The Handstand: The feeling of true and total homeostasis can be felt when a balance in this posture is achieved. In this workshop you will work on how to approach a handstand practice from the entry point, and then how to balance once up. You will have the option to explore variations of entry such as jumping and pressing as well as variations in the balance such as hanuman and scorpion.

For all postures, Julie hopes that many of you will experiment with moving away from the wall. She will make sure that in transitioning to the middle of the room, you understand the principles behind falling out of the pose with ease and grace.

*These workshops are not recommended for those who have neck or shoulder injuries, high blood pressure, and glaucoma or other eye issues. If you have any other condition and are not sure if you can do this workshop, please do not hesitate to ask!

~ Fine tune your observation skills ~ Enhance alignment and energy flow for your students ~ Protect your own alignment and safety while doing hands on ~ Give and receive safe asana adjustments ~ Review variations and modifications

These workshops will have a maximum of 12 people with 2 assistants, making it more like a group private, in order to get the most out of the experience. Come with questions and there will be time for Q&A to go over your individual needs.

Continuing education credit is available from Yoga Alliance for these workshops.

Due to limited availability and high demand, there is a two week cancellation policy for these workshops.

In an inspirational studio, glowing with candles and filled with gentle soothing music, Jillian Pransky will lead you through a unique series of Restorative yoga poses, peaceful flowing stretches, deep relaxation, and metta meditation. As you move through this special sequence, you will release blocked energy and tension as you relax into a sense of spaciousness and open-heartedness.

Restorative Yoga poses are simple yet profound. You relax and allow your body to melt open as you lay over props such as bolsters and blankets. With the help of gravity and intention you can surrender, layers deeply held tension. Muscles release, the mind calms, and the heart softens.

For an extra special treat, while you enjoy these delicious poses, you will receive gentle hands-on attention. You will leave feeling connected, open, and as if you just returned from a week long vacation!

BIO: Jillian Pransky is Director of Restorative Yoga Training for Yoga Works and co-director of the Bright Spirit Yoga Teacher Training. She teaches around the country and at Kripalu, Omega, Mohonk and with Feathered Pipe Ranch. Her Relaxmore CD has garnered excellent reviews from many including the famous Dr. Memhet Oz. She has been featured in Yoga Journal, Self Magazine, appeared on CNN, and stars in YOGA 101: A Yoga Experience For High School Students. Her initial training is with Alan Finger and she was initiated into the ISHTA lineage in 1998. She also draws from extensive study with Pema Chodron, Erich Schiffmann, and John Friend. But these days, her greatest teacher is her 6- year-old, William, who constantly draws Jillian into the deepest gifts of yoga – compassion, mindfulness, presence, joy, patience, and infinite optimism.

Flexibility at all stages of life is key to our well-being. In this workshop, Julie will guide you through asanas designed to open up your joints, muscles, and other soft tissues (ligaments, tendons).

The word Tha in Sanskrit means energy of the moon. The asanas Julie will teach you in this workshop will all carry qualities of the moon; they will be cooling, calming, and quieting to the mind. They will focus on opening up all of your chakras (especially Muladahara, Svadistana, and Manipura) so that your unconscious thoughts, memories, and emotions embedded deeply in the subtle body can emerge and release. Embracing Tha qualities will enable you to move closer towards inner peace.

Each posture will be held for approximately 3-5 minutes. Many modifications and variations will be given to accommodate all conditions.

Date: Monday, Feb 22, 2010

Time: 7-8:15pm

Price: $30 in advance, $35 day of

Julie was born in New York City and was an Olympic aspiring gymnast through the age of 15. She brings her life-long passion for health and wellness; mind and body to her classes. Julie blends various asana, pranayama, and meditation techniques to provide her students with a dynamic, precise, strong, and meaningful practice. She specializes in the core and how students need to use it to advance their practice. She also teaches Power Yoga classes to rock music bringing joy, memories, and exuberance to her classes. Julie is a senior teacher at ISHTA. She teaches the 200 hour and 300 hour teacher trainings in addition to her classes. Julie is registered with Yoga Alliance of America.

Over 25 million Americans are treated with antidepressants each year and millions more admit that they are depressed. The entire practice of yoga is to experience ourselves as the jivamuktin – the awakened soul in this life. If you are not living fully you will be in some fashion depressed, and our practice is designed to bring about our liberation.

