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Tantric Vinyasa Yoga Weekend with Jim Bennitt
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, August 27-29
Cost: $150 for entire weekend;
$130 before 8/20
Individual
Sessions: $45; $35 before 8/20
Register online, click here
The
Yoga Sutras from a Tantric Perspective
Friday, August 27, 6-9 pm |
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Perhaps the most well known of the ancient texts on yoga
is the Yoga Sutra. This scripture from
approximately 200 B.C. defines yoga, describes its
practices and lists the results we can expect. While
some interpret this as a way to move beyond the material
world and toward the spiritual, Tantrics see it as a
science to use help us excel in BOTH the material AND
the spiritual world. We will discuss a few key sutras to
help us understand the text from a tantric perspective
and then apply these ideas in a physical practice ending
with a longer breathwork and meditation session. All
levels welcome. |
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Advanced
Practice: Bandha & Mudra
Saturday, August 28, 10am-1pm
The advanced practices in
yoga are NOT extreme contortions of the body. The true
advanced practitioner has the ability to build, move and
ultimately stop the flow of prana. Pranayama is what
builds prana (the vital life force). Bandhas are
energetic "locks" that helps to contain the prana within
the body. Mudras are gestures made with some part of the
body that helps to direct prana to a desired location.
The result is a skillful use of energy that effects the
way we see and deal with the world we live in. Some
pranayama experienced is required. Come with an empty
stomach and an open mind. |
Stilling the Lake of the Mind
Saturday,
August 28, 3-6pm
We all know that meditation is good for
us. If you're looking to connect to spirit, find inner
peace or just trying to deal with the stress of modern
life, meditation can work wonders. Why then do we still
struggle with starting or continuing a meditation
practice? The answer may surprise you. It could
actually be your yoga practice itself holding you back!
When yoga is practiced inappropriately, it could make it
more difficult to find the inner stillness necessary for
meditation. In this special 2 1/2 hour class, Jim will
draw on ancient teachings and parables to help you
better understand "the lake of the mind". Afterward, he
will lead you through a specially designed sequence of
postures and breathwork that will make it effortless to
be still and reap the benefits of a deep meditation.
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Awakening
the Sun: Surya Namaskar and the Gayatri Mantra
Sunday, August 29, 10am-1pm
The
sun salutation or “surya namaskar” is perhaps the most
recognizable practice in all of yoga. Today yogis,
athletes, trainers and many others practice surya
namaskar as a great way to warm up the muscles. The
ancient yogis practiced the sun salutation in a very
different way and for a different purpose. The gayatri
mantra is one of the oldest and most powerful mantras in
the yoga tradition. This class will draw upon the “old
school” teachings of surya namaskar as well the gayatri
mantra to make our practice more of a sacred ritual than
just a warm up. Appropriate for students capable of
practicing sun salutations.
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Jim, a
former wrestler, massage therapist and clerk at the
Chicago Board of Trade, began his studies in Yoga,
Tantra and Ayurveda in 1997. Originally he took up Yoga
as a way to help heal back pain, but soon after,
discovered how the practice affects not only the body,
but also mind and spirit. Jim has completed teacher
trainings with Daren Friesen of Moksha Yoga Center which
draws heavily from the Krishnamacharya lineage,
apprenticed with Gabriel Halpern of the Yoga Circle (a
studio in the Iyengar tradition), spent two months in
Kiev\nwith Ukrainian Yoga master Andre Lappa for an
intensive in Universal Yoga, and in 2002 began a close
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apprenticeship with Rod Stryker, founder of Para Yoga,
in the Himalayan tradition which continues to this day.
Jim has been featured in such publications as The New
York Times, Chicago Magazine, Time Out Chicago, Breathe
and Yoga Chicago. He's also a popular presenter at the
Yoga Journal Grand Geneva Conference and the Midwest
Yoga Conference and teaches workshops nationwide.
jimbennitt.com |
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