MASTER LISTING OF WEEKLONG INTENSIVES, MASTER CLASSES, KEYNOTE LECTURES

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Dear Yogis,  Here is a comprehensive listing of all of the classes we will be offering at Six Days on Freedom.  Yep!  They're all here on one page for your convenience.  If you would like to know the Yoga Alliance breakdown of hours per category for each Intensive, please email us at the above address.  Warmth & Blessings, Hilary, Karen & Robert

Please Scroll Down to Read Why this is THE Yoga event of the Year!

THE WEEKLONG INTENSIVES (approx 18 hours)

HELEN BERLINER - Enlightened by Design:  The Yoga of Living Space -- 3-Day Intensive (9 hours)

How can we extend the healing benefits of yoga practice--balance, alignment of energy, clarity, harmony, strength, and well-being--to our physical space? Incorporating our surroundings into our practice is not only a joy, but also a necessary part of a holistic and integrated spiritual practice that is at once healing and life-changing. In this unique hands-on workshop, explore the impact of physical environment on our quality of life; and learn how we, as yoga and meditation practitioners and teachers, can work with this vital energetic link to our health, happiness, success and vitality.

Join author/designer Helen Berliner--a senior teacher of Buddhist meditation with over 30 years experience--for an innovative and enlightening program designed to help you create life-affirming home, studio and workplace environments. This practical yet profound program integrates mindful meditation with an awareness of placement, and the five basic "styles" of energy--their colors, shapes, sounds, and natural elements. Open to all levels of yoga, meditation, feng shui and design practitioners.  (NOTE:  There is a 15-person minimum for this program).

OPTION A - Mini-Retreat
Tuition:  $499.*  Includes full access to all Six Days on Freedom programs, including AM Master Asana Classes, Evening Keynote Lectures, Concerts with WAH! (  REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR THIS WORKSHOP:  JULY 12TH.

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OPTION B - 9-Hour Workshop
Tuition:  $249.*  Includes 9 hours of sessions over 3 afternoons.  No access to AM Master Asana Classes, Evening Keynote Lectures, Concerts with WAH! and Nia Classes

* There is a 15-person minimum for this class.  If the minimum is not met, you will be notified of the cancellation within 2 weeks of the class date.  Affordable meals and accommodations packages are available by visiting the registration link (above) and can be purchased separately.  REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR THIS WORKSHOP:  JULY 12TH.

 

BERYL BENDER BIRCH -- Mindful living:  Walking and Talking the Classical 8-Limbed Path of Astanga Yoga

We say we practice yoga.  What do we mean by “practice”?   Yoga practice is more than the struggle to get both feet behind your head.   Classically defined, practice is the “continuous struggle to stay firmly established in the stable state of the true self.” What does that mean?  In a slightly different translation, this 13^th sutra from Book I of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras tells us that practice means “effort towards steadiness of mind.”  That means that if you are making an effort to pay attention (at whatever you might be doing), it’s practice, otherwise, it’s just exercise. 

If you are working to cultivate the discipline of the yoga lifestyle, than practice can happen 24/7.  Sitting under the trees, doing asana, eating lunch, going to the bank, changing diapers, meditating, reading the sutras, or endlessly chanting the name of the divine - it can all be practice, or not.  Join Beryl for daily practice of the classical eight-limbed path of Astanga Yoga.  Luscious northwest summer afternoons of meditation and pranayama instruction and practice, chanting, ritual, group sutra study, walks to the beach, satsang, chopping wood, hauling water, and thoughtful group discussion on the theory of everything – all as practice!  Come and relax with what is, work hard to be present, breathe deep, celebrate impermanence, inspire compassion, laugh loud, experience hard and soft, and just go straight and only don’t know.   Register

ALAN FINGER -- Take Charge of Your Life!  Invigorating Body, Mind & Spirit with the Integrated Science of Tantra, Hatha & Ayurveda (ISHTA).

Moving beyond the study of asana - and even pranayama - there is a path of yoga sadhana in which the subtle aspects of the chakras, the nadis and the vital forces of Ojas, Tejas and Prana merge with the science of Ayurveda in a holistic and life-affirming manner.  This weeklong intensive  will probe such questions as:  What are the chakras?  How do they come about, and what is their relationship to the major nadis? 

