WORKSHOPS
The Yoga School NY offers Workshops with
Teachers in the Desikachar/Krishnamacharya Tradition
Dr. Dolphi Wertenbaker
Yoga Sutra Study Pada 1 & 2
Saturday, March 4th, 2023 - 12-4pm - Part 1
Sunday, March 5th, 2023 - 12-4pm - Part 2
Saturday, June 24th, 2023 - 12-4pm - Part 3
This workshop is offered online via Zoom
Tuition: $225 for all three days; $80 per day
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
Patañjali’s Yoga Sutra is a treasure for yoga students and teachers of all levels. The text is meant to become a lifelong companion, as its wisdom unfolds gradually with repeated study.
Yoga is a darśana, meaning that it draws inspiration from the Vedas and addresses such fundamental questions as the meaning of life, the meaning and origin of suffering and how we should live. The text dates from at least 1800 hundred years ago, yet it is fresh and illuminating today. It is timeless. The practice of yoga is much older still, having been passed down by oral tradition for hundreds of years, and possibly millennia, prior to this most authoritative text of Patañjali’s.
The text is written in sutra form, which means that it is succinct, expressing the essence of the subject without ambiguity; its ideas deal with our experience and are universally applicable. These characteristics are appropriate to the presentation of a darśana. Yet it needs to be discovered with the help of a guide.
In this workshop, we will explore the main ideas of the first two pada and delve into their practical application using examples from our lives. We will learn to chant many of the sutra in their original Sanskrit. Our sessions will include practice of asana, pranayama, meditation, lecture and discussion.
Dolphi Wertenbaker MD, physician, yoga therapist and yoga teacher trainer in the tradition of Krishnamacharya, is a long-time personal student of TKV Desikachar, to whom she owes everything. She studied intensively with Mr. Desikachar in Chennai. Witnessing his work with patients inspired her to study medicine and pursue a life-long dream of combining medicine and yoga. Co-Founder of Viniyoga America in 1986, she has taught therapeutic yoga since 1985, was an adjunct professor at Columbia University for 14 years, and has taught in numerous yoga teacher trainings since 2007. She is a co-founder and core faculty member of YATNA (Yoga As Therapy North America) and has developed the curriculum for its yoga therapist training. Students find Dolphi’s teaching engaging and enlightening, synthesizing knowledge from different sources.
Rachel Lynch-John
Anatomy: An Embodiment of our Axial & Thoracic Skeleton, our Respiratory System, and our Central Nervous System
Saturday, March 25th, 2023 - 12-5pm
This workshop is offered online via Zoom
Tuition: $100
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
In this workshop we will examine our axial skeleton from head to tail, and our rib cage. We will explore our central nervous system through an embodiment of the structures that encase it. This will be followed by a study of our respiratory system, delving into the structure and function of our lungs. The workshop will culminate in an exploration of how our breath can support our movement and asana practice.
Anatomy: An Embodiment of our Axial & Thoracic Skeleton, our Respiratory System, and our Central Nervous System
Saturday, March 25th, 2023 - 12-5pm
This workshop is offered online via Zoom
Tuition: $100
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
In this workshop we will examine our axial skeleton from head to tail, and our rib cage. We will explore our central nervous system through an embodiment of the structures that encase it. This will be followed by a study of our respiratory system, delving into the structure and function of our lungs. The workshop will culminate in an exploration of how our breath can support our movement and asana practice.
Rachel Lynch-John began practicing Iyengar Yoga in 1990 and assisted her Iyengar yoga teacher, Genny Kapuler, for over ten years. She is a C-IAYT Yoga Therapist and is registered with ISMETA as a Somatic Movement Educator. Rachel is certified in Embodied Anatomy and Yoga, and Embodied Developmental Movement and Yoga, both of which are Body-Mind Centering® approaches to teaching yoga. These approaches utilize anatomical and developmental principles to allow for the evolution of an embodied exploration and mindful yoga practice. She is also certified as a Somatic Movement Educator and an Infant Developmental Movement Educator through the School for Body-Mind Centering®.
