Finding Your Foundation

A structure is only as stable as its foundation. Yoga poses built from the ground up not only look and feel more stable, they access deep stabilizing muscles over less equipped superficial ones. Depending on the posture the foundation may be the feet, knees, hands, shoulders or pelvic girdle. Students learn how to improve and adapt each of those foundations in this program.

Example Workshop Schedule

2-3 Hours: Lecture and practice of the feet as foundation in terms of standing as well as standing yoga postures. Examination of foot patterns and how each habit tracks up the kinetic chain effecting the knees, hips and lower back. Visual fishbowl of individual differences based upon genetics, life experience, and injury. A look at the feet and joint locking behaviors from a generalized yogic perspective.

1-2 Hours: Lecture and practice of the hands as foundation in terms of weight-bearing asanas. Examination of wrist flexibility and subsequent outcomes in the kinetic chain effecting the elbows and shoulders. Integration of basic hand and wrist exercises within practice to improve function and alignment. A look at the hands from the yogic perspective: as the arms of the heart.

1-2 Hours: Lecture and practice dedicated to proper alignment for supine, prone and kneeling foundations in asana. This segment covers less common foundations. Practice includes the use of props and individual adaptations to improve various asanas. Focus on meeting the student where they are by acknowledging individual differences in terms of physical shape as well as flexibility and mobility.

Duration

3-7 hours

Components

Facilitated Discussion: Importance of foundation

Lecture and Practice:
Support from the ground up

Building natural arch support
Working with flat feet
The kinetic chain: the role of the hips and lower limbs in foot function
Improving balance
The hands as a second pair of feet
The use of props to improve foundation
Individual differences