Healing the Prana Body: The Role of the Five Vayus in Hatha Yoga with Doug Keller
A Free Event - A Conversation with Doug Keller
September 4th - 3pm-4pm PDT
A recording is available if you can’t make the event
In the human body, Prana is the underlying intelligence that coordinates all functions of the body. This universal vital force is expressed in different ways, and takes on different functions in the body. In the yogic tradition, these different forces are referred to as the five Prana Vayus. The aim of hatha yoga is to enliven and balance the flow of Prana in the body.
Through the practices of yoga, we can develop greater awareness of the subtle energetics of prana and balance the vayus. This lays the foundation for optimal health, and is also thought to open the gateway for higher levels of spiritual awareness. Doug will share ways we can integrate the vayus into our practice.
Price: A free online event
Technology: Zoom will be used. You will receive the zoom link in the confirmation email.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DOUG KELLER’S UPCOMING WORKSHOP
The Therapeutic Wisdom of Yoga with Doug Keller (In-Studio + Online)
Designed for Yoga Teachers, Therapists and Dedicated Students – Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Hours (10)
Sat Sep 14 + Sun Sep 15 11:00am-1.30pm + 2.30pm-5:00pm DPT
Saturday: The Secret of Wellness in Asana: It’s in the Joints 11:00am - 1:30pm PDT
Asana practice most often focuses almost exclusively on muscle tone and flexibility though poses and stretches, while missing the essential secret for achieving this naturally: the joints. Proper space for movement in the joints — or ‘joint play’ — is the key to proper flexibility and tone in our muscles, as well as freedom from chronic pain stemming from inflammation.
Hip openers are among the quintessential yoga asana practices. They’re vital for increasing our general comfort with all forms of sitting, for supporting low back and knee health, and for releasing pent-up tension in the pelvic area from emotional stress.
And they have a significant role to play in maintaining the health of the cartilage of the hip joints themselves, in an era in which hip replacements are becoming more and more common-place.
A healthy hip practice demands moderation and self-awareness, along with an appreciation of the nature and needs of the hip joints, and awareness of warning signs of stress or problems.
We’ll be doing a practice in combination with his explanation, and we’ll focus on how to make real progress with hip opening, while minimizing the risk of injury or long-term wear and tear.
Saturday Session 2 : The Heart of Movement: the Sacrum and Spine. 2:30pm-5:00pm PDT
All movement in asana begins with the spine, and the natural undulation of the spine in movement is also the foundation for the health and steadiness of the mind. And the heart of the spine’s movement is at the sacrum, whose movement initiate the stimulation into action known in yoga as ‘Prana Vayu,’ as well as the grounding, centering movements characterized as ‘Apana Vayu.’
This session will explore the movements of the sacrum and pelvic bones in forward bending, backbending, and twists, starting from standing poses, and the interwoven threads of muscles connected to these movements by which the integrated whole-body movements of these asanas takes place.
This session will be a very practical and accessible exploration of sacral and low-back health as well as the keys to healthy movement patterns in asana. It will include straightforward understanding of the actions of the ‘Core’ which supports these movements, which are traditionally known as the ‘bandhas.’
Your experience of forward bending, backbending, and twists will be transformed by this understanding, and your low back will thank you for it!
Sunday Session 1: Essentials for Shoulder Freedom through Yoga 11:00am - 1:30pm PDT
The shoulders are the most mobile joints in our body, and yet most of us get tight — causing pain in our neck and back, as well as suffering pain and limitation in the shoulders themselves. Even flexible people can have shoulder and neck pain!
There are secrets to knowing how to move the shoulders well, to achieve more freedom — and it’s not just about stretching! We need to understand how our shoulder joints work, and how lack of freedom in these joint causes tightness, as well as reducing the strength of our muscles. If we move the joints well, flexibility in our muscles will follow!
In this session, Doug will lay out fundamental principles for working with the shoulder joints safely and effectively. Yoga poses help us to explore shoulder freedom, and there are lots of variations and exercises that keep the practice interesting and accessible. With Doug’s guidance, you’ll understand the purpose of these actions, poses, and variations, and will easily remember them so you can incorporate them into your yoga practice, or just into your day!
Sunday Session 2: As Above, So Below: The Neck, The Psoas, and the Breath 2:30pm-5:00pm PDT
The health of the neck is of course an extension of the health of the spine — its alignment and movement — and it is likewise the seat of the mind and the gatekeeper of the breath.
