In this 2.5 hour workshop, we will begin with a brief history of the classical yoga of Patanjali, exploring its historical relationship to Buddhist practice and thought, and placing our asana practice within its context in the eight limbs of yoga. We will then work with a guided meditation on the breath, with both mindfulness of breathing, a basic Buddhist meditation practice, and ujjayi pranayama, a yogic breathing exercise that is the foundation of the vinyasa, or flow style of hatha yoga. We will move the body with a focused, energetic session of vinyasa yoga, freeing the constraints on the body, breath, and mind, and enjoying the vibrant power of the union of these aspects of our being. Silent meditation will follow savasana, where the benefits of the concentration and energy cultivated by our asana practice can be fully integrated in the space of dynamic stillness.
About the Instructor:
CATHERINE SHADDIX Catherine Shaddix began her studies of yoga and Buddhism in a meditation hut in Thailand 13 years ago, with a dog-eared copy of Light on Yoga. Astonished at the power of meditation and asana, she continued to study both, living in monasteries in India, Nepal, and North America for a total of 3 years, and being extremely fortunate to study with then unknown teachers Pema Chodron and Patricia Walden in Buddhist meditation and Iyengar yoga, respectively. Her hatha yoga studies led her to practice Ashtanga yoga, with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Chuck Miller, and her main teacher, Richard Freeman. She is currently studying Dzogchen meditation with Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and sits regularly at Spirit Rock in West Marin.
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