Working within the context of the the seven chakras, three doshas and five elements, this intensive will bring to life in a profound, yet practical way the following subjects: 

• Learning to balance the earth and water elements with their subtle essence, Ojas.

• Dealing with your fire and its subtle essence, Tejas

• Harnessing the wind element with its subtle pranas in order to learn how to glide through life.

• The command centers of your being:  How efficiently you deal with your karma, which leads you to Samadhi (unbound intelligence).

• Purification of the elements to release the grip of your unconscious (kundalini) and allow Shakti to move back to Shiva.  Register

ANODEA JUDITH -- Seven Wonders of the Soul: The Chakras as a Map to the Inner World.

The chakra system provides a profound formula for wholeness, integrating mind, body, and spirit into one dynamic continuum of living, vital energy. This afternoon weeklong intensive will take you on a multi-dimensional journey through the interior of your own chakra system, using yoga, bioenergetics, movement, breath, sound, guided meditations, and lively discussion to open the channels of liberation and manifestation. You will gain a deep understanding of the chakra system and a broad set of tools with which to diagnose and address imbalances.  Open the portals between the inner and outer worlds for greater freedom of expression and joy, greater access to the divine within, and a deep understanding of how the chakra system works as the structural yoke of yoga, uniting mind and body, spirit and matter, mortal and immortal.  The chakra system is the ladder to God.  Register

DOUG KELLER -- Anusara Yoga and the Tantric Weave of Wholeness

The Hatha yoga tradition presented an ambitious attempt at a turning point in the history of yoga to fully unite disciplines of physical wellness with a sophisticated spiritual path of transformation and liberation. The vital link through which the spiritual and the physical merge is the Prana, the spiritual power behind the breath. 

In this intensive we will explore the place and contribution of the Hatha yogis in the history of yoga philosophy, their specific contribution in terms of practices of pranayama, the bandhas and teachings regarding the ascent of the Kundalini energy, and how the practices may be learned and taught in a way that is accessible to the students of today. This will be set in the larger context of Tantric philosophy – and specifically that of the Trika system of Kashmir Shaivism.

As a contemporary style of Hatha yoga, Anusara Yoga honors the insights of the hatha yogis and of the Tantric tradition as a whole in recognizing the body as an expression of spirit, and of yoga as a path to realizing health and spiritual wholeness through the full unfolding of the heart. Our time will be spent in lecture and discussion, the practice of specific pranayama and meditation techniques, and asana practice with Anusara principles, included to the extent necessary to understand and experience the practice of the bandhas and to achieve a firm seated posture for pranayama and meditation. Also included will be discussion of the therapeutic/spiritual connection that can be made in one’s practice and teaching through Anusara principles.  Register

JUDITH LASATER -- Moving from the core: Anatomy, Asana and Therapeutics for the Spine`

The spine is at the core of the body as well as being the basic structure through which we practice asana,  move our energy and, thus, reconnect to our wholeness. Yet each part of the spine has its own specific movements and limitations. This Intensive will focus on anatomy, asana and therapeutics, including relating the movement patterns of the spine to the teaching and practicing of yoga asana. During the Intensive we will spend some time in lecture to learn the basic structure and kinesiology of the spine. Then we will divide into small groups to focus on integrating what we have just learned into asana as we watch others practice and discuss what is happening. Then we will join back as a larger group to work on the therapeutic applications of our new knowledge for those times we are teaching students with injuries or other problems of the back. We will ask and answer such questions as: What is basic movement allowed in the cervical spine? Which joint is the most mobile in the entire spinal column and what effect does it have on asana practice? Which poses aggravate the sacroiliac joint and why? Integrating the answers to these questions into our practice and teaching will no doubt improve our teaching and enliven our own personal practice.  Register

CYNDI LEE & DAVID NICHTERN -- Yoga Body, Buddha Mind: Joining Heaven and Earth

Heaven refers to the mind realm and earth to the body realm.  The quality of heaven is vastness, open possibilities, imagination, unobstructed vision, and earth is related to practicality, method, details, obstacles, and being grounded.  Joining Heaven and Earth is the essence of enlightenment and it can happen on both an individual level by synchronizing mind and body, and a societal level by harmonizing our vision and our ability to manifest.  

Synchronizing mind and body is the Buddhist notion of freedom.  One of the obstacles is the confusion that occurs when the mind and body are in two different places, such as when we have either a painful notion of where we are or when we are grasping after an idealized notion of how we wish we were.  Freedom is the release of these notions and the ability to coordinate mind and body, heaven and earth, no matter where we are or what we are doing.

