Join the world renowned yoga master, Richard Freeman, to experience a weekend of Ashtanga yoga - the art of following an empty thread of awareness through and between postures, breaths, thoughts and techniques. You'll not only learn to practice this vigorous style safely and correctly, you'll also gain the meditative insight to allow the practice blossom in our attention to new and exquisite details, alignment and flow.

Fri. 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Introduction to Ashtanga Yoga:
A step-by-step exploration of the basic threads of form, breathing, and movement upon which the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga postures are strung. The bio-mechanical principles of alignment and the meditative principle of awakening core breathing will be studied.

Freedom from Yoga Philosophy: A talk on the empty mind -
discover that Prana (internal breath) and Citta (mind) are two ends of the same stick, allowing us to feel our yoga stretches, sensations–patterns and feelings--extend to infinity, but what about our beliefs, hopes, opinions, and philosophies about ourselves, our world and our yoga? Do they stretch out to infinity as well? This talk will look at ideas about yoga, its many practices, its many philosophies, the patterns they make, what matters and who really cares.

Sat. 9:00am - 11:00am
From Surya Namaskara to Arm Balancing
Through exploration of the basics of internal breathing, the energy connections, the alignment and the subtle wave movements that compose the two varieties of the Sun Salutation, we will learn a gradual and intelligent way to develop the core strength needed for arm balances. We will then apply it to the practices of mudras and bandhas.

Sat. 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Making Backbending and Finishing Postures Feel Right
An energetic exploration of the whole body patterns found in back bending and then a precise re-visioning of the essentials of Finishing postures. With emphasis on the little details which make them feel really good, we will let them lead us into pranayama and bandha practice as a natural awakening of intelligence.

Sun 9:00 am - 11:30 am
Detailing Postures of the Primary Series:
exploring details of the series and learning attention to subtle techniques to avoid injury. We'll bring the brilliant core of the central axis out through the forms of the postures, turning them into mudras of feeling and expression. Through the continuous joining and separating of masculine and feminine movements, the radiance of internally integrated yoga postures will be experienced.

Sun 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
The Basics of Pranayama:
Weave together the internal aspects of an integrated practice through the breath. We will learn the fundamentals of a beginning pranayama class including techniques for balancing internal and external alignment so that pranayama is safe and effective.

The right of space reservation is subject to completion of full payment.

Ashtanga Yoga, known for both its vigor and how it links yoga postures together into a continuous flow, is based on a profound internal principle of alignment and energy conjunction. This core alignment removes obstacles to internal breath and feeling so that meditation and insight easily arise. When its context and subtle core are known, the Ashtanga system becomes an excellent vehicle for therapeutic repair and avoidance of injury. In this intensive we will learn to use Dristi, Bandha and the continuous refinement of technique to awaken the core of the body. We will play with the paradoxes of breathing and the complementarity of technique to open the central axis of the body into a universal form. Experiencing this paradoxical heart of the Vinyasa system allows us to practice and teach meditatively, in and from the present moment.

Daily Schedule
09:30 - 12:00 – Asana practice (this would be the more rigorous asana of the day)
12:00 - 13:30 – Lunch Break
13:30 - 14:00 – Chanting
14:15 - 15:30 – Philosophy Lecture*
15:45 - 17:00 – Restorative yoga, Pranayama, Finishing poses, and Q & A.

Class Description:

A deep exploration of how true internal alignment is used in posture and movement and how those rhythms translate into breathing and meditation. You will learn small, subtle adjustments in form and attitude that can make problematic and difficult poses produce their fruits. The actual Mulabandha is a conjunction of complimentary movement patterns which open the central axis of the body right up through the root of the palate. We'll study the essential and elusive Mulabandha and the strong grounding effect of correct ujjayi pranayama, as we flow through these movements, following the thread of the central axis. The universal form of internally integrated yoga posture will be experienced as a continuous joining and separating of masculine and feminine movements. Students will learn to pay close attention to the meditative quality of form and movement as a means of bringing refinement to their practice. Fine detailed attention to subtle technique will prove to be the way of avoiding injury and integrating obstacles. we will refine the Finishing Poses (Inversions and sitting posture) by working the subtle movements of the shoulders, arms, neck, head, spine, tongue and palate. These gentle subtleties will aid in making Pranayama and meditation natural.

*Philosophy lectures will be an overview on Indian and Yoga philosophy, providing students a solid foundation of yogic background.

The right of space reservation is subject to completion of full payment.

Applications are reviewed as soon as they are received. You will be notified by e-mail or phone call within 10 working days. Sending in an application does not guarantee a place in the program. Please apply early!( Application Form Download ）