Places secured with full payment, booking essential by making a bank transfer (unless there is a booking link). Places non-refundable unless I can fill the place or if the workshops is cancelled by me.
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Saturday morning yoga sessions £9.50 per session. 10-11.30am South Brent Village Hall, upstairs. Next dates:
13 January
10 February
23 March .
25 May (tbc) – after this session learn how to create your own home practices using the Vinyasa Krama Yoga manual. 11.45am-1pm £10 + manual, £15
FUTURE WORKSHOPS
keep an eye on this page for dates/join email list/ can be run by request
Intro to Ayurveda and Spring Cleansing
Date/time:
Venue: HealthSource, 1 Burke Road, Totnes, TQ9 5XL
Cost: £10 suggested donation
Did you know that health conditions can be attributed to either the elements being out of balance or undigested food mass/toxicity? Ayurveda uses the natural journey of food to reverse this imbalance/accumulation & lower/eliminate. You can do this at home – a combination of diet, herbs, yoga and self-massage…..Come along to find out more plus how to rebuild health afterwards.
Yoga and Ayurveda for Mental Health
Date/time:
Venue: HealthSource, 1 Burke Road, Totnes, TQ9 5XL
Cost: £10 suggested donation
Ease the Mind: a look at anxiety and depression and….finding peace Yoga is associated with fancy positions, flexibility and leggings! When really it is much more. It is in fact more intended for the mind than the body. But we bring them together so that our whole experience is that of wellbeing, physical and mental. We will take a look at some background yoga philosophy and the conditions of anxiety and depression, followed by some simple practices. These will provide some tools to help find a more pleasant and sustainable experience of peace, stillness and calm.
Yoga, Ayurvedic Feast & Fire Circle
Date/time:
Venue: The Glade, Dartington
Cost:
A chance to feel the connection with nature while going within as we practice yoga inside the cosy ‘Nest’, surrounded by forest just outside. Wood burner going if needed. This will be a balanced practice suitable for those attending – strengthening, flexing, breathing and relaxing.
Then enjoy delicious ayurvedic food (provided) around the fire followed by stories/meditation – these can include your contributions/sharing but I will guide/initiate. It could include shared music if anyone has instruments to bring or songs.
Design your own Yoga Practice
Date/time:
Venue: South Brent Village Hall (upstairs)
Cost: £45
Cost includes The Vinyasa Krama Yoga Manual worth £15
Do you want to practice yoga at home but don’t know where to start? Perhaps do a few things but it doesn’t feel the same as a yoga class? With this workshop in ‘Vinyasa Krama Yoga’, I will give you some short home practices and guide you how to use the manual to create your own sequences suitable for the time you have at home.
We will cover the meaning of ‘Vinyasa Krama’, the essentials and variations possible for a practice, learning step by step, plus the importance of breathing techniques and the aim of a calm mind. Advice on when and how to fit it into daily life.
Suitable beginners/experienced. The practices on the day will be adapted as necessary for different people, but contact me if you want to discuss in advance.
The Vinyasa Krama Yoga Manual has been put together by Stephen Brandon, true to the Krishnamacarya lineage of yoga and invaluable for getting an overview of the positions/movements, together with background information. It will be referred to in the workshop, and used to help you work out practices now and into the future, an invaluable investment.
Meditative and Wild Walk
Date/time:
Venue: Meeting and finishing point, Shipley Bridge car park
Cost: £12
We will take a route away from the well-known track here and the walk will include a Long Barrow & the East Glazebrook river on Dartmoor, possibly reaching the head of this river. There will be mindful walking, sensory awareness, meditation exercise and… normal walking, enjoying the landscape and time together. Booking essential, Bring own picnic.
An Introduction to Ayurveda – Holistic Health with Ayurveda
Dates/Venues:
Come to a half day/eve where this (at least) 5000 year old holistic and traditional system of medicine will be introduced. I will go over the basics of understanding the Doshas (and how they relate to the elements), plus how imbalances in them are responsible for health conditions. We will also look at how fundamental digestion is and the journey of nutrition, to help gain an understanding of how food affects our body. Learn also about the concept of ‘Ama’ and how the presence of toxins are at the root of disease.