Daily classes will include meditation instruction and practice, both sitting and walking, to develop stability of attention, friendly attitude toward oneself and the entire situation, patience, and confidence.

We will incorporate meditative awareness and curiosity into our yoga practice which cultivates physical strength and fluidity, balance, sensitivity, playfulness and daring.  

Cultivating stability in the mind and vitality in the body can be a powerful first step on the path to freedom.  Each day’s dharma talk will offer a progression of approaches -- not too tight, not too loose; dynamic equanimity; making friends with yourself --  to fully develop those qualities and  give you reference points for taking them into your home and workplace.  Register

RAVI SINGH & ANA BRETT -- The Dance of Self-Liberation: Kundalini Yoga-- Body of Work / Body of Play  

Physical flexibility is a hallmark of the accomplished yogi but many people's yoga practices become fixed routines, another form of rigidity. Discipline of the body does lead to freedom of the soul but how does one make that transition? Beyond paying lip service to the concept of freedom, how does one realistically attain it? 

Kundalini Yoga can be considered part of the Tantric tradition. Tantra, which has its roots in the quest for freedom, encompasses a wide body of teachings which evolved as an alternative to the doctrinaire, ritualistic practices presided over by the priestly class. In Tantra there are no fixed rules. One's own process dictates the form and content of one's unfolding.  What results often contravenes both reason and convention, but the consequence of this fearless self-exploration invariably entails dramatic breakthroughs and a lasting covenant with new energies. In this session we'll practice Kundalini Yoga to explore the concept of freedom. Kundalini Yoga walks the tightrope between form and formlessness. It's an exact discipline which serves as a catalyst for the exuberance of a life well-lived, also known as spirit. This work blends breathing, movement, stretching, posture, meditation, chanting, and the science of sequence. Through this novel approach to yoga we'll gracefully and powerfully work through whatever holds us back. Special emphasis will be put on developing the Manipura Chakra (Wheel of Many Jewels) for core strength, centered movement, and energy to burn. Development of this center is often the missing ingredient in many people's halting attempts to transform. It's said that in order to realize the fruits of yoga and meditation this center must be activated. In this workshop you will learn many techniques and kriyas which were once the domain of the only the most exclusive yogis.  Register

NICOLAI BACHMAN & WAH! - Chanting & Its Applications:  From Traditional Method to Devotional Bliss  

Register for Complete Intensive

Part 1 with Nicolai Bachman (11 Hours in 3 days) - An Organic Approach to Traditional Indian Chanting

By diving deeply into the heart of sacred sound we can fully experience the vibration of ancient India. With the simple tools of Sanskrit phonetics and rhythm we will tap into that energy. Chanting is infused with the heat of tapas, the curiosity and learning of svadhyaya and the unconditional devotion of ishvarapranidhana. We will learn many different styles of chanting including Vedic, Bija, Shloka and Stotra leading into two days of devotional kirtan chanting with Wah! There will also be a section on sutra study and chanting.

OPTION A - Nicolai Bachman Mini-Retreat
Tuition:  $499. Includes Includes 10.5 hours of sessions over 3 afternoons; full access to all Six Days on Freedom programs, including AM Master Asana Classes, Evening Keynote Lectures, Concerts with WAH! and Nia Classes!

OPTION B - Nicolai Bahcman  10.5-Hour Workshop
Tuition:  $249.*  Includes 10.5 hours of sessions over 3 afternoons.  No access to AM Master Asana Classes, Evening Keynote Lectures, Concerts with WAH! and Nia Classes

 

Part 2 with WAH! (7 Hours in 2 days) - Chanting with WAH!

WAH! embodies a playful and experiential approach to chanting.  Repetition of simple mantras creates a joyful mood and the chanting is meant to be inclusive and fun.  Through stories and group energy, the disciplines of faith are shared as a natural progression towards bliss. 

Wah! shares her practices of kundalini-based yoga, energetic clearing, chanting, and meditation to connect with spirit in daily life, offering music, stories of inspiration, and practices and experiences on the spiritual path.  