Before relocating to NM, Rachel was a founding member of Samamkaya Back Care & Scoliosis Collective, where she served on the faculty of the Advanced Studies Course in Yoga Therapeutics as well as co-designed the curriculum. She also offers private sessions, small group classes and workshops in somatic movement education, embodied anatomy, pre & postnatal yoga, infant developmental movement education and asana alignment, and has taught in numerous teacher training programs in NY and Japan.
Originally trained as a dancer in her native England, in 1999 Rachel earned a “Bessie” (NY dance and performance award) for her work in the field of dance and performance. These days Rachel divides her time between NY and Santa Fe NM, where she is building a new home and practice.
Before relocating to NM, Rachel was a founding member of Samamkaya Back Care & Scoliosis Collective, where she served on the faculty of the Advanced Studies Course in Yoga Therapeutics as well as co-designed the curriculum. She also offers private sessions, small group classes and workshops in somatic movement education, embodied anatomy, pre & postnatal yoga, infant developmental movement education and asana alignment, and has taught in numerous teacher training programs in NY and Japan.
Originally trained as a dancer in her native England, in 1999 Rachel earned a “Bessie” (NY dance and performance award) for her work in the field of dance and performance. These days Rachel divides her time between NY and Santa Fe NM, where she is building a new home and practice.
Guta Hedewig
Course Planning in the Tradition of TKV Desikachar
Saturday, April 15th, 2:15-5:45pm
Saturday, May 6th, 5:45-8:15pm
Sunday, June 4th, 10-12:30pm
Sunday, July 9th, 9-11am
This workshop is offered in-person at 119 West 23rd St. #406; online participation via Zoom is possible as well
Tuition: $210 for the FOUR Class Workshop
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
Learn how to structure a group asana class intelligently, in a step-by-step method:
- What is the goal of the class - its possible goal pose - and why?
- What is the goal pose's reference pose?
- What are the strength and flexibility requirements?
- Which simpler poses have similar requirements?
- How to structure those poses into a coherent and clear sequence, leading up to the goal
- Definition of 'counter pose'
- Adding references/rests
- Layering with breathing ratios, sound/chanting and imagery/bhavana
Homework assignments will be given between classes and individually corrected.
This way of approaching course planning facilitates a clarity of intention throughout the class that enhances the practitioner's experience of 'stilling the mind' greatly. Through its step-by-step approach, safety and mindfulness are added to the practice.
Course Planning in the Tradition of TKV Desikachar
Saturday, April 15th, 2:15-5:45pm
Saturday, May 6th, 5:45-8:15pm
Sunday, June 4th, 10-12:30pm
Sunday, July 9th, 9-11am
This workshop is offered in-person at 119 West 23rd St. #406; online participation via Zoom is possible as well
Tuition: $210 for the FOUR Class Workshop
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
Learn how to structure a group asana class intelligently, in a step-by-step method:
- What is the goal of the class - its possible goal pose - and why?
- What is the goal pose's reference pose?
- What are the strength and flexibility requirements?
- Which simpler poses have similar requirements?
- How to structure those poses into a coherent and clear sequence, leading up to the goal
- Definition of 'counter pose'
- Adding references/rests
- Layering with breathing ratios, sound/chanting and imagery/bhavana
Homework assignments will be given between classes and individually corrected.
This way of approaching course planning facilitates a clarity of intention throughout the class that enhances the practitioner's experience of 'stilling the mind' greatly. Through its step-by-step approach, safety and mindfulness are added to the practice.
Guta Hedewig has studied the teachings of Krishnamacharya with TKV Desikachar at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM.org) in Chennai. She is a Certified Yoga Therapist and Yoga Teacher in the Krishnamacharya Tradition, having completed a 4 year long Yoga Therapy Training. She also learned Vedic Chanting at the affiliated Vedavani (Vedic Chanting School) and with her mentor, Sonia Nelson (vedicchantcenter.org). Guta is a Yoga Alliance registered E-RYT 500 and has directed over 30 Yoga Teacher Training Programs (200, 500 and 700 hr). Her specialization is to introduce students to Traditional Yoga Teachings in the lineage of T. Krishnamacharya, and his son TKV Desikachar. She works therapeutically one-on-one, creating individualized practices for students to enhance health and well-being. She also leads regular workshops in Vedic Chanting.
