Wednesdays, 10-11:30am

Trial Class: March 4
Series: March 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15, 22
Full Series: $165
One Class: $30*

This series will cover the basic skills you need to participate in the Back Care and Back Care Basics classes. With other new beginners to Back Care Classes at Samamkaya Yoga Back Care & Scoliosis Collective, instructor Ede Thurrell will teach you many of the basic actions, help you find your alignment and learn prop adjustments appropriate for your scoliosis, herniated disc(s), kyphosis, lordosis, spondylolisthesis, lumbar or neck pain… or any other back problem. Learning these skills through a series will help you make a commitment to your yoga practice and help you integrate smoothly into the Back Care classes.

Wednesdays, 2:15-4:15pm
2026 Dates: January 14, February 18, March 18, April 15, May 13, June 10, September 23, October 14, November 18, December 16

One class for: $40 teachers, $30 Samamkaya Teaching Assistants, $20 Students
Any 3 classes for Teachers/Assistants/Students:  $105/80/54
Any 6 classes for Teachers/Assistants/Students $180/150/100
Any 10 classes for Teachers/Assistants/Students  $250/230/140

This course is approved as an IAYT CE Course! Take any 6 classes (12 hours) +  one 1 hour mentoring session for $240

Students with scoliosis have very specific needs with the nervous system, proprioceptive system and with pain patterns.  One must avoid muddled information.  Using prop set-ups, hand on adjustments and verbal instructions, Deborah Wolk will guide you in how to better teach your students with scoliosis.

This class is appropriate for all yoga teachers and for students with scoliosis. Teachers of other modalities (Pilates, personal training, etc.) may attend as teachers with Deborah’s permission. This class is not recommended for brand new beginners to yoga.

MONTHLY on Thursdays, 4:00-5:30 pm on ZOOM:
March 19
May 14
June 11
Free or by donation

Samamkaya Yoga is pleased to offer a support group for people with spinal fusions for scoliosis (or those considering a spinal fusion for their scoliosis). This group, led by Martha Carter, is designed to encourage participants to safely explore the emotional toll and experiences related to their fusion in an environment with other participants who share their experience. Whether you were a teen when your spinal was fused or an older adult or somewhere in between, discussions within this group will draw out personal reflections, identify successful ways to self-heal, and evolve to reflect the needs of the group.

Please join Martha as she seeks to encourage health and healing through group interaction—free of the shame and stigma associated with scoliosis and related surgeries.

March 21-22
Saturday 9:30am-12pm & 2:30-4:30pm
Sunday 9:30am-12pm & 2-4pm
Full Weekend: $210*
One Day Only: $115*
One Morning Session Only: $70*One Afternoon Session Only: $55*
*Get 10% Off using the code EARLYBIRD by March 9

According to Vedic philosophy, human beings can be said to have 5 levels of energy that co-exist and range from the gross to the subtle. These are called the pancha kosha or the “5 sheaths”.  

Annamaya kosha is the outermost layer of these 5 sheaths through which we can begin to experience the self. It is through this sheath that we are seen and felt. Annamaya kosha consists of the body's matter, ie, bone and muscles. It is this kosha that needs to be fed with nutritious food and water, keeping us alive and allowing us to maintain a healthy existence.

Yoga Asana also draws nutrition into the body through conscious movement. It is the food that nurtures the locomotive body. Practicing asana decreases physical limitations, focuses and centers the mind, and allows the practitioner to look inward and calm the nervous system. As one practices focusing on annamaya kosha, one can begin to move further inward to pranamaya kosha, which infuses life into the cells of the physical body, and manomaya kosha, the mental sheath which integrates the annamaya and pranamaya koshas. 

Join Jaki as she leads you through asanas to help you experience your annamaya kosha and gift your body what it needs in terms of movement, balance, sensory feedback, and strength. Sense the optimal health that yoga asana can bring to your annamaya kosha.

This workshop is appropriate for all levels. 6 months regular yoga practice is recommended.