THIS WORKSHOP IS AVAILABLE AS A SEPARATE 2 DAY EVENT AT $99 FOR BOTH DAYS:

 

TRACK 1 MASTER ASANA CLASSES (GENTLE & MEDITATIVE)

BERYL BENDER BIRCH -- Just Don’t Know: Moving Past Alignment

Step into the vinyasa method of the Astanga asana system safely and slowly, with Beryl’s inimitable down to earth approach.  Learn a bit of yoga philosophy then move mindfully through the therapeutic benefits of this unique practice, while opening the heart and mind to greater levels of awareness

ALAN  FINGER -- Kapha Practice: Rebuilding Ojas:  The Rejuvenating Nectar of Life

What happens when ojas is depleted?  What types of asana and pranayama practices revitalize and rebuild ojas?  When ojas is depleted your vitality is low, especially on a cellular level. A healing, peaceful, slower practice helps to revitalize and rebuild ojas. This rejuvenating practice will help you to restore the vitality of your physical condition and bring wholeness into your life.  Pranayama (alternate nostril: nadi shodana) Asana: Slow and gentle with a focus on the breath.

DOUG KELLER -- The Breath of the Spirit in Asana

A well-rounded practice aimed at creating physical balance and harmony and a deeper experience of the breath as an unfolding of the light of the heart. Includes an overview of Anusara principles put into practice, and an understanding of their practical as well as therapeutic benefits. Includes vinyasa and all classes of poses except for inversions.

JUDITH LASATER -- Relax and Renew

Restorative Yoga is more necessary than ever, as yoga teachers are working more, running studios and businesses. Take this time to practice the art of “intense nothing” with the deep relaxation and introspection of Restorative Yoga.

Note: please bring as much of the following as possible: sticky mat, eye cover, at least three blankets, and a bolster. Your experience will be directly affected by the amount of props you have.

CYNDI LEE -- Awakened Union

Let the multiple layers of practice unfold as we wake up to the wholeness of body, breath and mind.  Through pranayama, meditation and some light asanas we will both create the conditions for opening to happen and cultivate a strong container for whatever arises today.

RAVI SINGH & ANA BRETT -- Rise & Spine

This Kundalini Yoga total tune-up, for all levels, will include exercises and poses for flexibility, core strengthening, cardio-vascular capability, optimizing the nervous and glandular systems, and more. Featured will be exercises for the spine. The spine houses the central nervous system and is the pillar, which is the body's main support. Misalignment of vertebrae can block circulation to important organs. Energetically, the spine is a luminous pathway through which our life energy flows. Traditionally in India, a person's age was gauged by the flexibility of their spine. In this physical and metaphysical workout we'll climb the ladder of light called the spine and deliver ourselves from the mundane to the miraculous! By the end of this class you'll say, "Oh, my healthy back!"

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TRACK 2 MASTER ASANA CLASSES (CHALLENGING)

BERYL BENDER BIRCH -- Lean Into It! Balancing Sukha & Sthira

Asana practice is designed to direct the attention and lead the mind to focus. As we work through Primary Series, experience how concentration slowly moves from gross physical attention on musculature to the more subtle elements like ujjayi breathing and the bandhas.  Learn to develop strength and focus.

ALAN  FINGER -- Pitta practice: Developing Pitta to Burn Impurities:  A Vigorous Heat-Building Practice.

What are the benefits of a heat building practice? A heat building practice develops magnetism, strong metabolism, and vigor. Through this active practice you will develop mental clarity and physical strength.  Pranayama: Bhastrika  Asana: More intense heat building practice.

DOUG KELLER -- The Key is in the Lock: Asana and Bandha

A well-rounded practice aimed at greater physical challenge and purification through deeper and more precise work in the poses. Includes an introduction to the bandhas as practiced in asana in conjunction with the breath, with reference to Anusara principles. Includes vinyasa and all classes of poses, with greater emphasis on backbending. Will include some inversions, with alternatives available.

JUDITH LASATER -- Essential Yoga Practice

Finally it just gets down to our own practice on the mat every day. What poses are essential? How do we decide which ones are? How do we sequence them? Should we change our practice every day? A short discussion on these issues followed by an asana practice.

CYNDI LEE –- Mindful Body: Opening Even When It’s Scary

A full-on vinyasa class that moves in all directions with clarity and mindfulness.   Explore the relationship between your mental thought habits and your sensory experience of asana even while approaching poses that might be scary or unknown.  Let the refuge of breath, intelligence of alignment and a little dash of courage be the combo platter that leads you to a new experience of yoga!

