Linking Our Roots to Our Wings: An Exploration of PSOAS with Julie Brandwein

Saturdays 10am–12pm
February 11, March 18, April 1, May 13
$150 4-part monthly series
$40/individual class (No class cards or unlimited cards for this series)

In this workshop series, Julie will help you explore the role the Psoas plays in connecting our roots to our wings. The psoas is located in the center of the body and plays a key role as a conductor between our upper and lower body.

In this 4 part monthly series, you’ll dive into your “roots” in the first two classes and connect to your “wings” in the last two classes:

2/11 & 3/18: Feet/Knees/Legs/Pelvis

4/1 & 5/13: Pelvis/Shoulders/Arms and Head

“A yogi’s brain extends from the bottom of the foot to the top of the head”

-BKS Iyengar

Julie Brandwein, MSPT, LMT, came to yoga seeking help from a back injury and found her way into her first Iyengar yoga class with Kevin Gardiner in 1992. In this technique she found the answer she was looking for to heal her body, and began a lifelong study and practice of Yoga.She has extensive training in Iyengar Yoga, in addition to studies in the Alexander Technique, Somatics and Pilates. She has taught yoga since 1997 both here and abroad.

She has earned her Masters in Physical Therapy from Columbia University, completed training at the Swedish Institute of Massage and has certification in a Pilates for Rehab Professionals training from Polestar Pilates, Inc. Licensed in both physical therapy and massage therapy, Julie has worked in a variety of clinical specialities, including pediatrics, orthopedics, sports injury and dance injury.Her massage training includes myofascial unwinding, integrative deep-tissue massage and neuromuscular repatterning. She has a private practice in Manhattan and Brooklyn offering services in therapeutic bodywork, stress-reduction massage, and  yoga privates.

In-Person Working with Anti-Gravity Muscles to Increase Postural Strength & Resilience with Laura Staton

April 16 & May 7
Sundays, 12:30–4pm
$155

Part One (April 16):

Part One will explore which 6 muscle groups comprise the antigravity muscles, their localized function, and what roles they play in maintaining posture and flexible, healthy alignment. This material will be learned verbally and non-verbally, with the class exploring how their own bodies respond to differing postural positions including standing, sitting, prone and supine. We will  work as partners and/or small groups to feel our own and others postural adaptations to gravity.

Part Two (May 7):

Part Two will explore the 6 antigravity muscle groups in the context of yoga practice. We will problem-solve which prone, standing and seated poses utilize anti-gravity muscle groups and how to specifically engage the antigravity muscles through traditional asana practice and during transitions in and out of poses. We will also problem-solve on different types of postural challenges such as kyphosis and lordosis and will continue this work in partners and/or small groups.

Laura Staton holds a master’s degree of science in occupational therapy from NYU and is a C-IAYT Yoga Therapist specializing in injury rehabilitation. She works as a yoga therapist and occupational therapist and her recent book bridging these two disciplines, Yoga Bones: A Comprehensive Guide to Managing Pain and Orthopedic Injuries Through Yoga, was published in 2021.

Laura is passionate about yoga’s powerful effect on physical and emotional well-being and how it interacts with daily life. She teaches continuing education and professional development courses for Yoga Alliance and IAYT in addition to teaching at Yogi’s and Yogini’s in Brooklyn and Adaptive Yoga at Samamkaya Yoga Back Care & Scoliosis Collective in Manhattan. For many years, Laura was a dancer and choreographer in NYC. She received her BFA from The Juilliard School and is the co-author of Baby Om -Yoga for Mothers & Babies.

A Yogi For All Seasons with Karin Stephan
In-Person only

April 29-30
Saturday 2:30-5pm
Sunday 10am-12:30pm
One Session Only: $60*/$65/$70 drop-in
Full Weekend: $110*/$120
*Early Bird if signed up by April 17

In this workshop, Karin will explore the various stages that the body goes through in life and how those stages shift one’s way of thinking about Yoga practice.  The workshop will be presented in four segments: the body from ages 20-35, from ages 35-50, from ages 50-65, and from ages 65-80.  Drawing from Karin’s own lived experience as well as from studies and research in the field of Yoga and aging, she will present the challenges associated with each of these seasons.  Students will work directly with the asanas and their modifications to meet these challenges. This is an interactive workshop where Karin will help to address the obstacles students may be encountering which prevent them from moving forward in their practices, and as such everyone will be problem solving together as the workshop goes along.

Either day can be taken individually.  Karin will be universalizing these topics so it does not really matter if you choose a day to attend when she is not covering your age group. But if you can attend both days that would be ideal.

