Alexandria Crow Weekend

Ready for your practice to become personal, effective and wise? Spend a weekend with Alexandria Crow where you’ll look at the inner workings of yogic philosophy, the body, and the mind. the practice of yoga is an individual journey that is mostly taught in group format these days. In order to work in a group setting in a safe and effective way, students must look deeply at their body and mind as it relates to each and every class, all with the philosophy of yoga at the root.

We will begin by learning what a yoga practice is all about from a philosophical standpoint, why we’re doing asana, and what it aims to teach us.

We will then look at the nervous system, the deeper layers of the physical body, and it’s structure as a means to asses what’s going on both physically and mentally, especially in relation to the fight or flight response most students experience these days and how that impacts the body.

Students will then learn from the inside out about how their personal internal structure and range of motion relates to the postures most commonly offered in classes. They will also learn their own unique range of motion, how to interpret physical sensation signals, and how their mind interacts the bodily sensations which ultimately can lead to skilled choices which when refined can lead to a productive practice with less injury.

Each person’s skeleton, musculature, connective tissue, lifestyle and injuries cause a unique situation and once uncovered, will create a wiser approach to postures offered in classes.

Friday 5:30-8:30 pm:
Why pose?

Why do we do asana? What are we trying to learn and/or access in these postures? In this lecture/discussion we will look at the philosophy behind a yoga practice and how to bring that consciousness and understanding to the physical practice. This awareness, when layered upon the pose, makes for a complete practice that can bring about transformation and growth both in the physical body and one’s approach to how they live.

Saturday 11 am – 2 pm:
The Deepest Layers – The nervous system, skeletal range, and basic biomechanics

We will begin by looking at how the nervous system affects the body and it’s range of motion. The class will begin with at least an hour long physical asana practice where students will set a baseline of their personal range of motion and skeletal structure both before and after they transition their nervous system into their parasympathetic system. Class will be followed with a lecture and diagnostic lab where we will look at the basic biomechanics of all the joint regions in the body in relation to the most common shapes performed in class and discuss the general amount of range that can be expected out of each joint region and what to do if there is limitations.

Saturday 4 pm – 7 pm:
Feet, legs, knees, hips and spine

The hip and spine perform a biomechanical dance that, when understood, allow a wise approach to postures such as forward folds, arm balances, hip openers, and basic backbends. Class will begin with at least an hour long asana class aimed at learning ones individual skeletal structure and range of motion in the ankle, knee, hip and spine allowing students to approach postures with wisdom and can help prevent unnecessary injuries in these areas. We will look at how these joints are affected in standing, seated and other categories of postures. Class will be followed by a lecture where students will learn how the hip’s limitation and position impact the spine, learn underlying reasons for range of motion in the hip, and how to keep your low back and SI region safe.

Sunday 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
Wrists, elbows and shoulders

Asana can and does injure students wrists, elbows, and shoulders far too often, but it’s something that can be avoided. There are some basic skeletal issues that need to be understood in relation to the upper extremities and shoulders as they impact poses where body weight is placed on the hands. We will begin with at least an hour asana class designed to allow students to explore these regions of their body in both weight bearing and non-weight bearing poses. Class will be followed by a lecture where the anatomy and mechanics of these joint regions will be explored and discussed and students individual range of motion and strength will be looked at as it relates to common postures in class allowing them to learn how to modify and work with wisdom for their own unique physicality.

Sunday 3:30 – 6:30 pm
Shoulders and spine

In a similar fashion to the hip and spine, the shoulder and spine also participate in a partnership that can help strengthen and stabilize those regions preventing injury when functioning properly. Drawing on the information from the earlier modules while adding in newly learned information in this workshop, students will start with an asana practice with the full body in mind and bring all of the pieces together. We will then dissect the shoulder girdle and spine as they relate to inversions and backbends that may have been previously out of reach from an understanding of your own unique structure. We will also look at how twists function within the spine and how to approach then with the underlying layers of the body in mind. At the end of this workshop students will know their own unique body, it’s range, and how to work it with wisdom in any asana class they attend.