RAVI SINGH & ANA BRETT -- The Diamond Body - Kundalini Yoga for Flexibility & Strength

Kundalini Yoga blends breathing, movement, stretching, meditation, postures, chanting and more. It’s a dynamic inner/outer workout, which will give your life a total boost. It’s the perfect adjunct to your present yoga practice. In this moderately difficult class, Ravi Singh will lead you into a deeper experience of yoga. You will learn how standard yoga poses, along with breath and movement, can be sequenced to engender new levels of self-growth.

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TRACK 3 MASTER ASANA CLASSES (VERY CHALLENGING)

BERYL BENDER BIRCH -- Flow with Focus: Dhyana in Action

Full on Vinyasa class with elements from both the first and second series of the Astanga tradition. Work with drishti, ujjayi breathing, and bandhas to move through the practice of yoga - toward the true experience of yoga.  As we train the mind to be present and focused in asana and pranayama practice - through hard and soft, up and down, comfortable and uncomfortable - the skill of paying attention slowly trickles down to permeate all the constantly changing aspects of life

ALAN FINGER -- Vata practice:  Distributing Prana Through Asana: Using Tretabandha to Charge the Body.

Prana is life force. When prana cannot circulate to your cells they become weak and you lose vitality. By bringing prana to your cells they become alive and vital, which in turn energizes your brain and nervous system. Tretabanda, also known as maha mudra, is the great seal composed of mula, uddiyana, and jalandhara bandhas. In this class Alan will teach you how to use tretabandha to channel your life force and re-energize and re-vitalize your system on a cellular level.

DOUG KELLER -- The Liberating Power of the Breath: Breath as Wholeness

A well-rounded practice balancing greater physical challenge with more refined work with the bandhas. A deeper look at the bandhas and their purpose as practiced in asana with the breath, with reference to Anusara principles, in forward bending as well as backbending and pranayama. Will include more work with inversion, as well as with hip opening and blossoming of the lotus.

JUDITH LASATER -- Asana Flows

 “Flow” is a popular style of practice today. But what does Patanjali have to say about this approach to practice? A short discussion followed by a unique dance-influenced asana flow series.

CYNDI LEE -- Juicy OM

Outrageousness, curiosity, fun and smarts are the ground for unusual yet logical vinyasa sequencing that help develop understanding of the interconnections of asanas.  We will cultivate a sense of meditative awareness within big, sweaty movements as they evolve from small movement seeds; sitting to standing to flowing to turning upside down and inside out and the bravest of all, letting go and resting with things as they are.

RAVI SINGH & ANA BRETT -- Kundalini Yoga Warrior Workout

Kundalini Yoga blends breathing, movement, stretching, meditation, chanting, and more. In this vigorous class, we’ll do Kundalini Yoga & Meditation to help you get in touch with your Inner Warrior. We'll start with spinal warm-ups and deep stretching and segue into a non-stop, sweat inducing, energy feast. Also included will be meditation designed to make you fearless and great. You will also experience deep relaxation to the transcendent sounds of live gong music. Come and go for the gold! 

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KEYNOTE LECTURES

Beryl Bender Birch – Celebrate Impermanence: The path of practice and Non-attachment

Alan Finger - Tantra: Bringing the Wisdom of Shiva Into Your Life to Empower and Inspire Shakti

Doug Keller - A Meditation on Wholeness

Judith Lasater – Teaching Yoga:  A Calling, an Art or a Profession?

Cyndi Lee & David Nichtern - Joining Heaven and Earth

Ravi Singh -Towards A Grand Synthesis of Yoga: A Manifesto 

 

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OPTIONAL PROGRAMS

• Anusara Therapeutics with Doug Keller, exploring the vital link between biomechanical principles for the practice of Hatha yoga and the ‘sutras’ or lines of myofascial continuity woven through the body. A ‘reading’ of these sutras provides deep insight into the imbalances behind therapeutic problems. We will address the most common structural problems, including feet, knees, hips, shoulders and neck.

• The Nia Technique with Jenny Macke, is a “spiritual sweat” that is a unique mix of sound, motion, and mindfulness.  It combines the grace and spontaneity of dance, the power and explosiveness of martial arts and the stillness and concentration of tai chi and yoga.

• Panel Q&A with the entire faculty, followed by book and product signing!

• 2 Concerts withWAH! and her band!r