Leslie Kaminoff, co-author of the bestselling book “Yoga Anatomy” and creator of YogaAnatomy.net, is a yoga educator and internationally recognized specialist with over four decades’ experience in the fields of yoga, breath anatomy and bodywork. His approach to teaching combines intellectual rigor, spontaneity and humor, and is always evolving.

  Leslie’s teaching is rooted in the individualized perspective of his teacher T.K.V. Desikachar, which honors every person’s unique structure, condition and history. From this training, Leslie developed his anatomically-informed, breath-centered approach to teaching and practicing yoga. During this weekend workshop he will lead participants in asana and breath practices with a strong focus on personal inquiry. 

In this highly interactive, experiential session, Leslie will introduce the distinctive breath-centered teachings of Krishnamacharya and Desikachar while leading participants into a progressively deeper understanding of the vital forces at work in the human breathing mechanism during yoga practice.

Details of breath sequencing, coordination with movement and spinal action are some of the elements that comprise the topic of bandha. Far from being a mystical practice, the good news is we were immediately, implicitly learning bandhas when we first learned to coordinate breath and body movement. From this perspective, deepening our yoga consists of nothing more than uncovering our innate ability to find support and spaciousness through a breath-centered practice.

Are forward and back-bending asanas about moving forward and backwards in space or are they about changing the shape of the spine? What role does the breath play in entering into and supporting us in these challenging poses? How we answer these fundamental questions will determine our goals and experiences when we practice. Unfortunately, some of the most common alignment cues do not produce evenly distributed spinal movement, resulting in a perpetuation of chronic tightness in the very areas the poses seek to release.

This workshop will provide a solid grounding in details of the anterior and posterior lines of the body from both an anatomical and a yogic perspective. We will practice a variety of breath-based movements and healthy alignment strategies for asana.

This class is ideal if you like a strong, flowing, breath-centered yoga practice, but have done more than a few too many down dogs, up dogs and chaturangas. This practice-heavy workshop will lead you through a specially-designed vinyasa that strongly works the legs and moves the spine in all possible directions, all without putting any body weight on your hands.

After practicing the full sequence of poses in the Warrior Series with an emphasis on the details of alignment, we will experiment with how to individualize breath and asana cueing for groups of any size, as well as how to modify the practice for individual therapeutic objectives, breaking down the myriad possibilities for individual adaptation.

Injuries occur when we provoke too much movement from too few places. We will draw from the histories, injuries and concerns of workshop participants to identify and address the most common sources of stress in yoga practice.

Working with the group, and individually with selected participants, we will build on the principles covered in the morning session as we explore practical modifications to asana, the creative use of breath, language and imagery, and simple hands-on adjustments. This session provides an opportunity for Leslie to re-create the context in which he learned the one-on-one application of yoga from his teacher, T.K.V.Desikachar. 

Links of Interest:

Leslie Kaminoff-YogaAnatomy.org

Instagram: @leslie.kaminoff

Facebook: LeslieKaminoffYogaAnatomy

Twitter: @lkaminoff