For those in Austin, Texas! Join for this very special workshop series over two weekends this June!
This series is for women of all life stages (5 workshops) and for teachers (2 Teacher Labs).
Grounded in her cyclicality and intuition, the Embodied Woman finds Yoga both on and off the mat, from menarche to menopause. In this 5-part series, we will explore the feminine as a means to enrich our yoga practice - through methods to balance hormones and cycle-sync menstruation, to optimizing pelvic health as we age and how we invite embodiment practices to support these rites of passages. Welcome to attend any or all; open to women of all life stages. We will also have a 2-Day Teachers’ Lab for those interested to learn how to include pregnant & postpartum women in their general yoga classes.
Open Form
2900 East 12th Street, Austin, TX, 78702
7 - 16 June
Nourishing the Pelvic Landscape
Friday 7 June
6:00pm - 7:30pm
The pelvic landscape, known as the epicentre of the creative experience, offers a unique opportunity to transform our yoga practice with regards to the feminine. Join us for this introductory evening to get to know our pelvic terrain through simple embodiment practices, as a preparation for hormonal balancing, cycle-syncing, pelvic floor health and inner season exploration. Open to women of all life stages.
Yoga for Healthy Hormones
Saturday 8 June
11:00am - 1:30pm
Cultivating the feminine in our yoga practice can have an incredible effect for balancing hormones, regulating menstrual difficulties, increasing fertility (of body and mind) and easing challenges associated with our journey from menarche to menopause. In this workshop, we will explore the female endocrine system & life stages of a woman through theory, discussion, embodiment and a healthy-hormone asana practice.
No experience is necessary; open to all women, of all life stages.
Schedule
11:00am - 12:00pm Discussion & Embodiment Exercises
12:15pm - 1:15pm Healthy Hormones Asana Practice
1:15pm - 1:30pm Q&A / Sharing Circle
Topics Explored
Female endocrine system: organs & hormones
Common hormonal imbalances from fertility to menopause
Cyclicality of the feminine
Life stages of a woman
Menarche to Menopause
Embodied pelvic anatomy
Cultivating the feminine on and off the mat
Healthy hormone yoga
This class is also suitable for pregnant or postpartum women as modifications can be offered where needed.
The Womb Wisdom of Yoga
Saturday 8 June
2:30pm - 5:00pm
Learn to harness the energy of menstrual cycle-syncing as you approach Yoga, both on and off the mat. In this workshop, we will explore, through embodiment & discussion, the four seasons of the menstrual cycle and how to reclaim autonomy, agency and empowerment through knowledge of feminine cyclicality. Whether you are experiencing menstrual cycle difficulties or looking to deepen your knowledge of innate womb wisdom, this workshop is open to all women (and men who are interested to learn more about this topic).
Schedule
2:30pm - 3:30pm Discussion & Embodiment Exercises
3:45pm - 4:45pm Womb Wisdom Yoga Practice
4:45pm - 5:00pm Q&A / Sharing Circle
Topics Explored
The cycle of menstruation
Understanding the role of menstrual hormones
The 4 inner seasons of menstruation
Embodiment of the 4 seasons
What is cycle-syncing
Common menstrual challenges
How to empower our fertility (of body & mind)
Womb Wisdom Yoga
This class is also suitable for pregnant or postpartum women as modifications can be offered where needed, as well as for any woman with or without a menstrual cycle.
A Pelvic Health Journey
Sunday 9 June
11:00am - 1:30pm
In this session, we will explore the wisdom & medicine of the pelvis, including our pelvic anatomy and physiology, our pelvic floor muscles and how to overcome pelvic floor challenges, leading to a more integrated and vibrant way of living. Whether you are experiencing incontinence, prolapse or other dysfunctions, interested in preconception, are pregnant or postpartum, or journeying through peri/menopause, this workshop is open to all women as an essential foundation for understanding your pelvic terrain and how to optimise your pelvic health.
Schedule
11:00pm - 12:30pm Discussion & Theory
12:30pm - 1:30pm Pelvic Health Embodiment Practice
Topics Explored
An Introduction to the Female Pelvis
Challenges within the Pelvis
Embodied Pelvic Anatomy
The Mechanics of Movement and Posture
Balancing the Pelvic Floor Muscles
The Way of Wintering: Exploring the medicine of rest
Sunday 9 June
3:00pm - 5:30pm
“You may think yourself lazy, or flawed, Yet your body is made of almost exactly the same elements as the stars. Your base composition matches the coral in the seas and you, my friend, are ruled by the moon and the sun. Whether you like it or not. So no, you are not lazy. Nature is simply pulling you to slow, like the life, floral and fauna around you. It is not your moment to rise. It is winter, you are wintering. And you are right on time.” - Donna Ashworth
In our fast paced lives of quick fixes and fly by moments, the value of rest is often overlooked. Particularly for women, we have opportunities within our menstrual cycles to rest monthly, as a reminder for the importance of this embodied knowledge later on in our journey through menopause. In this workshop, we explore the concept of “Wintering”, a reframe surrounding the profoundness of rest and embodiment practices that support this process. Learn methods using sound & breath to guide vagus nerve stimulation, as well as embodiment practices & yoga nidra to soothe the nervous system.
