Seeing and Understanding Bodies – Observation and Analysis with Karin Stephan
In-Studio Only

September 21-22
Saturday 9am-12pm & 2-4pm
Sunday 9am-12pm & 2-4pm

Full Weekend: $190*/$210
Saturday or Sunday All Day Only: $100*/$110
Saturday of Sunday Morning Only: $70*/$75
Saturday of Sunday Afternoon Only:  $45*/$50
*Early Bird until September 9

In this workshop Karin will present her Five Point Observation and Analysis System for Seeing and Understanding Bodies, a system which she has made use of for the past thirty years of her fifty year teaching career. In a plain and easy to follow presentation, Karin will deconstruct her process and share with both teachers and students alike how to apply this method when working with people’s bodies.

Participants will come away not only with a greater understanding of their own asymmetries and misalignments but also an understanding of how to correct for these anatomical patterns within the context of each and every pose. Included with this workshop will be handouts which delineate this system point by point with examples.

Karin Stephan began teaching Yoga in Paris in 1972 at The European Center of Yoga under the direction of Jean Bernard Rishi. She was teaching Ashtanga Yoga after having spent three months with Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. From 1972-1976, she studied with B.K.S. Iyengar during his European tours and then studied with him in India. She also began practicing the macrobiotic diet which she follows to this day. When she moved to Boston in 1976, Karin furthered her studies of the macrobiotic way of life under the tutelage of Aveline and Michio Kushi whom she had met when she organized a seminar for them in Paris earlier that year. In early 1977, Karin opened her own Yoga center on Beacon Hill and taught Mr. Iyengar’s work as well as some classes in Ashtanga Yoga. In 1981, Karin moved to Cambridge and began teaching Yoga classes and workshops in her loft, where she still lives and teaches today. In the early 80’s Karin helped introduce Iyengar Yoga to New York City where she taught bimonthly weekend workshops for years. She also introduced Iyengar Yoga to Washington D.C. where she taught occasional workshops as well. In 1985, in partnership with Patricia Walden, Karin opened the B.K.S. Iyengar Center of Somerville, which was the first of its kind in the United States. She also began offering Yoga/macrobiotic retreats in the Caribbean, the United States and occasionally in France.

Karin has written a large number of essays for her newsletters on the relationship between Yoga, art, film and way of life. In these essays she draws on the inspiration of B.K.S. Iyengar, Krishnamurti, poets, writers and literary and film critics. Her second passion is literature and writing and she is currently working on her memoir. Karin specializes in Alignment and The Asymmetric Body but also offers private sessions on using Yoga to heal from injuries and various illnesses and gives consultations on “Way of Life” and “Healing through Yoga and Food.”

HYBRID Finding Center through Alignment in Asana with Jaki Nett

October 18-20, 2024
Friday 6-8pm
Saturday 9:30am-12pm & 2-4pm
Sunday 9:30am-12pm

Full Weekend: $180*/$200
All Day Saturday: $95*/$100
Friday evening or Saturday afternoon Only: $45*/$50
Saturday or Sunday Morning Only: $55*/$60
*Early Bird if registered by October 7

Join Senior Iyengar teacher Jaki Nett for a deep exploration of using asana to find center and balance in the body. When we are out of alignment, we can feel weak or lopsided, and it can be difficult to rally our energies. Conversely, when we align our bodies and find center, we can balance the body to make our strength more even front to back, and side to side, and to lift up and out of compressed and depressed states to move forward through life. In this workshop, Jaki will teach specific strategies for finding proper alignment within the asana to help find freedom in your body.

“I…try to get the physical body in line with the mental body, the mental body with the intellectual body, and the intellectual body in line with the spiritual body, so they are balanced. Each asana has an optimum line or position. From the head to the foot, from the front to the back, from the right to the left—without deviation, without distortion.” BKS Iyengar

Jaki Nett has taught yoga since 1976 and Iyengar yoga since 1982.  She holds an Intermediate Senior 1 Teaching Certificate, the highest certification of any African American woman in the United States. Jaki has an MA in Humanistic Psychology, and weaves her research in functional anatomy into her teaching. Jaki is the published author of, A Crack in the Mask: The Felt Sense Method® – A Humanistic Approach to Managing Incontinence. Her bright, focused energy and straight-forward teaching style inspires and guides students through the challenges and rewards of a committed practice. Jaki conducts yoga workshops in the Bay Area, around the United States, and in Italy, Germany, England, Poland, Switzerland, and South Africa. Jaki lives in the Napa Valley with her husband, and she is the mother of an adult son.