You will be able to complete a questionnaire in advance to get an indication of your current Dosha and learn how you can improve health through diet, herbs, lifestyle with some mention of yoga too. We will try some breathing and meditation to help relaxation, energy, balance and peace.
Go away feeling empowered to make a difference to your health, well-being and access peace/stillness. Perfect if you want to take some step by step changes to your health.
Spring to Health – 6 weeks of guidance
Engage with ayurveda this Spring, to pre-cleanse, cleanse & rejuvenate! The stages are as follows:
– before 4 May (will be sent from end of March onwards), complete a health questionnaire & return via email,
– receive herbs (post/meet if local) for pre-cleanse & cleanse,
– on 4 May attend a 7.30pm Zoom session to hear an introduction to ayurevda, share and get guidance on the process. Some simple yoga breathing/exercises will be included.
– 1 week of pre-cleansing, just simply start taking herbs and make some small diet changes (e.g. cutting out/lowering coffee, sugar, alcohol – or others as guided),
– 3-5 days (your choice) cleanse, by eating 2 simple recipes & plenty of vegetables for all meals, as well as taking herbs before meals,
– on 14 May attend a 6pm Zoom session to share and get more guidance. Some simple yoga breathing/exercises will be included.
– receive final guidance on looking after health ongoingly.
Cost: £38-47 + booking fee. Booking essential https://into-yoga-and-nature.cademy.co.uk/spring-to-health-6-weeks-of-guidance (click this to read FAQ providing more information)
Points to note:
– the herbs and guidance will be tailor made to you, even though everyone is going through a similar process. How you feel during the process will depend on your individual health and uniqueness.
– the aim is mutual support as you share and hear from others about their experience. But then at home managing your own meals, taking herbs and gentle lifestyle.
– you will be able to contact me at other times via email during the 6 weeks, if you have questions/need guidance.
– price includes all guidance and herbs (incl postage) for the pre-cleanse, cleanse and rejuvenation. After that any further consultation time or herbs will be charged separately.
– if anything else is needed such as a tongue scraper, chyawanprash (herbal jam), herbal powdered tea etc, these will be charged separately.
– Yoga as both exercise and mental/emotional health support is a very good support for this process. Guidance may include some recommendations and you are welcome to join a class via Zoom/in person (cost separate).
– on finishing cleanse, gradually add in more foods & take rejuvenating herbs. This stage is called the ‘gladdening’ part, where you start to nourish the body having lost excess waste and toxicity,
Do read the FAQ, as this will provide information on what the experience may be like and on the difference in price (herbs as capsules or powder).
Seaweed Foraging
Dates/Times/Venue:
Venue: East Prawle
The information is mainly targeted towards adults, but older children can enjoy too & if younger I can provide them with a simple activity. Enquire for cost of children.
A chance to learn about foraging edible seaweed. Learn which are most easily harvested, used and cooked. Go away feeling empowered to provide yourself with tasty and highly nutritious free foods harvested in a sustainable way.
I will guide you to the seaweeds I have been harvesting for years, identify them, harvest sustainably and suggest edible uses. Plus talk about the health benefits of seaweeds. We may look at some edible cliff plants & Autumn berries, time permitting but today’s focus is seaweed.
By booking you confirm that you will come equipped/feel confident to walk on uneven ground, beach and slippery rocks with seaweed on/around rockpools. The best shoes are aqua shoes but not essential. Bring own basket/container/bag, scissors and go away with a harvest!
A free guide containing some of the seaweeds I talk about will be emailed afterwards but it is recommended to take notes and photos.
Yoga and Ayurveda for Lower Backs
Time/date:
Venue:
Cost:
A chance to strengthen, release, stretch and mobilise your lower back using gentle ‘asana‘ (movements and positions) alongside correct breathing, plus herbs/oils/nutrition. There will be a brief introduction to ayurveda but the main focus will be yoga. There will also be a section on body awareness/connection, lifestyle and well-being.
In Part 1 we will start working gently – finding our neutral spine position and taking this into various positions/movements, as well as bringing greater awareness to this in daily life. Then we will work on strengthening. This provides an opportunity to practice at home ready to continue with these themes, adding more in Part 2.
