Being Yoga:  Dynamic Alignment and the Deeper Yoga with Doug Keller

The Theme of Dynamic Alignment

‘Alignment’ in asana and its benefits have long been thought of in static terms — how well the bones ‘stack up’ in relation to gravity or force.
These ideas do have their usefulness, and in yoga have been the basis for familiar alignment instructions. They also fall short of understanding what ‘alignment’ can really be about.
Dynamic alignment instruction aims at the integrity of our joints throughout movement. This fits the body we have, which is designed for movement.
Dynamic alignment takes place through balanced action in the muscles during movement. Even when we ‘hold’ poses, we make constant micro-adjustments and movements to maintain balance and the spaciousness of our joints, and their potential for movement into action.
This is where yoga can really shine. The practical result of being attentive to dynamic alignment is greater immersion in your practice, better joint health, reduced inflammation, and increased strength, resilience in your muscles, and freedom of movement in your joints.
And as we’ll find throughout the weekend, this idea of ‘dynamic alignment’ also extends to subtle alignment through the breath, which opens doorways not only to better, healthier breathing, but deeper states of meditation and yoga nidra.
Each day will include deeper inquiry into pranayama and the much neglected role of mudra, culminating in the more extended Sunday session on pranayama and meditation.

Friday

Dynamic Alignment: ‘Alignment’ as Your Potential for Movement, From the Feet Upward

In Friday’s sessions we will lay out a dynamic, fascia-based approach to the therapeutic wisdom of yoga, we’ll lay out basic principles to addressing joint and fascial pain syndromes in the context of the fascial ‘Sutras’ that govern the matrix of muscles in the body.

The main focus on Friday will be on the lower body, from the feet up to the lower back, with dynamic approaches to the alignment of the feet in movement, and their impact upon the health of the ankles, knees, hips, sacrum and low back, — all while covering a full range of poses.

This will include addressing common pain patterns and syndromes in these areas of the body, and how to address them effectively via the fascia through joint movement in asana practice — and how this approach increases your progress in your practice, as far as muscle flexibility and strength, and is supportive of healthy aging through yoga practice.

The latter part of the day includes introduction to mudra and breath, and how pranayama is less about ‘technique,’ and much more about feeling more deeply the power of the breath and its subtle influence over our emotional and mental states. Each day culminates in meditation and yoga nidra.

Saturday

Resistance Is Not Futile: Maintaining Upper Body Strength and Shoulder Health

Saturday’s sessions will focus upon upper body health — and the health of the shoulder girdle in particular, including the elbows, wrists, and hands, as well as the neck. The practices will include — but not be limited to — the use of resistance bands to clarify and intensify the upper body work along fascial lines, the ‘Sutras’ of the shoulders.
Props have always been a part of yoga practice, but they have always been used as support for when flexibility is lacking, or for relaxation. But a key issue, particularly with aging, is maintaining upper body strength and joint integrity, which is essential for shoulder health. Our use of props should serve to help us with this too, and without risk of injury.
Here we’ll make use of resistance bands, pairing them with poses — both standing poses and floor poses — to practice shoulder and core actions that will not only enhance the strength of the muscles controlling shoulder movement, but will increase range of motion and help reduce shoulder pain.
The work will not be limited to the shoulders alone, but also include the functional connections between upper and lower body that are the key to our most natural and vital forms of movement in an active life — which yoga poses naturally empower.
And we won’t just be using resistance bands. The insights, support, and refinements we gain from resistance work will take us into deeper poses, including backbending, to see how the work with the bands has helped.
[Resistance bands will be provided, and you’ll be able to keep the resistance band as part of the workshop if you wish, to continue your practice at home.]
The afternoon session will add the role of drishthi  and subtler work with the neck in breathing practices, and the variety of meditative states as forms of ‘mudra’ that this makes possible.

Sunday

Asana as Mudra — the Deeper Power of Practice

The original ‘mission statement’ of the hatha yoga texts was to provide a fully integrated — and manageable — system of practice that naturally and seamlessly flows from ‘hatha’ to ‘raja,’ the deeper, ‘royal’ experience of yoga.
To this end, the elements of hatha practice — asana, bandha, and more — were treated as forms of mudra, directing our attention beyond simply physical, biomechanical actions to the deeper value of yoga. This perspective on asana as a form of mudra just might transform your relationship to your asana practice and where it takes you!
The day will include a well-rounded asana practice that incorporates an understanding of ‘mudra’ as well as the role of bandha and alignment with the breath. The practice will bring together, step by step, the elements taught during the weekend to see how the pieces come together in a more deeply connected and satisfying practice.
Special attention will be paid to the undulating, spiraling movements surrounding the spine that support spinal health, with attention given to the healthy aging of the spine.
This will lead naturally into deeper adventures in pranayama and a fresh perspective on the practice that brings together the elements covered over the weekend. The experience of pranayama goes far beyond the simple mechanics of breathing covered in most pranayama courses. We’ll cover the benefits of even short yet subtle practices of the breath that can be called upon whenever needed — not just on the yoga mat — and the kind of awareness that makes them powerful
This will include appreciation of the practical benefits of practice and how to access them, as well as linking pranayama practices to forms of dharana or concentration that lead to nourishing states of meditation as well as of yoga nidra.
In all, this will complete the theme of dynamic alignment, giving experiences of alignment with the breath that bring together the experience of body, breath, and mind into the state of ‘being yoga.’