In-Studio and Online! YOGA FOR SCOLIOSIS:  Beginners · Teacher Training Part II and Continuing Education 
with Elise Browning Miller

Yoga for Scoliosis Beginners

Friday, December 6, 6–8pm
*$65 early bird / $70 in advance / $75 drop in
Sign up here for IN-STUDIO
Sign up here for VIRTUAL
*early bird if registered by November 18

New to Yoga?  Want to get started addressing your Scoliosis with Yoga?  Come to this 2 hour session with Elise Browning Miller, especially for those new to this practice.  Elise is the author of the booklet and DVD Yoga For Scoliosis, and is world famous for her workshops and Teacher Training for Yoga for Scoliosis and Yoga for Back Care.  Most of the teachers at Samamkaya have trained with her and we all love her! 

Yoga for Scoliosis: Teacher Training Part II and Continuing Education

Saturday, December 7, 9:30am‒12pm & 2–4:30pmSunday, December 8, 9:30‒12pm & 2–4:30pm
*$330 early bird if registered by November 18/ $360 in advance
Sign up here for IN-PERSON
Sign up here for VIRTUAL

Many of Samamkaya’s faculty have completed Elise Browning Miller’s 20 hour course program and we highly recommend it for teachers and students alike. The Yoga for Scoliosis Teacher’s Training is the first teacher’s training program designed specifically to train yoga teachers on how to work with students who have scoliosis. This course may lead you to do the coursework and practicum for a Yoga for Scoliosis Trainer Certification.

Samamkaya is proud to present Yoga for Scoliosis Teacher Training Part II and Continuing Education.  Anyone may attend this workshop.  If you want to take Part II towards certification you must have taken Part I with Elise Browning Miller at another time.  This particular course is also appropriate for those who have already done the Teacher Training with Elise in full but who would like to prepare or receive support for their practicum, or those who are certified trainers who would like to learn more.

Samamkaya is the ideal location for this workshop.  Well stocked with props and outfitted with a 20 station rope wall, the workshop will be limited to 20 students.  Questions that have come up in teaching will be addressed in an intimate and supportive environment.  This workshop will continue beyond Part II into more techniques and real life solutions than Part II at other locations.

During this course teacher trainees will learn:

•       The anatomy and physiology of scoliosis.
•       The common scoliotic patterns.
•       Patterns of injury and pain with scoliosis,
•       Yoga Asana to address scoliotic patterns which will help reduce progression, pain and discomfort, and perhaps even the curve(s) themselves.
•       About other patterns that often accompany scoliosis; such as hip and shoulder problems, neck problems, and disorientation.
•       How to give verbal and hands-on adjustments to your students with scoliosis.
•       How to use Yoga Props to specifically address scoliotic patterns and related issues.
•       Addressing psychological aspects of scoliosis.
•       How to work with your own students with scoliosis

Elise Browning Miller, M.A. in Therapeutic Recreation from UNC-CH, is a Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher who has been teaching yoga throughout the US and internationally for over 30 years. A founding director of California Yoga Center in Mountain View, CA, Elise has successfully used yoga to minimize the effects of her own scoliosis. She has published numerous articles on scoliosis and other yoga related subjects in Yoga Journal and other national magazines. Elise has studied on numerous occasions with the Iyengars in India and specializes in Scoliosis, lower/upper back problems and sports related injuries. She recently launched her new book “Yoga for Scoliosis – A Path for Students & Teachers”, and has produced her own DVD and booklets, “Yoga for Scoliosis”, “Yoga for Back Care” and her “Yoga: Anytime, Anywhere book”. Her joyous personality and ease of communication endear her to students with a teaching style that is down-to-earth, precise and nurturing.

