Zagreb workshop with Gregor Maehle

Zagreb workshop with Gregor Maehle

Course Details

27th – 28th May 2023
hosted by Gaia Yoga Zagreb

Course Overview

Weekend Workshop Saturday & Sunday
27th – 28th May, 2023

Saturday:
9-11:30 Ashtanga Led
13:00 – 14:00 Yoga Sutras
14:15 – 15:00 Tantric Meditation
15:00 – 16:00 Mudra

Sunday:
9-11:30 Ashtanga Mysore
13:00 – 14:00 Yoga Sutras
14:15 – 15:00 Tantric Meditation
15:00 – 16:00 Mudra

Workshop Curriculum

Guided and Mysore-style asana classes

Here Gregor will analyse the many intricate anatomical details of the majority of the postures of the Primary Series, while maintaining as much pace as possible. The focus will be on breaking down the various phases of entering and exiting the postures into their constituents. Performing postures safely while understanding which anatomical actions will get us deep into the asanas will prevent unnecessary energy expenditure. Through inducing precision this format also achieves that conditioning and emotions lodged in bodily tissue are released, preparing us for the higher limbs of pranayama and meditation.

The Mysore-style format will give students the opportunity to integrate the information learning in the Led class and also for Gregor to give individual attention to student’s needs.

Yoga Sutra, and Sanskrit chanting

“The Yoga Sutra entered my life 39 years ago and since then it’s been a constant companion. It took me a long time to completely understand it but once this had happened it ended all confusion I had about yoga. Understanding the Sutra gave me complete confidence in how to apply my practices diligently and that I would succeed in due time. The Sutra changed yoga for me from a faith and hope-based system to a science with predictable and repeatable outcomes. It is exactly this confidence and certainty that I would like to pass on to my students. The workshop will be interactive, with ample time for participants to ask questions.”

The Yoga Sutra is the operating manual of yoga. It is only when we understand the why’s and how’s of yoga that we will practice with confidence and beyond doubt. In this class we will chant selected stanzas in Sanskrit and a detailed commentary based on Gregor’s four decades of practice and study will be given. The commentary will retain the depth of the ancient treatises but will be fun, relatable and applicable to modern urban life.

Tantric Meditation

This workshop is based on meditation techniques from an ancient text called the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra. This text came down through Kashmir Shaivism and contains 112 dharanas, what we today would call meditation techniques. Many of today’s popular meditation techniques were already introduced in the Vijnana Bhairava.

Most of these tantric meditations are much simpler than yogic meditation and require less effort. There are also many different techniques to choose from. Here is a sophisticated approach that offers a great variety in case a particular technique doesn’t work for a student. This makes this system very adaptable to individual needs and preferences.

During demanding and stressful times, emphasis on these meditations can create more headspace and nurturing. During other times when more certainty and inspiration is available, this can then be invested into the transformational power of yogic meditation. Hence the two systems work excellently side by side and can easily be integrated with each other.

Mudras

In these lessons we look into the important subject of yogic mudras. Mudras do not constitute one of the eight limbs of yoga. Rather, specific mudras support and accelerate success in yogic limbs such as asana, pranayama, pratyahara, meditation and samadhi. Pranayama and pratyahara are largely inaccessible without mudras and here mudras are ancillary and integrated into the practice of these yogic limbs. On the other hand, mudras pertaining to asana, meditation and samadhi are stand-alone practices, that can lead to break-throughs in these disciplines. Prominence is given to the Kundalini-raising mudras, without which success in meditation is often drawn out. Gregor additionally elucidates the phenomenon of Kundalini and the pranic blockages (granthis) that impinge on its rising. He also illustrates ethical considerations, prerequisites, and effects of Kundalini-rising, and how to prevent Kundalini accidents. We will learn a selection of important mudras.

Bookings

For booking and inquiries please go to https://www.gaia-yoga.com/hr/dogadjanja/radionice/ashtanga-beyond.html