Continued Education
Inhale Knowledge, Exhale Safety - Dr. Ray Long
Inhale Knowledge, Exhale Safety: Breath, Flow, & Safety in Your Classes. begin with Qi Gong breathing followed by a question-and-answer session and review of the fundamentals presented on Day One. Dr. Long will then go over a series of breathing techniques, including belly (diaphragmatic) breathing, reverse belly breathing, ujayii, viloma and digital pranayama. You will gain an understanding of the biomechanics of each of these techniques as well as practical guidelines for integrating them into your practice. The morning session will conclude with an analysis and application of biomechanics to vinyasa flow, including techniques for developing bandhas across the various poses. Following application in practice, we'll cool down with some restorative work. Sunday Afternoon: The afternoon session will begin with a discussion of therapeutics. Dr. Long is well versed in the diagnosis and treatment of all manner of musculoskeletal injuries. However, for yoga he believes that teachers should be expert at diagnosing imbalances in the poses, not specific medical conditions. With this in mind, we will go over the most common muscle imbalances, how to spot them and how yoga can help. After a short break, we will analyze backbends and twists, paying particular attention to protecting the lumbosacral region learning practical tips for how to do so. We'll create a practice by analyzing these categories of poses and then do that practice. Day Two concludes with a discussion of inversions, including headstand and shoulderstand, with practical application and including alternative variations.