Spinal Rejuvenation for a Positive Mind State with Susan Elena Esquivel
Hybrid Workshop In-Studio and Online

February 1-2, 2024
Saturday 9:30am – 12pm and 2:30-4:30pm EST
Sunday 10am-12pm ET
Full Weekend: $140 in Advance | $130*
Saturday All Day: $100 in Advance | $90*
Saturday Morning Only: $60 in Advance | $55*
Saturday Afternoon Only: $50 in Advance | $45*
Sunday Morning Only: $50 in Advance | $45*
*Early Bird if Registered by January 13

“So, spine is one dimension of you, which determines which direction you go. How your spine is functioning; how the energies in your spine are functioning right now determines almost everything about where you go.” ~ Sadhguru

Yoga is a form of mind-body centering that involves a combination of muscular activity and an internally directed awareness of the self, the breath, and energy. We heavily rely on our spine to support us through life. From a physical point of view the spinal column is an important channel for all the bodily stimuli that are transferred via the nerves to the brain. It is part of our central nervous system along with the brain. But also on a spiritual level, the spine is the source of all our energy. The spine is the axis for the human body, which acts as a connecting link between Earth and Heaven. A properly aligned spine promotes emotional stability. Often, the muscles of the spine, neck, shoulders, hips and the knees tend to be an areas where many people experience tightness, hold tension or have pain or injury at some time in their life. This workshop will give you an understanding of how spinal alignment and the breath can relieve tension and create a positive mind state. For all students with spinal imbalances, stiffness or injuries to knees, shoulders or hips as well as those who wish to maintain the health of their joints and release stress and anxiety.

Session 1: Earth Element: In Iyengar yoga we always begin with the foundation, Muladhara or Root Chakra. Gravity will draw feet into the floor, giving us the anchor that we need to live in the world. Yet it is counteracted by our tendency to expand and grow upward toward the sun. As BKS Iyengar states, “in Tadasana we stand with our feet firmly on the earth and our head in heaven.” Participants will first learn how to properly align the feet and lower body. We will take a closer look at the muscles, ligaments and bones of the legs while exploring flexion and extension of the knees. We will explore how this alignment is aided by using the breath and quieting the mind.

Session 2: Water Element: The Water element is associated with the 2nd chakra, Svadhisthana, located between the belly button and pubic bone. This element governs fluidity, purification, nourishment, and controls the movement of energy, fluids and the physical body. As the gravity passes through our body from the head to the knees and the feet, the sacrum acts as a pivotal center for the flow of energy in opposite directions. In yoga, the sacrum is considered a sacred bone, because it literally connects the lower half of our body to the upper half. It is seen as a place of transformation, where the union of upper and lower, of the divine and the human occurs. Pain or stiffness in the knees or groin stiffness and sciatica may originate in the hips. Participants will learn how to correct pelvic misalignment and how movement and safe releasing twists combine to create freedom and more stability.

Session 3: Air Element: The Air element is associated with the Anahata or fourth chakra, located at the center of the heart. The Air element is gentle, uplifting, nurturing, healing, freeing and balancing. Yoga is self-empowering; the student is their own healer. Yoga engages the student in the healing process; by playing an active role in their journey toward health. Healing comes from within, instead of from an outside source. When the individual has a positive mind-state healing happens more quickly and is longer lasting. Whereas if the mind-state is negative, healing may be delayed. In this session, focusing on the upper body, we will explore how movement supported backbends and restorative postures allow us to release layers of tension in the body and mind helping us to move out of physical and mental pain patterns creating physical freedom and a positive mind-state.

Susan Elena Esquivel is a Certified Iyengar Teacher (CIYT) at the Intermediate Junior II Level and a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). She is on the Iyengar Faculty at Down Under Yoga in Boston and is the director/owner of the Yogashala at Yoga with Susan Elena in Western Massachusetts. Her teaching is a reflection of her focused practice and studies over many years. She is known for precision while taking a playful approach with skillful sequencing to all levels of study allowing each student to go deeper into the understanding of Iyengar yoga. Susan Elena has served on the Iyengar Yoga Association of New England Board since 2015.

Susan Elena is very fortunate to have built strong mentoring relationships with some of the most highly respected senior Iyengar teachers. The four senior teachers she is deeply indebted to and influenced by are Elise Browning Miller, Peentz Dubble, Patricia Walden and Gulnaaz Dashti. Currently, she continues her weekly studies and mentorship with Certified Advanced Senior Teacher Patricia Walden as well as an ongoing apprenticeship with Elise Browning Miller to further her knowledge of scoliosis and back care. She travels to Pune, India to regularly to work with the Iyengars and Gulnaaz Dashti

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.