🌟🧡 Adam Keen Weekend Workshop - Make Ashtanga Yoga Work For You 🧡🌟

What are the cornerstones of the method of Ashtanga Yoga, and how to adapt these general principles into individualised principles so that they work for you personally? In this time together we shall go through the basis of Ashtanga; what does bandha mean? What is drishti, vinyasa, what about the breathing? On completion of this workshop you will have a good overview of Ashtanga Yoga and the confidence that you are practicing it safely and effectively for your, unique body.

SATURDAY

07.00 – 9.00: Ashtanga Led & Self Practice Combined
Adam will lead the class through the first part of primary and standing asana, after which you will move on to self-practice following the Ashtanga sequence at whatever level you are at. All physical levels are welcome, and you are free to follow from printed sheets. It’s a fun way into self-led practice.

9.30 – 11.00: Open Your Hips
We all know that yoga needs open hips, but what does this, actually, entail outside of jamming ourselves into lotus postures and hoping they’ll gradually becoming easier in doing so? This workshop takes us through the subtle business of hip rotations to help create more mobility at the hips in practicing known postures more skillfully, while, also leading everyone through a hip-opening sequence Adam used to recover from a recent hip surgery.

11.00 – 12.00: Break

12.00 – 1.30 Vinyasa And What It Really Means
Vinyasa is the very foundation of the method taught by Krishnamacharya which went on to influence the sequences of Ashtanga yoga. Yet it does not mean the sequences themselves, rather a way to enter and exit the postures through a certain breath-movement format. A method that brings together an evolution in scapula (upper back) mobility, along with the development of asana practice as a ‘ritual’, where a unique mental space and awareness is built up.

SUNDAY

07.00 – 9.00: Ashtanga Self-Practice
This practice is based on individual exploration, kindness, and fun. Adam gives yoga assistance in a safe and non-intrusive way. He does not believe in forcing people into postures, rather, he uses verbal and light physical touch to open new directions for you to follow if you wish. All are welcome to the Mysore class. Adam is happy if you need practice sheets, but you should have memorised at least the sun salutations A and B and some of the standing sequence.

9.30 – 11.00: Can Backbends Ever Be Fun?
Maybe not, but they can be comfortable and effective for purpose – and for all of us. Even so, depending on certain anatomy of our body, all of us will bend backwards differently. So, first we need to look at that. Then, we need to find a way not to keep bending at the same spot of our lumbar spine – already one of the weakest spots of our bodies. We will do this with reference to upward dog, the most practiced ‘backbend’ by far, and then, the first postures of the Intermediate series, which we shall also discuss how to include into everyone’s practice.

11.00 – 12.00: Break

12.00 – 1.30: The Hidden Philosophy Inside The Practice Of Asana

“Do your practise and all is coming” or “ninety-nine percent practice, one percent theory” are well-known quotes from Pattabhi founder of Ashtanga yoga. But, can the exclusive practice of yoga postures really be the teacher, or should there be more context around what we do on the mat?

In this session we will explore:

• The application of different aims/philosophies and what this might mean for your postural practice
• What lies in the physical: repetition and variation
• Should we be challenging ourselves with asana or making ourselves comfortable?
• How to relate between the wish for progress and acceptance of what is?
• What does it mean to take our yoga practice off the mat?
• The role of the teacher and relationship between intuition and disciplined learning/
• How group practice works and what it can do.
• Why things aren’t meant to go right all the time and how to best cope when they don’t

About Adam
Adam has been a yoga practitioner since 1999 and has taught Ashtanga yoga internationally for over 25 years, including 10 years with a Mysore programme in London until the pandemic closed his studio. His first trip to Mysore to practice with Sharath Jois was in 2007 and in 2012 he completed the Advanced A sequence under his guidance, an accomplishment of only a few teachers, while also receiving authorization to teach.

His style is open, non-dogmatic and eclectic, while remaining rooted in the Ashtanga teaching he received in Mysore, India by the founders of the method, Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois. Equally at home teaching all levels of practitioner, he gives all students the same attention and interest.
Coming from an academic background in philosophy and a professional one as a chef, he is knowledgeable and relatable in his approach, explaining things clearly in a down-to-earth way – both serious and fun, he loves connecting to all types of people.
Adam is the host of the Keen on Yoga Podcast where he interviews the world’s most renowned Ashtanga teachers and philosophical academics. He also runs the Keen on Yoga platform with his wife Theresa.

Instagram: @adam_keen_ashtanga & @keen_on_yoga