MEALS

10.30 am:  Brunch

7.00 pm:  Dinner

CLASSES, WORKSHOPS & AFTERNOON SESSIONS

6.30-8.30, Sunday to Thursday: Ashtanga Self-Practice

A self-practice class following the traditional Ashtanga sequences. Adam does not believe in forcing people into postures and focuses light, non-intrusive physical assistance (rather than ‘adjustments’) and spoken tips for you to experience asanas in a comfortable, stable way. All physical abilities are welcome. It’s OK to use practice sheets, props or to modify asanas to suit your own needs and Adam will help you with this. Beginners will benefit the most if you have memorised the sequence of the sun salutations A&B at least.

7.00-9.00, Friday: Led Primary with Instructions

A unique style of led class that features the vinyasa count as well as fundamental cues for each posture. Everyone will be made to feel welcome and safe in participating in this class, with options given for variations so everyone can do their version of the whole Primary series. There is no perfect or ‘traditional’ way that you must do the postures and some of the later postures are more accessible than those in the middle of the series.

9.00-10.30, Asana Workshop (Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri)

Sunday: Finding Bandha in the Standing Postures

Using the standing postures, we will examine how we can use the legs to take the force of gravity up through the spine rather than down allowing for a most energizing experience and beneficial effect. We will also consider the relationship of the ‘sacred’ sacrum to the rest of the body; how and why this bone came to be known as such, and why it is essential to discover it here in these early positions.

Monday: Revelations in the Fundamentals

Paschimottanasana the ‘forward fold’ is known as is literally translated as ‘westward faced back-stretch’. With yoga traditionally practiced facing east, meaning this is a way to stretch the backwards. This changes everything about our approach to the Primary Series. Now the series can be used to help unlock the deep muscles of the back, while avoiding the common problems encountered in these series to do with stretching forward - overstretched hamstrings and a sore lower back.

Wednesday: Vinyasa And What It Really Means

It doesn’t mean a certain count, nor does it stand for the jump through/back movement. Yet, it is the bedrock of modern asana providing two things: getting into your flow along with grasping the relation of the breathing pattern (meaning the diaphragm) in this. We will both look at some tricky and overlooked vinyasa movements as well as further unpick the principle itself.

Friday: Jump Back & Jump Through for Everybody

Everyone can all do a version of this movement. And it doesn’t mean we need to ‘fly’ – although we may (or may not). There are unique benefits of this movement for both the scapula as well as the digestion. It’s simply a question of breaking the component movements down then into ‘bite sized’ chunks, so that everyone can effectively worked with it. You might feel your arms are too short or your tummy too big, but you’d be surprised how a few tips for this can change the whole experience for you, taking you from frustration and confusion to grasping what you need to do to keep developing these somewhat elusive movements.

5.30 pm: Afternoon Sessions

These sessions will be a mix of breath work, meditations, and discussions around the following topics.

• Introduction to Adam's approach and getting to know each other
• The history of modern yoga & the Mysore Ashtanga tradition
• Short-form practices and how to scale back practice when you need to
• Exploration of Indian Philosophy and how it relates to our modern lives
• Between the Yoga Sutras and Krishnamacharya
• Time for question and answer, group sharing and discussion.