*This program will only be available through a digital webinar format.
All sessions will be delivered over live video. Please note that we will make every effort to have the sessions available and distributed to all participants within 4 hours after each session, and available for a full 7 days after the event concludes on June 26.
Each of us consists of a combination of dynamic forces: we have within us active forces and creative ones, willful forces and those that allow us to be supportive, grounded, and steady. If we do not understand these forces—often opposing energies—in our life, we may fall victim to them, crippling us along our journey. We can struggle to recover from a challenge, only to hit the next extreme.
Hatha yoga offers us a framework for managing these extremes—and the answer lies in understanding the word hatha itself. Ha and tha actually represent the polarity present in all of us. Ha is masculine, active, and forceful, representing the power of the sun. Tha is feminine, passive, and creative, and represents the relaxed energy of the moon.
In this retreat, we will examine these polar opposite forces and ultimately strike a balance—not just so they can co-exist, but so they can both help us flourish. Yoga teaches us that when we become masterful at understanding life’s dynamic forces, we see they are all necessary for a steady mind. By exploring and exaggerating the differences between these energies, we will discover how can go beyond reacting—and instead learn to harness their power.
Success in yoga is dependent on practice. Successful practices are dependent on the quality of the mind. A mind with the right quality to succeed in practice is one that has chitta vrtti nirodhah (mastered the roaming tendencies). Preparing the container of the body, providing the framework for practice, and laying the foundation for a clear mind is the job of hatha yoga. Learn how the hatha yoga tradition—the outer limbs of Raja Yoga, which includes asana and pranayama—sets our mind up for success, so it will be less disturbed, stupefied, and distracted.
In this retreat, we will:
- Understand the active, forceful, and propelling energies in hatha yoga
- Understand the passive, creative, and stabilizing energies in hatha yoga
- Practice specific techniques that exaggerate these opposing energies
- Build confidence to merge these opposing energies through asana and pranayama
- Ultimately, find the power inherent in practicing and living in balance between ha and tha
Online sessions will be held weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays beginning Tuesday, June 9, 1:00–2:15 pm and ending Friday, June 26, 1:00–2:15 pm.
Note: The webinar sessions will be available for 7 full days after the live sessions have been recorded. We will deliver each of the videos within 4 hours of the completion of each session.
What a wonderful respite for myself and at the same time a wonderful way to re-ignite my own practice. Your humble, open-hearted, and often humorous style of sharing your knowledge and skills, made for a very accessible, and content-packed workshop that I cannot say enough about. What a great weekend retreat to recharge one’s own practice and infuse it with new focus and form. My yoga practice over the decades has ebbed and flowed in many, many ways; through the foundations of breathing I learned in this program, my practice can find new power and passion. Thank you. Thank you for sharing yourself with us!
Keep shining your light, Luke. You are a gifted teacher and healer. And the pace at which you speak truly allows information to be absorbed!!!
I just want to thank you for last weekend. It was life transforming and has allowed me to be more effective spiritually, mentally, and physically. This is the best I have felt in three years. I never knew how important is was to breathe. Everyone I come into contact with said, “Wow! Something has changed about you!” I am grateful because last weekend shifted how I feel about everything.