MARCH 17-19 | MILAN

“ALIGNING WITH BREATH“

Ashtanga Yoga Italia is honoured to host for the first time in Milan Ty Landrum, one of the most recognized exponent of Ashtanga Yoga. With a PhD in Philosophy, Ty has a special touch for explaining in depth the practice and theory of yoga with delicacy and creativity. His passion as a teacher is to share the brilliance of yoga with anyone who wants to learn.

From March 17 to 19, “ALIGNING WITH BREATH“, a 3 days Ashtanga Yoga Week-end Intensive that includes 2 Mysore style classes and a series of workshops exploring postural and energetic alignment, technique, philosophy and mythology.

PROGRAM:

Ashtanga Yoga works with two opposing patterns of breath. These patterns are called prana and apana, or the ascending and descending breaths, and alignment can be thought of as the continual rediscovery of balance between the two. In this week-end intensive, we explore the movements of these patterns as they present in our bodies. We learn to recognize their unique physiological signatures, and we practice integrating them in key postures from the Ashtanga Vinyasa system. Through these explorations, we rediscover the breath as an axis of alignment, one that brings unusual depth and vibrancy to the postures themselves.

Friday, March 17:

18.00h → 20.00h – Lab 1: “SURYA NAMASKAR” – The backbone of the Ashtanga system is Surya Namaskar, the Salutation to the Sun. In the context of yoga, the Sun is not only the celestial body that gives us warmth and daylight, but the solar center of the subtle body, where our vital forces converge. These forces propel our bodily processes and illumine our minds from within. In Surya Namaskar, we are propitiating to these forces, and inviting them to rise up through the central axis of the body, burning away our delusions and giving us insight. In this session, we explore the mechanics of Surya Namaskar, so we can undertake the practice with greater presence, elegance and grace.

Saturday, March 18:

→ morning: MYSORE STYLE

Alignment Lab 2: “STANDING POSTURES” – Standing postures have a secret life, a secret inwardness, a secret drama that is easy to miss. They can seem simple and accessible when we first learn them, but as we feel into them with closer attention, they start to reveal an unfathomable depth. Each standing posture is a unique stage for the dynamic interplay of prana and apana, and when we learn to direct those subtle forces into one another, using the structure of the postural form, their drama begins to unfold. In this session, we learn to balance prana and apana within the standing postures of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system.

Alignment Lab 3: “TWISTS AND FOLDS” – Folding forward is a matter spreading ourselves out, and then diving into the unknown, while keeping an open mind about whatever we encounter along the way. The descent can be disorienting, but if we remain receptive, we find that we eventually return to ourselves. In this session, we explore the mechanics of forward folding, and the mental impact of different ways of holding ourselves within the folded form. Through these exploration, we learn to use forward folding not only to stretch the back of the body, but to stretch the back of the mind, and to ground ourselves more fully in the present moment.

Sunday, March 19:

→ morning: MYSORE STYLE

Alignment Lab 4: “BACKBENDS” – The practice of backbending is about making ourselves vulnerable, and finding the internal support to handle that vulnerability with steadiness and grace. When we backbend with internal support, we create opportunities for deep psychical release. In this session, we learn to work intelligently with the breath, the psoas and the diaphragm, to create a long and supple spine that can reach gracefully into these difficult and exhilarating forms.

Lab 5: “PRANAYAMA – PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHY” – Pranayama is the practice of giving space for the breath. When the expansive and contractive movements of the breath begin to merge into one another, they reveal their perfect continuity, and they suspend the mind in the liminal space between creativity and emptiness. This session teaches the essentials of pranayama, including posture, visualization, suspension, balance and absorption. It introduces you to a potent sequence of pranayama and subtle body visualization that you can explore endlessly on your own. Whatever you might have learned about pranayama in past, this session promises to illumine your understanding, and to take you deeper into the sublime experience of the breath.

The intensive is suitable to all levels of practice. Though a little knowledge of the sequence will help you to fully enjoy the Mysore practices. So, make sure you know at least the standing sequence to attend them. If you’re not sure, get in touch.

→ Mysore classes will runs on shifts which will be communicated closer to the event

→ Times for Saturday and Sunday will be communicated closer to the event

LOCATION:

Friday, March 17, at Ashtanga Yoga Italia, viale Doria 35 (metro Loreto) – Milano.

Saturday and Sunday, March 18 / 19, at Milano City Ballet, Viale Sarca 336 – Edificio 16 – Milano

Limited spots.

BIO:

Ty Landrum is an author, poet, philosopher, somatic explorer, apprentice to the body. He learned yoga from pain and heartache, loss and confusion, old books, lost tapes, full moons, long bouts of silence, cold winds, simplicity, forgiveness, surrender, and the caring words of a few good friends.

He draws inspiration from children, saffron, sage, carob, almonds, chocolate, wise women, gnarled old men, olive trees, deep rivers, steep mountains, quaking aspen, honeybees, love songs, sunrises, laughter and deep breath.

CONTRIBUTIONS:

* EARLY BIRD BY FEBRUARY 15 *

LIMITED SPOTS, ENROLL AT THE EARLIEST to get yours.

>> FULL INTENSIVE: 310€ → EARLY BIRD 290€ for registration and payment by February 15.

SINGLE DAY -> SATURDAY: 140€
SINGLE DAY -> SUNDAY: 140€
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY: 260€
SINGLE LAB: 60€
SINGLE MYSORE CLASS: 40€
2 MYSORE CLASSES ONLY: 70€

To take part to the event it is necessary to get Anima Fenice ASD membership card for 2023 (which is 25€) and sign a medical liability waiver.

HOW TO ENROLL:

>> EARLY BIRD for PAYMENTS DONE BY FEBRUARY 15 <<

ONLY FOR FOREIGN PARTICIPANTS: To register it is mandatory to send the following form to ashtangayogaitalia@gmail.com saying precisely which session you’d like to attend. We’ll be back with availability and payment terms.

Event: (specify if full event or which part)

Name and Surname:

Place and date of birth:

Full address of residence:

Tax or fiscal code: (if applicable)

Telephone:

E-mail:

Your slot is reserved upon payment.

Payments can be done cash or with bank transfer. For the latter, please make sure you cover the bank expenses/fees for the receiving side as well. If not sure about the bank fees, please add 15€ on top to your due amount.

The registration fee already paid is not refundable or transferable.