In this workshop we will begin to discuss the complex interplay between the brain and endocrine, nervous, and immune systems which all contribute to our emotional well-being. We will explore practical, concrete tools drawing from yoga philosophy, asana, pranayama, diet, and supplements to begin to clear away the fog of depression and help reveal the sattvic state of healing and peace.

Kristin Leal is a 500+ ERYT having completed numerous teacher trainings with Adrienne Burke (a senior Jivamukti teacher), Rodney Yee, and Betsey Downing Ph.D. In 1995, she graduated from the Swedish Institute for massage therapy and became a licensed massage therapist and Reiki practitioner. She has led many workshops and teacher trainings around the city and in 2005 Kristin created the Kaya Yoga teacher training and an advanced anatomy series to share her passion for the miracle of the human body and the liberating potential of movement.

She is a co-author of the book, The Yoga Fan which has been reviewed as being an indispensable guide for the serious yoga student”. Kristin is currently working toward becoming a Doctor of Naturopathy and writing her second book, applying the ancient yoga philosophies to modern day relationships.

Kristin’s classes are a challenging mix of strong anatomical alignment and powerful vinyasa flow all while maintaining a sense of humor and a connection to the Divine. Her classes are influenced by everything from quantum physics to her new love of the trapeze but most of all the beautiful teachings of Alan Finger with whom she is honored to teach alongside.

www.kristinlealyoga.com Memberships Classes Teacher Training Teachers Spa Workshops Retreats Contact About Home Blog

Cancellation policy – Full pre-payment at the time of enrollment is required to reserve a space in workshops. Refunds are given for cancellations made 48 hours or more prior to workshop start date. Cancellations made less than 48 hours prior to workshop start date are non refundable. If ISHTA yoga cancels the workshop, a full credit or refund will be issued. ISHTA yoga reserves the right to amend this policy at its discretion on a case by case basis.

The OM yoga Teacher Training Immersion is how you begin that path.

Sunday January 31st
9 am – 5 pm taught by Joe Miller

Wednesday February 24th
5-10pm taught by  Christie Clark

Why do I have to attend an OM yoga teacher training Immersion?

In order for us to maintain our high standards, it is important that every teacher trainee has:

• A basic knowledge of OM yoga principles

• A personal experience of OM yoga practice

• An evolved asana practice appropriate for beginning this professional training program.

What can happen in 1 day?

The purpose of this 1-day OM yoga teacher training immersion is to give students a taste of the OM yoga Teacher Training program, which emphasizes methodology, philosophy, technique and practice equally.

During this one day immersion you will:

* Experience an OM yoga asana class which includes:

• Four Surya Namaskar templates
• Creative and logical sequencing
• Subtle, precise hands-on work and eagle eye/verbal adjustments
• Instruction of alignment principles within flow integration of Buddhist principles of mindfulness and compassion within an asana class.

* Learn about the background, mission and methodology of OM yoga and how it is manifested in each yoga class.

* Practice hands-on adjustments in groups and partners

* Lunchtime homework with a study group

* Learn how basic alignment principles reflect the essence of yoga

* Learn how to teach Ardha Surya Namaskar — and then get up and teach it that day!

* Mindfulness meditation: brief instruction and practice

The day will end with a reception where the teacher will meet for a group discussion and Q&A.

Following that, the teacher will meet with you to assess whether you are ready for the program and if the program will meet your needs.

Is this for you?

Yes, if:

* you are serious about applying for OM yoga teacher training, then the immersion is a requirement for you.

* you are curious about OM yoga teacher training and want to learn more about it.

* you are already a certified yoga teacher and want to learn some of the OM yoga methodology.

* you are an advanced yoga student and would like to deepen your practice.

Email info@OMyoga.com for a list of upcoming dates.

Sign Up today and begin the path as an OM yoga teacher.

Kufunya will be presenting ways to balance oneself through crystal healing to bring about personal and global transformation. The workshop will focus on the healing power of various crystals. She will assist you in choosing the ones that are most beneficial for you based on your intuition; picking the ones that you are most drawn to. She will then teach you how to clear and care for your crystals. Through a variety of techniques, you will learn how to relax, so the body can heal itself.

This month the theme will focus on Transformation and Liberation and the celebration of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Kufunya is also available for individualized treatments to suit ones specific needs. One such treatment is the ancient art of laying on of stones directly onto the 7 sacred energy centers, called chakras. She also advises on how to co-create your own business venture.

