WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Ayurveda is an ancient, person-specific healing modality. Conscious attention to dosha- and guna-specific preparation is a non-negotiable pillar for rest-based practices like Shavasana and Yoga Nidra. A deeper understanding of and attention towards such preparatory practices is essential if we wish to benefit deeply and also for our body and mind to attain a restful state with minimal effort and maximum ease.

According to Vedic wisdom, each one of us has a unique dosha constitution, signature of karmas and lifestyle. There is no denying that we have a different physical, mental, pranic, and emotional capacity too and so are our challenges. The same practice may not work the same way for everyone. By recognizing this, we prepare ourselves in a way that addresses the signature of unique dosha and guna imbalances that keeps us from diving into the state of rest.

MEET INDU ARORA

Indu Arora is a Yoga and Ayurveda teacher, mentor, and author, based out of the USA. She considers herself a student for a lifetime. Indu has been sharing about Yoga philosophy, Yoga Therapy, and Ayurveda for the last two decades across more than 50 cities worldwide. Her unique gift is making Yoga and Ayurveda a practice, which is equally useful and accessible for a beginner as for a sincere seeker who has made Yoga a lifelong journey. She is inspired by and taught under Kriya Yoga, Himalayan Yoga and Kashmir Shaivism Yoga lineages. She has studied in a traditional Guru-Shishya parampara. 

Her teaching style is rooted in empowering and inspiring students to awaken the inner Guru through insight, discernment and self-inquiry. Her core philosophy is ‘Yoga is a Work-in and not a Work-out’. 

She is the author of Mudra: The Sacred Secret (2015), Yoga: Ancient Heritage, Tomorrow’s Vision (2019), and SOMA: 100 Heritage Recipes for Self-Care (e-book, 2020; updated hard copy, 2022).

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

In this session, you'll learn the basic theory, tools, and a sample practice to better support trauma survivors as they befriend their bodies and establish a sense of safety in their practice. You will also explore an introduction to somatic and trauma-informed yoga techniques that can be integrated within a relaxation or restorative yoga practice.

MEET HALA KHOURI

Hala Khouri, M.A., SEP, E-RYT, has been teaching yoga and the movement arts for over 25 years and leads trauma-informed yoga trainings nationally. Hala is trained in Somatic Experiencing, a body-based psychotherapy that helps resolve trauma and its symptoms. She has been doing clinical work for over 10 years and is currently working on her doctorate in Community Psychology with an emphasis on Liberation Studies and Eco Psychology. She is a co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World, a training organization that bridges yoga and activism within a social justice framework. She also works with A Thousand Joys training direct service providers and educators to be trauma-informed and culturally responsive. Learn more at halakhouri.com.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Whether you are the cause, recipient of, or witness to racial stress and trauma; Restorative Yoga is a self-care practice that can help you find renewal, liberation, and inner peace. In this training module, Dr. Gail Parker will guide you on a journey of self-discovery, healing, and transformation. The emphasis will be on self-study, the utilization of Restorative Yoga postures, affirmations, and journaling prompts designed to help successfully navigate the stresses and traumas associated with race-based traumatic stress injury. These practices can buffer the nervous system, increase resilience, and strengthen the psychological immune system supporting health, growth, and transformation. 

MEET DR. GAIL PARKER

Gail Parker, Ph.D. CIAYT, E-RYT 500, is an author, psychologist, educator, certified yoga therapist, and lifelong practitioner of yoga. She is the President of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance. Dr. Parker has appeared as a psychologist expert on local and nationally syndicated talk shows, including numerous appearances on the Oprah Show.

Her bestselling book Restorative Yoga for Ethnic and Race-Based Stress and Trauma blends psychology, Restorative Yoga, and meditation as effective self-care practices. Her new book Transforming Ethnic and Race-Based Traumatic Stress with Yoga is a companion guide that offers practical applications of yoga that support growth after trauma.

Item descripWORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

In this workshop you will learn:

How to discover the healing power of your personal story, and how the practice of and teaching of restorative yoga can offer more awareness of the healing power of your story.

Through these practices and narrative healing, you will learn how to use your own story as an intentional teaching tool to connect with and offer healing to your students, clients, and community.

MEET LISA WEINERT

Lisa Weinert is passionate about the power of storytelling to heal and transform lives. She's the founder of Narrative Healing and she teaches regularly at places like Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, and Wesleyan University. Her first book Narrative Healing: Awaken the Healing Power of Your Story was published by Hachette Go in 2023. Find out more: www.narrativehealing.com

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Relaxing yoga poses can be wonderful when we struggle with pain. But sometimes we it feels that the pain gets in the way of relaxation. So what can we do when we can’t relax due to pain?

In this session we will explore the practices of mindfulness and self-compassion to become curious about all of our experience. What is it exactly, that we call pain? How are we relating to this experience? Are we annoyed? Frustrated? Fearful? Are these feelings adding to the pain or decreasing it? And how can loving awareness change this?

MEET DR. CHRISTIANE WOLF

Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD, is a former physician, internationally known mindfulness (MBSR, MSC) and Insight (Vipassana) meditation teacher. She is the author of Outsmart Your Pain and the coauthor of A Clinician’s Guide to Teaching Mindfulness. Dr. Wolf is the lead-consultant and teacher trainer for the VA’s (US Department of Veteran Affairs) National Mindfulness Facilitator Training.

She was trained as a Dharma and retreat teacher through Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society under Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein.

Originally from Berlin, Germany, she is a senior teacher at InsightLA in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and their three teenagers.

Christiane is a long-time yoga practitioner and a long distance runner. Learn more at: www.christianewolf.com