March 28-29
Saturday 2:30-4:30pm
Sunday 2-4pm
Full Weekend: $95*
One Workshop: $55*
*Get 10% off by using the code EARLYBIRD by March 16

Saturday: LOWER BACK THERAPEUTICS – CARE FOR YOUR SACRUM

This session will combine some of the work from our previous workshops while also exploring new therapeutic movements for your sacrum. Its aim is to provide you with a toolbox of techniques to relieve your lower back pain due to sacroiliac joint and sacral band issues. Students of any skill level – including beginners – will benefit, attendance in prior workshops is not required.

During our time together you will learn:

• Gentle, safe movements to soothe, balance and strengthen your sacroiliac joints and sacral band, while respecting your body’s particular conditions and limitations.

• How to explore the messages that your sacroiliac joints present to you, in order to gain understanding of how to create sacral spine health.

• Techniques to change your emotional responses to sacral pain. 

Sunday: LOWER BACK THERAPEUTICS – CARE FOR YOUR LUMBAR SPINE

This session will combine some of the work from previous workshops while also exploring new therapeutic movements for your lumbar spine. Its aim is to provide you with a toolbox of techniques to relieve your lower back pain due to lumbar musculature issues, trauma, and vertebra and disk conditions.  Students of any skill level – including beginners – will benefit, attendance in prior workshops is not required.

During our time together you will learn:

• Gentle, safe movements to soothe, balance and strengthen your lumbar spine, while respecting your body’s particular conditions and limitations.

• How to explore the messages that your lumbar presents to you, in order to gain understanding of how to create lower back health.

• Techniques to change your emotional responses to lumbar pain.

Liz Owen learned lower back therapeutics over a 25-year period immersed in Iyengar yoga. During this time, she studied with senior Iyengar teachers in the U.S., and both B.K.S. and Geeta Iyengar. Her expertise of lower back health and yoga philosophy brings both Eastern and Western wisdom to bear on creating a healthy lower back and will bring mindfulness and depth to your journey of maintaining lower back health in daily life.

Friday, April 17, 6-8pm
Saturday, April 18 9:30am–12pm and 2:30–4:30pm
Sunday, April 19 10am-12pm

Full Weekend Package: $200*

Jaw Tension Workshop Only: $55*

Full Yoga & Your Vagus Workshop: $160*
Saturday All Day: $115*
Saturday Morning Only: $70*
Saturday Afternoon or Sunday Morning Only: $55*
*Get 10% Off by using the code EARLYBIRD by April 6

Friday, April 17, 6-8pm: Relieve Jaw Tension with Yoga & Mindfulness

Do you clench or grind? Learn about the causes and repercussions of jaw tension, and how to get relief. We’ll explore causes and repercussions throughout the body. Yoga & Mindfulness are powerful tools for relaxing your jaw when applied wisely.

Yoga & Your Vagus Saturday & Sunday:

Saturday, April 18, 9:30-12p: Yoga & Your Vagus 1 for Self – Regulation & Resilience 

The vagus nerve is essential in supporting relaxation and ease of being. This workshop will help you understand how to regulate your nervous system. Vagal tone affects overall well-being, stress resilience, and emotional regulation. Class time incorporates yoga postures, mindfulness and breathing practices to stimulate the vagus nerve, supporting you to transition between different nervous system states - freeze (shutdown/trauma), activation (fight/flight/play), and relaxation (rest/digest). This workshop includes scientific insight and movement practices, making it valuable for anyone looking to enhance their mind-body connection and improve their quality of life. 

Saturday, April 18, 2:30-4:30p: Yoga & Vagus 2 – States of Being

Learn how to balance the stress of life through shifting states of being with ease. What is the difference between the nervous system states of freeze, fight/flight/mobilize and rest & digest/relax? The Vagus is instrumental in switching between these states. This class will explore how to recognize which state you are in, and how to change states for greater health and well-being. Informed by neuroscience, you can learn to care for yourself wisely. Yoga and Mindfulness are powerful tools for nervous system regulation. We’ll learn quick reset techniques and practice a yoga sequence designed to support nervous system resilience. 

Sunday, April 19, 10-12p: Yoga & Your Vagus 3 – From Frozen to Supple

Your vagus nerve is essential in switching between states of stress and states of calm. Identifying the areas of life where we ‘freeze’ can be challenging. We’ll take a closer look at what it means to freeze from a nervous system point of view, and how we can free up that energy to something more enjoyable – being at ease anytime, anywhere.