Karin Stephan is a leading Iyengar yoga teacher in the United States with a career spanning more than 50 years. She co-founded the first BKS Iyengar Yoga Center on the east coast in 1985 and helped to establish the Iyengar Yoga Community in NYC.
Crediting her understanding and appreciation of the human body to the teachings of BKS Iyengar, Karin incorporates his insights and acute sense of observation into her yoga practice and teaching on a daily basis.   Mr. Iyengar’s focus on yoga as ‘precision in action’ complemented her interest in structure and aesthetics, a theme which runs throughout her teaching.
Karin has been a fundamental inspiration and support for Samamkaya Yoga.  Her teachings on Observation and Analysis, Yoga for the Injured Body, Alignment and the Asymmetric Body and Advanced Studies in Therapeutics and Healing run through the teachings of much of our faculty and the principles of our programming.
Karin lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she teaches group classes and offers private yoga therapy sessions.

Hybrid FUSION WELLNESS WEEKEND: A Two-Day Creative Exploration of Scoliosis and Spinal Fusions with Martha Carter (movement) and Patricia Horvath (writing)

Saturday & Sunday, May 20-21, 2023
Saturday 2:30-5:15pm
Sunday 12:30-2:15pm & 5-7:45pm
Full Weekend: $115*/$130
Two Sessions: $80*/$90
One Session Only: $45*/$50/$55 drop-in
*Early bird if registered by May 8

Join scoliosis specialist Martha Carter and writer Patti Horvath for a wholehearted exploration of spinal fusions! Designed for people with scoliosis and spinal fusions, this unique workshop combines movement and guided writing to address how this confounding condition affects the whole self—body, mind, and spirit. Through a gentle blend of breathing, yoga, somatics, and freestyle movement, Martha’s comforting approach to movement will help participants to better understand their bodies—with the goal of replacing stiffness and fear with mobility and freedom. Patti’s guided writing sessions encourage freewriting—stories, memories, emotions; not to mention reflections on the crazy medical moments!—that can either be shared or stay private. Engaging in this experience with other scoliosis warriors is helpful and freeing.

Sessions can be purchased separately, but we strongly recommend taking all three – there is momentum and a depth that is reached through the experience across both days. Each session includes both movement and writing portions.

Workshop Package includes:

• -One 15-30 minute online private conversation with Martha to discuss your back before the workshop
• -Yoga, movement, meditation, and relaxation classes with Martha Carter
• -Writing practice and discussion guided by Patricia Horvath
• -Access to recordings of movement classes
• -Link to Martha’s ‘Somatic Explorations for Scoliosis And Fusions On A Chair’ video
• -Writing handouts

FUSION WELLNESS WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Schedule for Saturday:

• 2:30-3:45pm ET | 11:30-12:45pm PT — Movement with Martha
• 3:45-4:00pm ET | 12:45-1:00pm PT — Short Break
• 4:00-5:15pm ET | 1:00-2:15pm PT — Guided Writing and Discussion with Patti

Schedule for Sunday:

• 12:30-1:45pm ET | 9:30-10:45am PT — Movement with Martha
• 1:45-2:00pm ET  | 10:45-11:00am PT — Short Break
• 2:00-3:15pm ET | 11:00-12:15pm PT — Guided Writing and Discussion with Patti
• 3:15-5:00pm ET | 12:15-2:00pm PT — Late Lunch / Tea Break
• 5:00-6:15pm ET | 2:00-3:15pm PT — Movement with Martha
• 6:15-6:30pm ET | 3:15-3:30pm PT — Short Break
• 6:30-7:45pm ET | 3:30-4:45pm PT — Guided Writing and Final Discussion with Patti

Martha Carter is as a therapeutic movement specialist for scoliosis and spinal fusions, offering classes, workshops and retreats in Gentle Yoga and Somatics. Synthesizing her knowledge as a dance artist with her love of therapeutic methods, she guides participants to discover increased strength, length, alignment and mindfulness in the whole soma—body, mind and soul. Her welcoming approach is accessible to all levels and abilities. Martha is a certified teacher of both Yoga for Scoliosis based on the teachings of Elise Browning Miller, and Essential Somatics™ based on the work of Thomas Hanna. She has also studied Energy Medicine and Trauma Release techniques, which she weaves into all her classes to help participants with pain relief while enhancing their movement potential. Martha is the founder and director of Twisted Outreach Project for Back Care and Scoliosis (TOPS), a Canadian-based non-profit that provides a range of holistic and creative approaches to working with back care and scoliosis. Martha’s full bio can be found here.

