Moving From the Organs

10 am -1 pm & 2 - 4 pm each day

We often focus on practicing our poses from the spine, arms and legs. But the ancient teachings of yoga also discussed and placed great importance on opening and quieting the organs of the body, including the heart, kidneys and liver. These organs are found in what yogic texts call the “kunda” or vessel that holds these organs.

During this special training, we will focus on specific poses that create a healthy balance for the organs in the chest and abdomen, as well as explore the theories of how and why these poses work. We will study backbends, inversions, forward bends and twists and explore specific therapeutic applications that will be immediately applicable to ourselves and to our students. We will begin each day with a focused intention and then move into practicing active poses. In the afternoon, we will focus on a quiet practice – Restorative yoga, meditation and pranayama. Throughout the training, we will focus our awareness on stabilizing and balancing from the inside, so we can internally experience our practice in a new way. Teachers will gain insights on how to share and teach these concepts to their students, and students will gain profound insights into in their own bodies.

*Advanced Training credit can be obtained with this course.

Theory and Practice of Restorative Yoga

We work very hard in our lives, and while we may sleep, we rarely take time to rest. Restorative yoga poses help us learn to relax and rest deeply and completely, During deep relaxation, all the organ systems of the body are benefited, and a few of the measurable results of relaxation are the reduction of blood pressure and the improvement of immune function, as well as improvement in digestion, fertility, elimination, and the reduction of muscle tension and generalized fatigue.

In this workshop we will discuss some of the basic theories of Restorative yoga and then will practice the poses.

Please bring a bolster, 2 blocks, a yoga belt, eye cover and several blankets.

*Advanced Training credit does not apply to this course.

Judith Hanson Lasater

Judith Hanson Lasater has taught yoga since 1971. She holds a doctorate in East-West psychology and is a physical therapist. She is president of the California Yoga Teachers Association, and serves on the advisory boards of Yoga Journal and Healing Lifestyles and Spas. Her yoga training includes study with B. K. S. Iyengar in India and the United States. She teaches yoga classes and trains yoga teachers in kinesiology, yoga therapeutics, and the Yoga Sutra in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also gives workshops throughout the United States, and has taught in Australia, Bolivia, Canada, China, England, France, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and Russia.

She writes extensively on the therapeutic aspects of yoga. She is the author of 8 books including Relax and Renew and Yogabody: Anatomy, Kinesiology and Asana.

Currently, Judith is consulting on four studies being conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These studies focus on the use of restorative yoga to reduce hot flashes in menopausal women, to reduce metabolic syndrome, to reduce anxiety during drug rehabilitation, and for women in treatment for breast cancer.