SESSION 1: KULA FLOW: SWEATY, INTELLIGENT, ECSTATIC FRI 5:30-7:30PM

Born and Bred on the streets of New York City, Kula Flow is an alignment-focused vinyasa style that blends the rigor of Ashtanga with intelligent, creative sequencing. Expect a strong, dynamic practice with illuminating prop work, an emphasis on the steady guide of the breath, uddiyana bandha practice, core awareness, standing poses, balances, backbends, and optional inversions. Copious amounts of hands on assists will be offered. Expect to find power, focus, and freedom, and to leave feeling equally grounded and light. 

SESSION 2: ANATOMY IN ACTION: INTEGRATION OF YOUR FUNCTIONAL CORE SAT 10AM-1PM

In this signature Anatomy in Action workshop we will dive into the lower half of the body and illuminate why we believe there is more to “hips” than a pigeon pose. Expect to deepen the relationship you have with your feet, which connect you to the earth thousands of times a day; explore what we mean by the core of the leg and how it relates to your deepest sense of self; and understand the 4 parts of the hip and how we can balance spaciousness with strength. You will leave feeling more anchored with the ability to grow confidently up and out of your roots.

Anatomy in Action was born out of the desire to bridge the chasm between the terms presented in any good anatomy module and the true embodiment of the concepts within the asana practice. Many dedicated practitioners, teachers, and teachers-in-training have heard the basic terminology that maps the body, but have trouble applying what they know in order to help sequence a better class or find the fullest expression of a pose when on the mat.

This workshop will be broken down into two parts: first up is a lecture and discussion with Dr. Lauren Haythe, followed by a Kula Flow vinyasa class with Nikki Vilella. Each lecture will introduce you to a specific part(s) of the body and explore how these parts work in relationship to one another. You will learn how the body organizes itself on a physical level, what happens when disorganization occurs, and how this affects us not only physically but energetically and emotionally as well. During the second half Nikki will take the anatomical ideas introduced during lecture and put them into practical application via an intelligent flow. Expect the time to be exploratory, where you will take the ideas out of your head and put them into your body. Our hope is that you will leave smarter Yoga students and teachers who better understand how to safely and effectively get yourself and/or your students from point A to point B in class.

SESSION 3: THE ART OF ADJUSTMENTS: PARTNERED HANDS ON + SELF ASSISTS with PROP SAT 2:00-5:00PM

In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore the vast and creative ways to look at other bodies as well as our own and decipher how we can use physical adjustments and/or the use of props to cultivate both external balance and internal awareness. The first step in becoming a skilled adjuster is to learn to read the body, so we start this session with training the eyes to see one another clearly. Only then does a meaningful hands-on reveal itself. When it comes to our own bodies, we can use props as  instruments of proprioception. We will explore how they can not only support us, but help us to orient our bodies in space with greater clarity; this in turn refines our subtle capacity to sense, feel, and respond to what’s happening within.

This workshop is for yoga students looking to deepen their personal practice, as well as teachers seeking new ways to support their students' learning. You do not need to come with a partner for the hand on portion, we will couple attendees throughout the session as needed. 

SESSION 4: ANATOMY IN ACTION: ANATOMY OF BREATH SUN 10:00AM-1:00PM

In this signature Anatomy in Action workshop, we will look at the mechanics of breath from a skeletal, muscular and organ perspective. Expect to move beyond the lungs and the diaphragm and into your accessory muscles of respiration (think abdominals and scalenes), touch upon your Vagus nerve and its importance to the health of your nervous system, look at how organs like the kidneys relate to your breath, and explore both solar and lunar pranayama practices along with uddiyana bandha in the somatic part of practice. 

Anatomy in Action was born out of the desire to bridge the chasm between the terms presented in any good anatomy module and the true embodiment of the concepts within the asana practice. Many dedicated practitioners, teachers, and teachers-in-training have heard the basic terminology that maps the body, but have trouble applying what they know in order to help sequence a better class or find the fullest expression of a pose when on the mat.

This workshop will be broken down into two parts: first up is a lecture and discussion with Dr. Lauren Haythe, followed by a Kula Flow vinyasa class with Nikki Vilella. Each lecture will introduce you to a specific part(s) of the body and explore how these parts work in relationship to one another. You will learn how the body organizes itself on a physical level, what happens when disorganization occurs, and how this affects us not only physically but energetically and emotionally as well. During the second half Nikki will take the anatomical ideas introduced during lecture and put them into practical application via an intelligent flow. Expect the time to be exploratory, where you will take the ideas out of your head and put them into your body. Our hope is that you will leave smarter Yoga students and teachers who better understand how to safely and effectively get yourself and/or your students from point A to point B in class.