Yoga and Ayurveda for Anxiety
Date/time:
Venue:
Cost:
As anxiety has become very widespread in our modern world, there will be 2 workshops (2nd one is a follow up) to cover this subject including providing an understanding from a yoga and ayurvedic perspective. Just this knowledge can help us to heave a sigh of relief and to know that we are not alone in our experience. There will also be techniques (particularly breathing), practices, lifestyle suggestions, diet and herbs that can all help enormously. The first workshop will provide you with some ideas to start working on at home and the 2nd will review this and give more support. Yoga practices will be included in the workshop.
Attending will also enable you to optionally have herbs prescribed individually (usually requiring a consultation fee). If you decide to do this, you will be asked to complete a form in advance & during the workshops, I will chat to you for a short time privately to make suggestions for herbs/any individual dietary advice to address anxiety and for good health (this can often include addressing other health matters as ayurveda has a holistic approach).
Introduction to Yoga Philosophy
Date/time:
Venue: South Brent Village Hall
Cost: £28
Why do we practice yoga? Quite often people’s goals are to become stronger, more flexible and reduce stress. We know there are yoga poses and relaxation. This is all true. But the goal is actually a still mind, which in itself is a key to progress towards enlightenment. What is enlightenment?
Come to this introduction, to start learning some of the answers. We will cover the 8 limbs of yoga and learn about our fundamental misunderstanding of ourselves and why this leads to a range of emotions. Yoga practices included. There will be a follow up workshop.
An opportunity to learn how to design your own yoga practice. We will look at the meaning of ‘Vinyasa Krama’, the essentials and variations of a practice, learning step by step, plus the importance of breathing techniques and the aim of a calm mind. We will use a practice manual to design balanced home practices including different lengths to suit the time you have available. Finally some advice on when and how to fit it into daily life.
Suitable beginners/experienced. The practices on the day will be adapted as necessary for different people, but contact me if you want to discuss in advance.
The Vinyasa Krama Yoga Manual will be available for sale at £15 (separate). It has been put together by Stephen Brandon, true to the Krishnamacarya lineage of yoga and invaluable for getting an overview of the sequences, together with background information. It will be referred to in the workshop, and used to help you work out practices now and into the future.
Yoga Philosophy and Practice – Parts 1, 2, 3
Venue: TBC – POSSIBLE TO ATTEND VIA ZOOM ALSO
Part 1:
- What is Vinyasa Krama yoga & its lineage
- What is the meaning of yoga, the goal & its 8 limbs
- Benefits of basic breathing practices
- A short practice
Part 2:
- summarising & picking up from previous material and expanding on the goal of yoga
- the 5 Kleshas – ‘afflictions’ or causes of pain & how yoga can help us with these
- Mudras – some of the more important positions that have a greater effect
- A short practice
Part 3:
- summarising & picking up from previous material and expanding on the goal – what is meant by ‘liberation’
- some principles in Samkhya, an ancient philosophy from India that describes the nature of the universe and consciousness. It is closely aligned with Yoga philosophy.
- different components of the mind and how the mind is involved in these principles
- is yoga spiritual/religious? And how it fits in with Eastern/Western philosophies/beliefs.
- general points/advice for getting a balanced life/responding to life & applying yoga principles in the challenge of daily lives
- A short practice
Date/Time: Date TBC
Cost: £25 per workshop, includes handout
Learn Yoga? An Introduction
Venue:
Date/time: TBC – do get in touch if you’d like to attend one
Cost:
Yoga is not about being flexible! This is for anyone who would like to learn a few basics about yoga & then join a class. Or you can be practising yoga already and be interested to find out more about this particular tradition.
A pupil recently gave me a card that started with ‘Yoga is not about touching your toes’ & later ‘calming the mind is yoga’. This is a chance to put yoga in context and learn a little background philosophy, basic principles and try out a short practice suitable for all (everyone will be able to practice to their ability). This will include body movements and positions, breathing practices and a short quiet time.
At the end we can discuss which weekly class would be suitable for you. My classes include gentle chair yoga.
The card from a pupil also said ‘Yoga has been known to cause health and happiness’! I teach Vinyasa Krama Yoga from the Krishnamacharya tradition, the movements are slow, co-ordinated with steady breath.