This weekend I attended a yoga workshop lead by Doug Keller at Yogalife studio in Norman, OK. I’ve been looking forward to this workshop for quite sometime now. Doug came to town last year but I was unable to make it, so this year I planned FAR in advance to attend.
Doug Keller is my favorite type of yogi. He’s totally laid back, down to earth, easy to talk to, and funny! He happens to be one of my favorite teachers for many other reasons as well. I have a high respect for his knowledge and interest in anatomy and physiology of the human body in respect to yoga asana. His exceptional knowledge of anatomy allows him to understand and alter yoga poses for the individual. As a yoga teacher, I believe that one’s ability to modify poses for an individual is the most important tool a teacher can have. This weekend I’m happy to say I improved a little bit in that area. Thanks Doug! Here’s the run down of what I did with Doug this weekend!
Thursday – Asana Practice: What the body Learns Through Yoga
We learned a lot about the importance of sequencing. We focused on warm-ups, standing poses, hamstring stretching, fun ways to alter forward bends, and hip openers. I absolutely loved the pointers and tricks he showed us. I think my students will really benefit from the changes I plan to make in my future classes.
Friday Afternoon – Yoga as Therapy: Getting Started with Assessment Tools
During this session we learned a TON about how to assess yourself and others based on their posture and known receptive habits. Since people normally stand, sit, or lay in certain ways, the body is likely to form imbalances. These imbalances can cause all kinds of issues such as inflexibility, tightness, pain, headaches, and even injuries. Assessment is the first step to determining what the problem may be. Then we can use yoga to help alleviate the problem! How cool is that!
Friday Night – Timing is Everything: A Yoga Tune-Up for the Firing Order of the Muscles
During this session we focused on the proper firing order of the muscles in multiple poses. In other words, we learned ways to activate the CORRECT muscles first and then activate or deactivate the others. I learned how much more useful the poses are when you can learn to let go of large muscle groups and focus on the correct ones.
Saturday Morning – Neck and Shoulder Health
I LOVED this session! I’m a person who carries my stress in my neck and shoulders, so I benefitted greatly from it! We focused on ways to strengthen the neck and protect our shoulders when using them for weight-bearing poses such as down dog. Such a great session!
Saturday Afternoon – Taking Root to Fly in Pranayama
Over all, this session was my favorite. I absolutely LOVE meditating with fellow yogis! Doug’s ability to lead pranayama is truly amazing. If you ever get the chance to meditate with Doug.. take it! If I could meditate with him everyday, I would!
I want to thank Yogalife for such a wonderful weekend. Yogalife studio is where I fist began to practice yoga and I also received my RYT200 certification there. Becca Hewes has and always will be my teacher. I’m so thankful that she has now shared her teacher with me. Thank you Becca!
I also want to thank Doug Keller. Thank you for a great weekend. I feel like a million bucks and I can’t wait to put my new tools to work!
P.S. I must have been too busy getting my “zen” on to take more pictures.That, or I was frantically scribbling words of brilliance into that little notebook. Either way, Sorry! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by,
-Cait
Can Do, Cait! 