Open to women of all life stages, as well as men who are keen to see rest from the feminine perspective.
Schedule
3:00pm - 4:00pm Discussion & Embodiment Exercises
4:15pm - 5:15pm Wintering, as a Yoga Practice
5:15pm - 5:30pm Q&A / Sharing Circle
Topics Explored
The life stages of a woman
What is Wintering?
The invitation of rest
The wonders of the vagus nerve
How breath & sound support Wintering
The Way of Winter Yoga Practice (embodiment practices & a guided yoga nidra)
Price
$75 USD per session
$50 USD per session (2+ sessions, early bird until 1 June)
Including the Pregnant Practitioner in an Open Asana Class
Saturday, 15 June
1:00pm - 5:00pm
4 CEUs
As a yoga instructor, have you ever found yourself fully prepared to teach your class when suddenly a pregnant practitioner arrives on her mat? Have you had a moment of panic? What can she do safely? Can you continue with your planned sequence? How can you help her to modify, without disrupting the flow of your class? What if she does something in your class that may cause harm to baby? Is she strong enough to do the class? Should I trust that she can modify her own practice? Do I support her or just let her be?
If this scenario has any familiarity for you, join us for this special workshop led by Amber Sawyer, PhD, Founder of Embodied Woman Yoga, as we explore and deepen our understanding of how to safely include the pregnant practitioner in an open level class. In this workshop, we will include an embodied approach (practicing asana from the perspective of pregnancy), as well as explore the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, musculoskeletal changes and complications that are common during pregnancy. Through this lens, we will better be able to explore how to modify an asana practice safely for pregnant practitioners, going through easy and quick variations for postures and vinyasas, how to incorporate props to support the pregnant body, as well as review the contraindications for yoga during pregnancy.
Rather than memorizing a list of contraindications for pregnancy, this course will enable you to have a deeper understanding of why a pose may or may not be beneficial during pregnancy. Moreover, this CEU will hopefully give you the skills to confidently welcome a pregnant practitioner into your open level classes, so that no longer do you feel the panic arise with her presence, and instead, you feel excited to include her on the mat!
Topics to be covered:
Understanding an overview of the anatomical and physiological changes during pregnancy
General asana and pranayama modifications during pregnancy
How to use props to support the pregnant practitioner
How to include a pregnant practitioner in a vinyasa
Safe pelvic floor and core training during pregnancy
How to modify poses for common musculoskeletal complications during pregnancy
How to quickly and efficiently offer asana variations for the pregnant practitioner
Assists that are appropriate during pregnancy
Schedule
1pm - 2pm Embodied Yoga Practice (bring a pillow!)
2:15pm - 3:30pm Theory & Discussion
3:30pm - 4:30pm Practicum
4:30pm - 5:00pm Q&A
Including the Postpartum Practitioner in an Open Asana Class
Sunday, 16 June
1pm - 5pm
4 CEUs
In your list of conditions, injuries and physical challenges that you keep in mind during your open level asana classes, have you ever considered the postpartum practitioner? Postpartum is a term that refers to a woman after she has parted with her fetus (this can be used for miscarriage or for birth of a viable pregnancy). Giving birth is not only the birth of a baby, but is also the birth of the mother - and with this monumental life transition often comes an incredible amount of stress on the body and mind. Once postpartum, always postpartum, but the first 0-3 years are commonly the most tender as the new mother is adapting to her ever changing body and role. You may have found yourself in a position where a woman has returned to her yoga practice in your class, recently having given birth, and that you are not sure how to best support her. Or, you may have never even considered that postpartum women need any particular attention!
Join Amber Sawyer, PhD, Founder of Embodied Woman Yoga for a special workshop specializing in how we can include the postpartum practitioner in an open level asana class. We will explore more deeply the physical and anatomical changes that take place postpartum, the general guidelines and contraindications that are common postpartum, how to offer appropriate asana modifications and what to look out for when including postpartum practitioners in your open level class. After attending this workshop, hopefully you will gain more confidence and security to welcome postpartum practitioners onto the mat in an open level class.
Topics to be covered:
Understanding an overview of the anatomical and physiological changes following birth
General guidelines to follow for a postpartum practitioner on that mat
General asana and pranayama contraindications following birth, and intuitively recognizing what may or may not be appropriate during the early postpartum years
How to include a postpartum practitioner in a vinyasa
Safe pelvic floor and core training following birth
Assists that are appropriate for a postpartum practitioner
Schedule
1:00pm - 3:00pm Theory & Discussion
2:30pm - 4:30pm Practicum
4:30pm - 5:00pm Q&A