Come join us for an in-depth introduction to the practice of yoga. In this four-part series you will learn the solid foundation behind a healthy and balanced yoga practice. Proper alignment in the asanas (postures), breathing techniquesa (pranyama), and basic yogic philosphies will be covered. Each week will focus on a different aspect of the yoga practice. After the 4 week series, you will be familiar with the variety of postures that are offered in yoga classes.

This class is suitable for those who are brand new to yoga, as well as those who would like an opportunity to deepen their practice by reinvesting in its foundation. Class size will be limited to allow for individual attention. There will be time for questions in every class.

Have fun learning Partner Yoga and Thai Massage sequences that you can share with your partner, friends, and loved ones. This workshop is designed to open your body, balance your mind, and deepen your relationships. Explore non-verbal communication tools based on mutual support and open-hearted listening. This practice awakens energy flow and leaves both the giver and receiver in a relaxed state of grace.

Spring is the time of new beginnings, rebirth, and regeneration. In this workshop, we will attune to the Season by adjusting our yoga practice and food that we eat to create a personal Spring within. Through deeply cleansing our bodies and minds, we will awaken from Winter's slumber. According to Chinese Medicine, Spring is the time to attend to our livers and gallbladders. Some signs of imbalances in these organs include anger, depression, stress, neck and back tension, inflexible body, and menstrual difficulties. This afternoon's workshop will explore ways to enhance the vitality of our livers through yoga postures, pranayama, acupressure points, lifestyle changes and nutrition.

Annie will offer healthy ways to cleanse the body of the effects of winter accumulation through safe fasts appropriate for your body type and dietary history, and delicious ways to revitalize for spring with food that nourishes and attunes your body/mind to the season. There will be tastings and recipes for spring juice tonics and meals that emphasize the balanced functioning of the liver and gall bladder.

Annie Kunjappy teaches in the Chef's Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute fot Health and Culinary Arts and works as a private chef providing health supportive, innovative cuisine to individuals or groups using organic, seasonal ingredients. Her approach to food and healing is informed by the principles of Ayurveda and the Chinese 5-Phase Theory, as well as western nutritional science, while never losing sight of the basic principles of pleasure, beauty and community. She cooks regularly at Heathen Hill Yoga Retreat Center, designing menus for seasonal yoga asana, pranayama, and meditation retreats. She also teaches workshops at various yoga studios, including the Yoga Room, and at the Park Slope Food Co-op.

Leigh Evans is a yoga teacher and dancer dedicated to awakening creativity and aliveness in the body. Since 1985, Leigh has practiced Hatha Yoga in the Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Viniyoga traditions in the U.S. and India. She has been teaching yoga for 14 years. Drawing from her Vipassana meditation practice, Leigh creates a mindful yoga practice, inviting you to witness the shifting sensations of the body and attune to the inner unfolding of each asana. Informed by her training in Thai Massage at ITM, Thailand and with Ananda Apfelbaum, NY, Leigh's seasonal attunement workshops awaken energy and awareness in specific meridians (sen lines) of the body. The class focuses on healing and transformation through blending a strong vinyasa practice with restorative asanas, acupressure points, and meditation.

Many of us hold alot of tension in the shoulders and neck. In conjunction with the tightness and discomfort, there is a loss of a connection to the heart, which the yogis understand as being the seat of compassion. As we discover the habitual holding patterns in the shoulder girdle, we lay down a pathway for awareness and release these unconscious habits. Learn how to engage the supportive muscles of the back body, open your lungs and heart and enjoy the full exhilaration of backbends!!

This workshop provides performers with a simple and backdoor entrance into embodied sound & language. Through awareness and improvisation disciplines of Action Theater and Asian Performance Techniques (Butoh, Odissi Dance, Suzuki Method), participants learn how to manifest all movement and sound from a vital core of presence and fearlessness. This work is playful, challenging, and emphasizes physicality as an expression of the imagination. Using the energy of the Hara center, we open currents of sound in the body and sail into language. Open to beginners as well as seasoned performers.