There is an intimate connection between the movements of the sacrum and spine, and the healthy alignment and movement of the neck. This session will be an exploration of keys for healthy patterns of movement for the neck, and will move from practical applications in asana practice to the role of neck and head alignment in breath practices — specifically the ‘Jalandhara’ action in Jalandhara Bandha that is the key to Ujjayi and all other pranayama practices.
The alignment of the head and neck affects circulation to the brain as well as the effectiveness in asana and breath practices for the stimulation of the Vagus nerve — our modern version of Ida and Pingala nadis — and thus for our ability to achieve relaxed, centered, parasympathetic states of the nervous system that are key to the benefits of yoga practice.
This will include some simple and useful work with the neck, including in asana and remedial exercises, which will lead naturally into some deeper pranayama practice and an extended Yoga Nidra session, with meditation.
Who is this for? This training is designed for dedicated students as well as for yoga teachers, yoga therapists and other professionals working with the human body. For those who have taken this training in the past, this will be a refresher and an update, with fresh perspectives for moving forward as teachers in step with our times.
For those joining us for the first time, this will be an accessible introduction to a very modern and practical perspective on yoga. New teachers have comfortably put ideas from the training to use right away, and continued contemplation on the themes of the training has nourished their teaching for years afterward.
Recordings available: All sessions are recorded and these recordings will be available for a year.
Certificate: You will receive a certificate of attendance of 10 Yoga Alliance Continuing Education credits.
Doug Keller has been teaching workshops and trainings in the therapeutic applications of yoga for over 25 years decade, and is known not only for his effectiveness in communicating this ever-evolving approach in these trainings, but also for his extensive writing on the topic in magazines, journals and his two-volume work on Yoga As Therapy.
This Training is state-approved and is fully accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Doug has degrees in philosophy from Georgetown and Fordham Universities in the United States, and taught philosophy at college level for several years. He also spent a total of 14 years in Siddha meditation ashrams worldwide. He has produced three highly-respected books on asana, pranayama and yoga philosophy. Doug’s teaching is focused on the yoga of ‘Swatantrya,’ the yoga of one’s own inner expansion and awakening, and is rooted in a vast and inclusive perspective of study and practice that honors the insights of the many streams of wisdom that flow into the river of yoga.
When: Sat Sep 14 + Sun Sep 15, 2024 11:00am-1:30pm + 2:30pm-5:00pm California Time. (PDT)
Recording: will be sent automatically to all registered so please, feel free to register if you cannot join the livestream but want the video. The recording will be available for 12 months.
Price: $140
Technology: Zoom will be used. You will receive the zoom link in the confirmation email.
Reminder emails: will be sent 2 days, 30 min and 10min before the event.
About Doug: Doug Keller’s background reflects a lifelong commitment to studying, imbibing and sharing the vast field of knowledge and practice known as yoga.After receiving honors and graduate degrees in philosophy from the top Jesuit universities in the United States, Georgetown and Fordham Universities, and teaching philosophy at a college level for several years, he then pursued his ‘post-graduate’ education in the practical experience of yoga at the Siddha Meditation Ashram, Gurudev Siddha Peeth in India, for seven years. He spent a total of 14 years doing service, practicing, training in and teaching yoga in Siddha Meditation Ashrams worldwide. He received intensive training in the Iyengar system in New York City, mainly with senior certified Iyengar teacher Kevin Gardiner. He also practiced Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in India, and became one of the first certified Anusara Yoga teachers, producing three highly respected books on asana, pranayama and yoga philosophy.
His further expansion in learning is reflected in his latest and most in-depth work, ‘Yoga as Therapy,’ which is truly one of the most comprehensive, innovative and useful treatments of the structural aspect of yoga therapy available. And for three years he was a regular columnist for Yoga+ Magazine (formerly Yoga International, published by the Himalayan Institute), writing the ‘Asana Solutions’ column that addresses specific therapeutic problems. He is at the highest level of certification with Yoga Alliance, E-RYT 500, and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.Doug is also a ‘distinguished professor’ on the teaching faculty at the Master’s Degree program in Yoga Therapy at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, a state-approved institution of higher learning.
Doug’s teaching is rooted in a vast and inclusive perspective of study and practice that honors the insights of the many streams of wisdom that flow into the river of yoga.Website: www.doyoga.com