WORKSHOP 1 >> Starting from Where You Are

Setting mindful intentions through Yoga Flow & Restore

At New Year there can be pressure to make sweeping changes which don’t usually last. Often intentions can end up being set like extreme goals. Yet no matter where we want to go, we can only start from where we are.

This Flow & Restore Yoga workshop gives space to welcome in 2022 in a different way. Experienced facilitator Sarah Scharf will guide you in creating a sankalpa (intention set by the heart & mind), which allows you actively to work with & appreciate yourself through each step of a process. Together we will take time to move towards setting mindful intentions for the year ahead.

Whatever type of intention you are setting, mindfulness can help you cope with the mental chatter that so often defeats our good intentions. Cultivating mindfulness & increasing self-awareness is the basis for the practice of yoga & meditation. With clear-sighted compassion we will focus on & encourage the reflection & rest that all humans need in order to move towards acceptance & sustainable health habits.

In this workshop we will flow mindfully towards a state of connected embodiment, moving through a physical practice built on a strong foundation of healthy alignment. Following our active practice we will settle into restorative poses to relax into the unknown.

Date: Sunday 2nd January
Duration: 2 Hours
Time: 10:30 UK | 11:30 CET
Taught by: Sarah Scharf
Language: English
Price:
>> One Workshop: £19 / £22 / £25
>> All three workshops: £39

WORKSHOP 2 >> Befriending Your Body

Coming home to the sensory self through mindful movement & creative writing

Body positivity - in which we are encouraged to embrace all of ourselves without negativity - often seems like an impossible goal when we feel distanced from (or even disgusted by) our physical self. Body neutrality asks: if we remove ideas of ‘positive’ & ‘negative’ how might we relate to our bodies in a different way?

In this unique workshop we will bring ourselves back to the experience of moving, noticing the sensations, feelings, memories, & images it provokes. We will return to a child-like experience of moving from gentle curiosity rather than from a place of self-judgement. Rather than interrogating our feelings about our body, we offer ourselves the opportunity to connect to our feelings through our body.

We will explore what might happen if we could come home to a feeling of living within ourselves - looking out on & witnessing the world, rather than judging ourself from an outside perspective as an object to be viewed by others.

As we shift between moving & free writing, we will notice: what is your inner dialogue? How might you speak with yourself in the way you might speak to a beloved friend?

Date: Sunday 9th January
Duration: 2 Hours
Time: 10:30 UK | 11:30 CET
Taught by: Kate Sagovsky
Language: English
Price:
>> One Workshop: £19 / £22 / £25
>> All three workshops: £39

WORKSHOP 3 >> Embodying Happiness

Connecting Feldenkrais, Laughter Yoga, & the Neuroscience of Happiness

Join us on a radical journey to reconnect our minds & bodies, & discover how movement is the unlikely key to unlocking happiness in our stressed-out, unhappy world.

In this unique workshop experience we will uncover how mindful movement facilitates changes in the brain through neuroplasticity. You will be guided through a fun journey of practical movement explorations in which we will discover how laughter can be practised & brought into our lives by choice, as we remember together what it feels like to play freely & become lighthearted, spontaneous, & creative. By moving with awareness & choosing to laugh you can expand your self-image & discover the potential for new ways of being that did not previously seem possible.

Co-facilitators Kate Sagovsky & Flora Wellesley Wesley will share from their own experience how opening the door to laughter & mindful movement is a valuable self-care practice that can help you cultivate happiness in the present moment. Not when you have more money, not when your work is done, & not when this crazy pandemic finally ends. It will no longer be an out-of-reach, fantastical goal, but rather a grounded & surprisingly accessible embodied state. A happier life is waiting for you, exactly as you are.

Date: Sunday 16th January
Duration: 2 Hours
Time: 10:30 UK | 11:30 CET
Taught by: Kate Sagovsky & Flora Wellesley Wesley
Language: English
Price:
>> One Workshop: £19 / £22 / £25
>> All three workshops: £39

>> Yoga: Flow & Restore, The Feldenkrais Method, Laughter Yoga

In this workshop series you will have the unique experience of exploring three different somatic movement approaches, each being facilitated by an expert teacher. In this playful self-care journey, you will discover the benefits of each method & the exciting connections between them.

What is Restorative Yoga?

Practising restorative yoga allows you to enter into a deep state of rest & relaxation. Unlike in more active forms of yoga, you will be guided into physical positions & postures that allow you to let go of tension over time. You are invited to quietly remain in each posture for a while (up to 20 minutes), releasing the weight of your body, & finding rest in stillness. This experience allows you to calm the nervous system, & gently release negative stress & excess strain. Practising restorative yoga can help anyone who is struggling with tiredness, illness, or emotional difficulties. This class offers a space in which to reconnect, be kind to yourself, & regain a sense of calm and equilibrium. It is gives you a resource for coping with the challenges of everyday life.

What is Feldenkrais?

The Feldenkrais Method is taught through group classes & individual one-to-one lessons. In each group class the teacher will guide you through different sequences of movement using simple, easy-to-follow, verbal instructions. Many of the lessons take place lying down on the floor, but some involve exploring movement in sitting or standing. It is the perfect movement method for studying online because all you need is yourself & the space to lie down. You will be invited to do a certain movement, & then play in different ways with how you are doing it. You are asked to bring your attention to each movement & discover how you could do it slowly & gently with less effort & more ease. You are guided to discover different ways in which the movement could become easier for you. This gives you a chance to find out surprising things about the way in which you are moving – your physical habits. Often when we bring our awareness to our movement in this way, we discover that movements which we believed to be uncomfortable or impossible are in fact available to us, if we just move in a slightly different way. We are able to discover which physical habits are not helping us, & create new ones that allow us to move more freely, or develop and fine-tune particular physical skills. This method was first created by Moshe Feldenkrais & is now taught around the world, helping millions of people from all walks of life.

What is Laughter Yoga?

Laughter Yoga consists of simple yet powerful deep breathing techniques & playful laughter exercises. It is practised in a relaxed group where we release tension & reconnect with our sense of childlike fun. You might think that laughter can only happen as a natural reaction to something funny but in fact, just like any other positive habit, laughter can be practised & brought into our lives by choice. Laughter Yoga exercises induce deep, hearty, extended laughter. They are based on the scientific understanding that our bodies cannot differentiate between real & pretend laughter after 10 minutes; we reap similar psychological & physiological benefits from both. Even better, when practising simulated laughter it’s not unusual for it to develop into genuine involuntary laughter. Extended laughter (laughing for ten minutes or more) is actually aerobic exercise - kind of like an internal jog. And just like any other cardio it releases feel-good endorphins that help us relax afterwards. Smiling, laughing & connecting with ourselves & others - even through a screen - is a powerful social bonding exercise that boosts our mood for the rest of the day. Laughter Yoga was started by Dr Madan Kataria in a park in Mumbai in 1995. Within a couple of decades laughter clubs had sprung up in more than a 100 cities around the world. Hope, creativity, & trust are just some of the uplifting emotions typically evoked through the affirmative support that comes with laughing together in a group.