8th – 9th January 2022
Anatomy Weekend with Stu Girling
at Love Yoga
About Stu:
Stu has been teaching yoga related anatomy for the last 7 years both on teacher trainings and international workshops. He has been practicing yoga for 15 years, has a BSc Hons in Health Studies and for the last 10 years has been offering Therapeutic Bodywork exclusively for yoga practitioners. The underlying philosophy that guides what he shares is that knowledge is of no value unless we can understand how to use it and have use for it. With this in mind the workshops he offers focus on: what makes us individual, how can we understand our limitations and restrictions and how can we avoid injury and create balance. Stu endeavours to bring as much fun and practical experimentation into every workshop and remphasises the importance of getting to grips with the concepts rather that getting bogged down in the detail.
He is also the owner and developer of www.loveyogaanatomy.com which is a fantastic resource site for all yoga anatomy related articles.
Schedule:
Saturday 8th January 2022
10am – 1pm Hip Joint & Related Postures
2pm – 5pm Shoulder Joint & Related Postures
Sunday 9th January 2022
10am – 1pm Spine, SI Joint, Backbending & Twists
2pm – 5pm Personal Training Skills for Yoga Teachers
Prices:
£150 for all 4 workshops
£40 each
Booking:
Select the 8th/ 9th January 2022 to find the workshops.
Workshop Details:
Hip Joint and Related Postures:
Looks at the construction of the hip joint and how individuals may differ, the muscles around the joint and how they will influence movements in certain directions. So many yoga postures involve a certain degree of freedom in the hips and sometimes it can be hard to determine what is stopping us reaching our desired position. Practical exploration of groups of postures under the headings of forward folding, hip rotations and hip ab/adductions will allow students to discover where they need to focus their attention and how to effectively work on increasing the ranges of motion. Postures commonly used for exploration include, Baddha Konasana (Butterfly), Upavishta Konasana (wide legged forward fold), Squatting, Paschimottanasana (seated forward fold), Firelog and Virasana variations (Heros pose). We will also consider how many postures may fall unbeknown into the category of forward folding and explain what will be the likely expression of restriction.
Shoulder Joint and Related Postures:
Here we examine the shoulder girdle and shoulder joint, issues that influence range of motion and the potential for injury. Quite a few practitioners experience either restricted range of motion at this joint due to postural patterns, or pain during specific movements in yoga. We will consider common restrictions and how to work on them as well as alignment cues to find more comfort and help minimise the risk of repetitive strain issues. There will also be discussion and practical implementation of shoulder related postures such as, arm balances, down dog, chaturanga, binding, reverse prayer.
Spine, SI joint, Backbending and Twists:
It is not uncommon for students to feel a degree of discomfort when performing backbends or when embarking on taking on some of the more challenging foot behind head postures. By understanding the construction of the spine and the surrounding muscles it becomes evident as to the types of movements that it is designed to perform in certain areas as well as the potential mechanism of injury. We clarify the common spinal injuries such as herniated and bulging discs as well as discuss the possible causes of SI Joint pain. The groups of postures discussed and explored practically are backbends and twists, and the importance of the integration of movements at other major joints of hips and shoulders will be demonstrated. We will endeavour to during the course of the workshop to allow students to determine where their own restrictions are and how to work with them. For those students that feel they are already too mobile we will look at how to build strength and stability.
Personal Training Skills for Yoga Teachers:
Using yoga anatomy to enhance the quality and effectiveness of personal yoga programs
This workshop is designed to provide the skills necessary for teachers to be able to tailor yoga programs to the needs of their personal clients. We are not talking Yoga Therapy but instead the ability to assess and determine how best to progress your student in the direction they desire or require.
It is clearly evident that we are not all made the same and along with that comes differences in strength, flexibility, endurance, psychology and much more. To raise the quality of your teaching and deliver the best programs for your students you need to be able to make informed decisions about where they are now and what is required to take them to the next level.
By providing specific skills in the following key areas this workshop aims to assist you in becoming a more professional and effective teacher:
• Foundation in evaluating asana (postures)
• Basics in body reading
• Determining strength and restrictions in clients
• Progressions and working with restrictions
• Practical implementation of concepts
• Guidelines on beneficial sequencing and program requirements
Stu is also a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider® so students can count the workshop towards Continuing Education (CE)/ Continuous Professional Development (CPD) hours.