Description

Effective body reading can help teachers understand their students in a way that includes but transcends anatomy, technical assessment and verbal inquiry. To do it well, we must learn to see the whole person while setting aside our expectations and preconceptions. Skilful touch is a topic that is ever more important in the modern yoga class. Many teachers are afraid to touch their students for fear of getting it wrong, and, worse, others re formulaic in their contact and have little sense of how wrong this can feel. In both cases, the huge potential of touch to both know and communicate is untapped. In this workshop we engage with body reading and skilful touch and consider why they could usefully be considered fundamental skills for the yoga teacher.

This workshop is for people who:   

are teaching or learning to teach asana, and/or  
are interested in the body-mind concept and wish to deepen their exploration of the inter-relationships between the physical, mental and emotional aspects of our being 
 

Aims of the day:

This workshop is aimed at developing the skills required to: 

• assess and evaluate the physical and psycho-emotional state of yoga students in a class situation.
• use physical contact in asana to communicate skilfully in a way that supports verbal skills in the yoga teaching context

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• identify the opportunities and cautions associated with the use of physical contact in asana teaching.  
• understand how to use the concepts of ‘touch to know’ and ‘touch to communicate’ to guide the way they adjust or assist students in asana.
• give examples of different models used in the assessment of the human body. 
• employ one or more of these models to gain information relevant to the teaching of yoga practices.  

About the Tutor

Ade wears multiple hats as a Rolfer, yoga teacher, and beekeeper. His yoga journey commenced in 2000, marked by a daily practice and extensive study with Nancy Gilgoff in Maui until 2015. He also delved into Zen under Sonia Moriceau's guidance. Currently, his unconventional teachers include his own body, family dynamics, and the natural world, including the bee colonies he tends. Ade began teaching yoga in 2004, initially in the Black Mountains of South Wales and now from his cowshed in Sussex, as well as through workshops across the UK. His teaching style seamlessly blends physical yoga expertise with a holistic life approach, showcasing yoga's potential to shape our beings and interactions with the world.

Additional Information

What to Bring

• Bring yoga asana equipment
• writing materials

please note, an anatomical knowledge is helpful but not essential as all assessment methods used are holistic rather than reductive.