Ode to Patanjali Workshop

LIVESTREAM – Thur Mar 30 • 4:30 – 6pm MST

Explore the story, meaning, and purpose of the Ode to Patanjali, and learn to chant the invocation we start class with for most of our sessions. Who was Patanjali, and Gonika? How can we unpack patriarchal interpretations and connect to this chant in an authentic way? How does offering gratitude to lineage shift our relationship with practice? 

Let’s dig in together!

We’ll have 30 min for community connection and Q&A followed by a 1 hour slideshow type workshop and call and response practice, with time for discussion and questions.

Good Vibration: Healing Through Sound with Miles Borrero

LIVESTREAM – Tues Apr 11 • 4 – 5:15pm MST

In this workshop we will work with the breath and sound to move energy through the main chakras in the body. Using small sound bites, called bijas in sanskrit, we will explore where energy is moving in our own body and bring some life force to the spaces where it isn’t moving quite yet. This practice is a meditative and relaxing practice that can open space for connecting with ourselves deeply and simply. It is a subtle practice with deep and long lasting ripple effects, that can ground us in the strength of our own backbone. Everyone is welcome.

Befriending Inversions: Stability, Safety, & Confidence in Headstand and Shoulderstand
LIVESTREAM – Apr 27 • 4:30 – 6:30pm MST

Sirsasana: (headstand) and Sarvangasana (shoulderstand) are two of the most beneficial poses yoga offers, especially beloved in the Iyengar method, yet many students are intimidated by these fully inverted asanas, or unsure how they should be practiced safely. 

Explore how to intelligently build up to practicing these magical poses, including variations where there’s no weight on the head and neck, and how to advance your practice if you’re already regularly enjoying inversions.

We’ll break down their key alignment components, to understand the building blocks of a stable inversion.

When practiced properly, these poses can nourish the vital systems, build stamina, strengthen the lungs, purify the blood, improve digestion, unload the spine, boost immunity, thyroid, and parathyroid function, increase the flow of blood to the brain, improve memory and other functions of the cerebrum, increase drainage of blood and lymph, and help to move stored fluids into the core for oxygenation, filtration and elimination of toxins. 

BKS Iyengar calls sirsasana one of the most important asanas, and that regular practice of this pose widens your spiritual horizons. Sarvangasana, “queen, or Mother, of asana,” can be deeply quieting, restorative, relaxing, and rejuvenating. 

Not recommended for folks on their moon cycle.

 We’ll have 30 min for community connection and Q&A followed by a 90 min experiential asana slideshow type workshop and call and response practice, with time for discussion and questions.

Prana: Our Unseen Power with Meesha Sharma

LIVESTREAM – Tues May 9 • 4 – 5:15pm MST

This workshop will provide information on what prana is in the context of yoga hxstory and contemporary science. We will do a meditation practice to sharpen our interoception (inner awareness) and begin to notice our auric field of pranayama kosha. Although understanding our prana and working with it is a lifelong practice, we can take our first steps on the path together through communal pranic practice.

Pelvic Floor Yoga Through a Non-binary Framework to Empower Healing

LIVESTREAM – May 25 • 4:30 – 6:30pm MST

What’s your relationship to your Pelvic Floor? 

Discover a new framework, learn some cool anatomy, and release, strengthen and bring somatic awareness to the pelvic floor through anatomy asana + breath awareness. 

We’ll approach this topic specifically from a gender affirming perspective. While this approach centers the care and healing of trans and nonbinary people,  it is also freeing and very beneficial to everyone present. 

This experiential workshop will help you learn to sense the 3 layers of muscle of your unique pelvic floor. Through exploring specific actions and structural alignment through Iyengar yoga, learn what practices will best support you as you sit, stand, move, and practice yoga. Discover ways to optimize pelvic health, including good circulation, movement, relaxation, and stability. 

The inner pelvis is powerhouse of energetic vitality, too!

This workshop is all levels and will include a slideshow, restorative, and active asanas (yoga poses). We will use props: have a chair, belt (or scarf), blocks, (or books) and some blankets and/or throw pillows/ towels handy.   

THIS WORKSHOP MIGHT BE FOR YOU IF:

• It’s hard to feel what’s going on down there. Your pelvis has been through a lot. but you know that connection and healing in this area could be so powerful.
• You’re dealing with pelvic pain, incontinence, prolapse, SI joint issues, sciatica, or other issues related to the pelvic floor.
• You’re curious, what the heck is mula bandha all about, anyways?
• You’ve been told you should be doing kegels, but question (or maybe should be questioning) if that’s actually helpful for you body.
• You’ve wanted to take a pelvic floor class for a while, but cringe at the thought of someone saying “female/ male pelvis” and having to deal with binary gender, dysphoria, and cis norms in a supposedly healing space. You want to learn about your body and energy in a way that affirms and uplifts.

Recommended for parents, yoga lovers, yoga teachers, teacher trainees, health care providers, and anyone with a pelvic floor!

Freedom of Expression with Mx Puja Singh

LIVESTREAM – Tues June 13 • 4 – 5:15pm MST

This workshop will be an opportunity to connect w yourself in a QT healing space. You will be guided through a practice incorporating movement , singing, meditation + journaling. This journey will be an opportunity for you to check in, get a better idea of where you’re currently at and hopefully find some clarity to help you move forward more confidently and intentionally. We will create space and tools for you to tuen in and explore expressing yourself more freely.

How to Use Asana as a Gender Affirming Practice – A Special 2SLGBTQIA Workshop for Pride
LIVESTREAM – June 29 • 4:30 – 6pm MST

Many queer and trans people experience some level of disconnection from their bodies in order to cope with systemic stresses such as shame, isolation, gender dysphoria, being othered, and violent interactions. 

Getting “into your body” can be very healing and empowering; it’s a way to regulate your nervous system, reduce pain and fatigue, improve mental health, and feel more healthy pleasure. 

 However, some un-fun layers may need to be worked through with care and compassion to access embodiment. This workshop is designed to support you in this tender, liberating process. 

 Explore both restful and gentle but active asana (yoga poses) and breath awareness as a way to come home to your radiant inner Self and get grounded in your body. Tap into and contribute to the reciprocity of queer and trans affirming embodiment in queer and trans community space.

Want to join us for the above workshops, but not yet a Sadhana Support Collective member?

Get embodied, nourished, and spiritually powerful through affirming, committed yoga practice in beloved community, without getting derailed by perfectionism and overwhelm, so you can love being alive, and show up fully for collective change.

As a Sadhana Support Collective member, you will have access to monthly members only workshops, weekly yoga classes (there are 4 per week!), community connection, and so much more. 

We’d love for you to join our sweet community!

Queer Care! FREE 6-week Iyengar Yoga Series

Affirming community care practices just for LGBTQIA+ folks.

Class is adaptive and alignment based. 

This class series is FREE thanks to a generous grant from the InterMountain Iyengar Yoga Association.

Thank you to your commitment to make the profound benefits of Iyengar Yoga accessible to all!

To help support projects like this and deepen your practice with access to tons of great resources, consider becoming a member of IYNAUS, the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the US.

Interested in collaborating? Send me a message here.

“I learned a great deal in Avery’s Yoga for Activism workshop, “Remaining Clear and Focused During Conflict.” A month later, a new supervisor threatened my job–but thanks to Avery’s teaching, I was able to remain calm and collected in stressful situations. The skills they taught made my life bearable during an incredibly difficult time.”

Elena (she, her)