Kufunya is a magnified healer, master teacher, spiritual counselor, certified crystal and medical intuitive, a licensed respiratory therapist, and has achieved mastership in a variety of other modalities.

Please arrive early to register as the workshop begins promptly at 7pm with a group meditation.

When you see and feel that there is nothing wrong with you, self-criticism and self-doubt change to self-confidence and self-validation. Anxiety, depression and loneliness all fade away. Walking the path in the company of other seekers is a time-honored way of raising healing energy and sharing our strengths. I LOVE ME! and its leader — psychotherapist , musician and spiritual teacher Brian Schulz — brings people together to encourage, nurture and inspire each other on this beautiful journey.

Core practices, taught and developed weekly, will include:
1. Techniques to release self-criticism and self-doubt.
2. Journal work to build and deepen self-awareness.
3. Mirror exercises to boost self-confidence and self-esteem.
4. Practices that heal your Inner Child.
5. Explorations to awaken unconditional self-love.
6. Time for questions, discussion, sharing and being together!

PLEASE BRING: A SMALL MIRROR and A JOURNAL.

Biography:

BRIAN SCHULZ, Lic.Ac., Body-Oriented Psychotherapist is the founder and leader of “I LOVE ME!” He discovered the power of unconditional self-love in the process of completely healing himself from a supposedly incurable, life-threatening disease . Brian is a wise, compassionate, funny and dynamic motivational speaker and spiritual teacher who has conducted workshops on self-love and healing around the world. Brian’s greatest gifts are his inspirational message and his open-hearted relationship with himself, which he radiates in helping others discover their own beauty and strength.

The soothing poetry of the Bhagavad Gita, or “the Song of God” has the power to awaken the true knowledge of the Self and the Divine Love.

Listening, reading, meditating – all are “roads” we travel searching for the Truth. Many scriptures say that the Truth, in form of the Original Sound–original vibration in space–gave birth to the creation of this world, the elements, the senses, all forms of living beings. Can we find that Original Sound reverberating in the “Song of God”, the Bhagavad Gita? What is to be found in the wisdom of these verses? Can you find your own story within its pages? We will meditate on the English translation – as well as the original Sanskrit text.

Karolina Zaleska is a long-time student of the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata Purana as well as other Vedic texts. She has practiced reading and reciting the Sanskrit verses as well as the japa, or mantra meditation. Kasandra is also a massage therapist, a certified teacher of Shamballa Multi-Dimentional Healing and a Tarot reader.

• 7 full nights – Saturday – Saturday.

• 3 OM yoga classes a day
• Meditation classes with David Nichtern
• 3 nutritious meals a day. All cuisine is organic, vegetarian friendly & locally grown.
• Full beach access
• Swimming pool access in the infinity swimming pool
• Library access
• WiFi in all rooms and on campus
• Evening entertainment & community activities
• Bodywork and massage services to compliment the day’s activities. (additional fees may apply)

You can swim, surf, go horseback riding, kayak, bird watch, snorkel, go deep water fishing, meet new people, go white water rafting and more! After you sign up, we will send you options of additional activities you can participate in while at the retreat center… OR you always have the option to simply lie on the beach and work on your novel.

Where do you practice yoga?
Blue Spirit Resort has a 3,000 sq. foot Balinese style, yoga pavilion built with sustainably harvested wooden floors, surrounded by breathtaking ocean and mountain views. Fully equipped with yoga mats and props for you to take class. There is also a smaller 1,000 sq foot library yoga pavilion that overlooks the Pacific north.

How is the Weather?
Blue Spirit is located in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica where weather patterns are quite predictable. Remarkably, there are very few mosquitoes or other insects along the coast. Winters are sunny, always clear and warm during the day (with an average temp of around 80 degrees), cooling down in the evenings, though comfortably warm (around 70 degrees).

What do I bring?
Clothes to practice yoga, sun screen, sun hat, bathing suit, beach towel, light rain-coat, hiking sandals, jeans for horseback riding (if you choose), water bottle, natural bug repellent, your special medication. We recommend bringing a flashlight, especially if you like evening walks. Each room is provided with a safety box at no charge. Tents do not come with a safety box – there will be a safe at reception for valuables to be stored for campers.