Awareness of Alignment & Technique in Yoga Asana (VIC)

An opportunity to connect with your Victorian Yoga Teacher community, join us at this 3-hour workshop facilitated by Jacqui & Shimon to learn about alignment & technique.

Aligning your body correctly in Yoga asana involves awareness. By positioning your body correctly, the bones, muscles, joints & organs are in their optimal positions. This creates symmetry and balance in the asana, calming the breath and steadying the nervous system.

In turn energy or prana in the subtle body flows unimpeded and instead of depleting one’s energy, you generate energy.

Technique and alignment are not just physical, they are mindful actions done with full awareness. This establishes a focused and steady mind and greater self-awareness. Ultimately, self-awareness of alignment & technique in yoga fosters a deeper, more intuitive understanding of your body and mind, leading to a more meaningful and transformative practice.

Alignment

1. Body Awareness: Aligning your body correctly in each pose helps ensure that you’re engaging the right muscles and reducing the risk of injury. Good alignment involves positioning your body so that the bones and joints are in their optimal positions.
2. Joint Alignment: Focus on aligning your joints correctly. For example, in Warrior II, your front knee should be directly above your ankle, not caving inward or extending too far out.
3. Spinal Alignment: Maintaining the natural curves of your spine is important. Avoid rounding your back in poses like forward bends; instead, aim to keep your spine elongated and neutral.
4. Balance and Symmetry: Proper alignment helps you maintain balance and symmetry. For instance, in balancing poses like Tree Pose, ensuring that your standing leg is properly aligned and your hips are level can help you stay steadier.
5. Breath Awareness: Alignment can affect your breath. For instance, in poses where you’re stretching the chest, like Cobra Pose, proper alignment can help you breathe more freely.

Technique

1. Engagement: Good technique involves engaging the correct muscles to support the pose. For instance, in Plank Pose, engaging your core and thigh muscles helps to keep your body in a straight line and supports your lower back.
2. Precision: Technique often involves precision in movements and adjustments. This could mean adjusting the width of your stance in Warrior I to find the most stable and comfortable position.
3. Transitions: Proper technique includes smooth and controlled transitions between poses. This helps maintain balance and reduces the risk of injury.
4. Modification and Props: Using props (like blocks or straps) and modifying poses as needed to fit your body’s needs are also important aspects of technique. For example, using a block under your hand in Triangle Pose can help you achieve better alignment.
5. Mindfulness: Technique is not just physical; it also involves mental focus. Being mindful of your body’s sensations, alignment, and breathing helps deepen your practice and maintain safety.

Location:

This event is held in person at Chi Flow yoga studio, Glenferrie Road, Malvern. Owned by Yoga Australia registered Senior Teacher- Roman Kouzmenko.

Their warm and light studio is located in the heart of Malvern. Easily accessed from Glenferrie Road, you’ll find off street parking on neighbouring Valetta Street.

The entrance is located directly opposite Coldblo Road, follow the wooden stairs to level 1.

About the Presenters:

Shimon & Jacqui are committed to offering authentic Yoga teachings that are accessible to each individual.

Jacqui started Yoga at 16 and taught her first Yoga class when she was 19. She has now taught Yoga for over 4 decades.

Shimon started Yoga in his 20’s in Perth and soon after completed teacher training to begin his teaching vocation. 

Together they have many years of collective experience, knowledge and a deep understanding of the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of this ancient practice. They have trained far and wide with many Yoga masters and have formulated their own teaching style. This style is systematic in its approach. It is safe, easy to follow with clear and concise instructions promoting flexibility and strength in the physical body and steadiness and clarity in the mind.

They teach Yoga with a wholistic approach and tailor their classes with a collective application to physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.

In Melbourne they ran a busy Yoga school for 20+ years before relocating to King Island Tasmania. They offer online Yoga classes, Yoga retreats, pre-reordered Yoga classes, private tuition, one on one or small group sessions.

Attendance:

This event is open to members & non-members alike. We welcome new teachers, students and those who have been practicing for many years, all are welcome!

What to Bring:

Please bring a yoga mat, water bottle, notepad + pen for taking notes. This event is not catered in order to keep the ticket price as low as possible, so please bring along some snacks or money to purchase from a nearby cafe.