flow Yoga, we honor the body’s inherent dynamism by moving mindfully and fluidly from pose to pose in synchronized rhythm with the breath. “Playing the edge,” we explore the dynamics of effort and ease, strength and calm, control and surrender, movement and stillness. Then sitting, we moving deeply into the inner rhythms of our essential being, awakening to even more mindful awareness.

The Retreat: This retreat offers daily Vinyasa Flow and Restorative Yoga class led by Mark Stephens and daily meditation classes led by Kodo Linda Galijan. Linda was ordained by Sojun Mel Weitsman in 2004. She is licensed as a clinical psychologist and has practiced yoga for over 20 years. She lives at the San Francisco Zen Center, where she is currently Program Director.

The Place: Each year from May to September, Tassajara opens its gates for their summer guest season, inviting mindful travelers to come and enjoy Tassajara’s unique beauty, natural hot springs, and renowned vegetarian cuisine. Nestled deep in a mountain valley, Tassajara is located inland from the Big Sur coast in a remote part of the Ventana Wilderness. For centuries, the native Esselen people have visited here as a place of healing and renewal, and a hot springs resort was built in the 1800s. In 1967, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and the San Francisco Zen Center established a monastic community at Tassajara, making it the oldest Zen training monastery outside Asia. Over the years, a rich Zen-inspired culture of living mindfully with the earth and each other has developed at Tassajara.

For Information & Registration:
Call: (831) 331-3955
Email: mark@markstephensyoga.com

Teaching Restorative Yoga

Saturday & Sunday
June 26-27, 2010
12:30-5:30pm both days

In Restorative Yoga, we apply the tools and techniques of asana, pranayama and meditation to restore physical, emotional and energetic balance, offering students a practical way to reduce stress and anxiety, heal from injuries and traumas, or feel more stable and at ease in daily life. We can offer Restorative Yoga to students in regular classes, specialized treatment settings or in support of physical or mental/emotional healing.

In this workshop, we will first look broadly at teaching Restorative Yoga, considering alternative approaches that range from simple relaxation classes to individualized yoga therapy. We will look at how to assess student's needs, how to design Restorative Yoga classes that address those needs, how to creatively use of props in giving students support in their practices, and how to create and hold space for students on the restorative path.

Open to Students & Teachers. With satisfactory completion of an outside written assignment, this workshop qualifies for 12 hours toward teacher certification or Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

Price: $85

For Information & Registration:
Call: (831) 331-3955
Email: mark@markstephensyoga.com