May 17, 2010

Kripalu - Yoga Therapy Intensive

If you are considering a trip to Kripalu, either to study or for a holiday, I highly recommend it.  The grounds are beautiful, the food delicious & nutritious, people friendly and diverse(!), yoga classes safe and creative.  You can apply for a scholarship to study there if it is beyond your current means. I went for the Yoga Therapy Intensive, a week long study with Yoga Therapists: Judith Hanson Lasater, Gary Kraftsow, Mukunda Stiles, Nischala Joy Devi, and Larry Payne - among others.  We looked at using yoga to work with trauma, transforming pain, evaluating musculoskeletal imbalances, aruyedic yoga therapy, prime of life yoga, yoga for anxiety, shoulders, hips, sacrum, and low back issues.  It was a lot to absorb and will take time to integrate - but some gems were immediate "If a pose feels safe for your body you'll be able to take a full comfortable breath.  Breath is your gage."  "Provide inquiries to your students so they can explore and become experts on themselves." "When opening the heart; open the front, the back, the sides, the skylight of the heart, and the basement of the heart."