Patricia Horvath is the author of the memoir All the Difference (Etruscan Press) about her experiences with scoliosis and spinal fusion, and the recently released collection of stories But Now Am Found (Black Lawrence Press). A recipient of New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships in both fiction and literary nonfiction, her stories and essays have been published widely in literary journals. She teaches creative writing at Framingham State University and is an editor at The Massachusetts Review. Her website is: https://patricialhorvath.com/.

In-Person Yoga Philosophy with Neta Katz

January 28, March 18, June 3
Saturdays, 2:30-5:30pm $65 each
All 3 Workshops: $185

Yoga philosophy, beyond its awe-inspiring wisdom and humbling beauty, is effective and practical.

Three paths in Yoga philosophy are Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti. Are these paths relevant to an asana practice? Are they useful perspectives, or tools in our healing processes?

In these 3 sessions we will explore how the paths of Jnana, Karma and Bhakti can inform our understanding of asana, healing, and beyond.

Session 1 – Jnana Yoga: It’s not personal – identifying without identification
Saturday, January 28 2:30-5:30pm $65

Inquiry is an essential tool for understanding one’s patterns. Identifying asymmetries, and imbalances is necessary as we take an active role in our healing process. Examining our unique particularities is fascinating!
But, as we dedicate ourselves to identifying pattern, are we boxing ourselves in, limiting our experience of who we are? Is it fair to define yourself by your pattern? Your injury? Your pain? Is it useful?

“Who am I?” Is an essential question in the path of Jnana Yoga.
How can the process of inquiry be used to expand our awareness of who we are? And how can we practice inquiry on the mat in such a way that both zooms in to examine particular detail, but also zooms out to see the big picture, one that’s free and vast.

Session 2 – Karma Yoga: Action/reaction, reflection – with an eye towards freedom
Saturday, March 18 2:30-5:30pm $65

If you’ve been practicing asana, you’ve been experimenting with karma. “When I press my knuckles down in dog pose, then the sides of my body lengthen”. Action/reaction. “When I project my scull forward in tadasana, then my chest withdraws”. Action/reaction. Which direction should I go? What’s the correct action? Reflection.

The Yoga texts tell us that the correct action leads to freedom.

When practicing asana, we take specific actions that promote an ease-full, spacious and free experience in the body.
Is this freedom limited to resolving the restrictions of the body?
Again, let’s zoom out. How far reaching is the potential of action/reaction and reflection.

Session 3 – Bhakti Yoga: It’s personal – the wonder of it all
Saturday, June 3 2:30-5:30pm $65

Yoga tells us that the source of all, and all its manifestations are one and the same. This singularity and multiplicity are forever linked in cosmic dance. What does that mean? What does it mean to have a particular body, condition, experience, if we reflect on our interconnectedness with perfection?
Could my particular form be one worthy of wonderment? Be perfect, beautiful, and filled with the potential for self-discovery?
Can I maintain this perspective as I work with challenging conditions?

Neta Katz has been teaching Iyengar Yoga since 1998 (certified Junior 1). Her style of teaching is deeply rooted in her architecture background, and her love of anatomy. With thoughtful understanding of structure and space, Neta guides students towards a profound understanding of the body and its potential.

With over 20 years of teaching experience, Neta has worked with a wide range of students from beginners seeking an encouraging introduction, to longtime practitioners looking to deepen their practice and understanding.

Having recovered from severe and chronic back pain herself, Neta is dedicated to helping others on their healing journey. Always fascinated in how balance is experienced differently in each and every body, Neta encourages students to go deep into their own particular set of body conditions, and find a center that is unique and individual. A place of balance, harmony, and equilibrium. In addition to teaching asana, Neta is a Licensed massage therapist. To learn more about neta please visit yogawithneta.com

WORKSHOP PRE-REGISTRATION & CANCELLATION POLICY

It is strongly recommended that you pre-register for workshops. If you pre-register for a workshop, you must cancel either 1 week or 48 hours in advance (depending on the workshop), in order to be refunded for that workshop less a 20% administrative fee. Cancellation deadlines can be found below the workshop descriptions above.

Please cancel via email (info@samamkayabackcare.com) or call 646.964.5772. Even if we receive the message later, we will go by the time stamp and refund your money if appropriate. If you are ill or there is an immediate family medical emergency, we will of course waive the fee. However, please email us as early as possible, and before the workshop begins, to waive the fee or arrange a credit.