Guta Hedewig
Chanting Patanjali's Yogasutra
Fridays, May 5th, 12th and 19th, 2023 - 1:30-2:30pm
This workshop is offered online via Zoom
Tuition: $60 for the THREE Class Workshop, or $25 per class
- pay what you can if you are experiencing financial hardship -
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
In this workshop, we will learn to chant pada 1 of Patanjali's Yogasutra. Chanting of the sutra-s facilitates memorization and helps us to get to know and understand this text which is the foundation of our yoga practice.
This course is open to beginners and experienced chanters alike.
Join us for this joyful experience!
Chanting Patanjali's Yogasutra
Fridays, May 5th, 12th and 19th, 2023 - 1:30-2:30pm
This workshop is offered online via Zoom
Tuition: $60 for the THREE Class Workshop, or $25 per class
- pay what you can if you are experiencing financial hardship -
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
In this workshop, we will learn to chant pada 1 of Patanjali's Yogasutra. Chanting of the sutra-s facilitates memorization and helps us to get to know and understand this text which is the foundation of our yoga practice.
This course is open to beginners and experienced chanters alike.
Join us for this joyful experience!
Rachel Lynch-John
Anatomy: An Embodiment of the Structure and Dynamics of our Skeletal and Ligamentous Systems, as well as our Peripheral Nervous System, to Support our Asana Practice
Saturday, May 20th, 2023 - 12-5pm
Saturday, June 3rd, 2023 - 12-5pm
This workshop is offered online via Zoom
Tuition: $100 per day, $190 for both days
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
In these two workshops we will look at how we can develop clarity of action and thought through an embodiment of the skeletal, ligamentous and nervous systems, exploring the qualities of being that arise out of these three systems combined. As we define the skeletal and ligamentous structures and functions, and the pathways of our nerves, the potential for greater comfort and ease of movement in our body and in our asana practice can evolve.
Part 1, May 20th:
In this workshop we will explore the skeletal structures and dynamics of our upper and lower limbs to find support and ease for our movement. We will examine the dynamic relationships through the bones and joints of our limbs, from the foot to the pelvis, and the hand to shoulder girdle. As we embody these skeletal pathways, we will develop and refine ways in which to direct our limbs moving into and out of an asana.
Part 2, June 3rd:
In this workshop we will revisit the skeletal organization of our spine and central nervous system, guiding us into an exploration of our peripheral nerve plexuses that flow along the pathways of our limbs.
These workshops will culminate in an exploration of the skeletal, ligamentous, and muscular systems in relationship to our breath. Through the embodiment of these explorations we will look at our asana practice through an experiential movement lens.
Anatomy: An Embodiment of the Structure and Dynamics of our Skeletal and Ligamentous Systems, as well as our Peripheral Nervous System, to Support our Asana Practice
Saturday, May 20th, 2023 - 12-5pm
Saturday, June 3rd, 2023 - 12-5pm
This workshop is offered online via Zoom
Tuition: $100 per day, $190 for both days
Pre-registration required:
email: theyogaschoolny@gmail.com to receive the link to participate
In these two workshops we will look at how we can develop clarity of action and thought through an embodiment of the skeletal, ligamentous and nervous systems, exploring the qualities of being that arise out of these three systems combined. As we define the skeletal and ligamentous structures and functions, and the pathways of our nerves, the potential for greater comfort and ease of movement in our body and in our asana practice can evolve.
Part 1, May 20th:
In this workshop we will explore the skeletal structures and dynamics of our upper and lower limbs to find support and ease for our movement. We will examine the dynamic relationships through the bones and joints of our limbs, from the foot to the pelvis, and the hand to shoulder girdle. As we embody these skeletal pathways, we will develop and refine ways in which to direct our limbs moving into and out of an asana.
Part 2, June 3rd:
In this workshop we will revisit the skeletal organization of our spine and central nervous system, guiding us into an exploration of our peripheral nerve plexuses that flow along the pathways of our limbs.
These workshops will culminate in an exploration of the skeletal, ligamentous, and muscular systems in relationship to our breath. Through the embodiment of these explorations we will look at our asana practice through an experiential movement lens.
The Yoga School NY - theyogaschoolny@gmail.com - Tel. 212-566-4631