A weekend with Eddie Stern at Yoga Circle | Lecture & Practices
We are honored once again with the presence of Eddie Stern and his ever evolving teachings on yoga. This weekend will be focused on pranayama as a fundamental practice in yoga for calming, strengthening, and focusing the nervous system in preparation for meditative practices. You will experience how the core yoga practices affect the communication from the brain to body, and body to brain, which shapes our perception of how we respond, adapt, and perceive ourselves and reality.
The workshop program will offer an evening lecture on Friday and 2 morning practice sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
There will be 2 different asana groups in the morning, the early class (group 1) more suitable for regular ashtanga yoga practitioners already familiar with the primary series, and the later class (group 2) which will be an open level class suitable for anyone, including complete beginners, as it offers a broader and more accessible approach to yoga asana (not ashtanga specific). You are of course welcome to choose whichever group you’d like to practice, but for continuity of the teachings you will be asked to practice in the same group on both days.
If you’d like to study more with Eddie, he will be teaching a 10 hrs pranayama training in the afternoons. You’ll find more information about his training here.
PROGRAM
You can choose any of the 2 programs, bear in mind that the group 1 program is recommended for regular practitioners already familiar with ashtanga yoga.
- GROUP 1*:
– Friday 18 Oct | 18:00-19:30 | Pranayama Essentials: A History of Practices and Purposes of Pranayama from 5000 BCE to Present (lecture including some meditation, chanting, pranayama)
– Saturday 19 Oct | 7:00-8:45 | Hatha Yoga Kriyas and Adapted Ashtanga Yoga*
– Sunday 20 Oct | 7:00-8:45 | Pranayama and Adapted Ashtanga Yoga* - GROUP 2**:
– Friday 18 Oct | 18:00-19:30 |
– Saturday 19 Oct | 9:00-10:30 | Hatha Yoga Kriyas and Yoga Asana Sangraha**
– Sunday 20 Oct | 9:00-10:30 | Pranayama and Yoga Asana Sangraha**
Lecture
Pranayama is a fundamental practice in classical yoga for calming, strengthening, and focusing the nervous system in preparation for meditative practices. It has been said that when we glimpse our inner essence, the power of that realization can be so profound that the vessel of our body needs to be strong and stable enough to contain the increased flow of energy that comes along with the new revelations about who we are. While asanas give stability to our bodies, they only have a limited impact on the deeper functions of our nervous system, specifically the operations of the autonomic nervous system. When we can begin to have a measure of control over the automatic functions of our body, such as breathing, we can begin to manage our subconscious impulses, thought patterns, and unconscious behaviors.
*Group 1
This class will begin with several practices kriyas that target digestive health, and increase energy and lightness in the body on Saturday, and pranayama on Sunday. These will be followed by asanas of the primary series, adapted with several of the asanas linked together, and then asanas from the intermediate series with adaptations for people who are new to these asanas. We will conclude with inverted asanas, and then a short closing pranayama practice and rest. This class is open to all levels, but some familiarity with Ashtanga Yoga or other vinyasa styles is recommended. A different set of asanas from the primary and intermediate series will be done on Saturday and Sunday.
**Group 2
Yoga Sangraha is a collection of asanas from the Hatha Yoga traditions that I (Eddie) currently use as my practice. We will start the Saturday class with kriyas, and the Sunday class with pranayama. The Saturday class will be comprised of the basic set of Yoga Sangraha postures, arranged in a specific way to heighten the signaling of the nervous system to create a deep sense of calm and prepare one for meditation. Sunday’s class will go through the same set and include a few extra postures for strength and stability. This is a several-year evolution of practices from experimentation and study, and I look forward to sharing with you my ongoing investigations into yoga practices.
LOCATION
Yoga Circle
De Clercqstraat 66-68, Amsterdam
PRICE
€150 (€130 for Yoga Circle Members – please request discount code via [email protected] before registering)
Single session tickets might be available approx 1 week before the start of the workshop IF spaces are still available.
LEVEL
All levels welcome for group 2, no previous experience necessary.
Regular ashtanga practitioners are suggested to join group 1, bearing in mind that the asana classes will not be traditional primary series classes.
CANCELLATION
You will get a full refund if you cancel up to 3 weeks prior to the start of the workshop. Within 3 weeks there will be no refund, but you can of course arrange to transfer your spot to someone else.
ABOUT EDDIE STERN
Eddie Stern is a yoga teacher, author, and researcher based in New York City. He has a multi-disciplinary approach to yoga which includes studying traditional texts and combining the application of the practices contained within them to science, research, technology, and collaboration. He is involved in evidence-based research in the healing capacities of Yoga, recently completing a masters in science for yoga research at the Vivekananda Yoga University. He has published several scientific papers and books, including the best-selling One Simple Thing, A New Look at the Science of Yoga and How it can Change Your Life, and is the co-creator of the Breathing App. His latest book, Healing Through Breathing, that illustrate the body-brain/brain-body connection, has been recently released on Audible Originals. Eddie has been practicing yoga since 1987 and has spent the past 35 years traveling yearly from New York to study yoga, philosophy, ritual, and Sanskrit with his teachers in India, including 19 years studying in Mysore.
Eddie leads pranayama teacher training courses and educational programming through his training platform, Yoga Education Collective, which he co-founded with Robert Moses and Harshvardhan Jhaveri.
For more information about Eddie please visit his website.
