Yoga with Les is a journey. Most think that yoga starts when they roll out their mat. "Not so," says Les. He will skillfully guide you that rolling up the mat is a continuation of the practice. You will awaken to the knowledge that yoga is everything and everywhere. Intentions will be set. Chanting will reveal more intimate connections in daily activities. Awareness of breath will be ignited to initiate a consciousness filled with compassion.
We are keen to welcome Les from Bali for a series of workshops that will transform your body and leave your spirit full of joy! There will be four workshops over the weekend to enjoy. Come to one, come to all, just don't miss out!
Saturday 29th July
10:30am- 12:30pm
Detox Flow – a Vinyasa Hips & Twists Workshop for All Levels
It’s time to liberate your hips and free your spine. Opening the hips begins by cultivating awareness of the challenges we hold in our hips and pelvic region. We can begin to relax and strengthen the quads, the inner and outer muscles of the thighs and stretch the hamstrings. While unlocking this area of our bodies we will also free the spine with twists which can infuse the body with vitality and well being and release enormous amounts of tension. Twists are associated with toning and rejuvenating the abdominal and pelvic regions. When these regions are engaged, blood flow naturally increases and toxins are released – a natural internal massage. Relaxing and strengthening these areas releases lower back tension and frees limitation in the neck and shoulders. This very fun workshop is great for beginners, intermediate/advanced practitioners and teachers who want to learn how to up level in creative ways and also provide a safe foundation for their beginning students.
2:30pm- 4:30pm
Anahata Chakra Vinyasa
Heart Openers (and backbends) are some of yoga’s most exhilarating postures. In this workshop we will open the entire front body, with emphasis on the heart center. We will flow through a sequence of postures that will bring your heart chakra back into balance and harmony. We will explore many different ways of working with and without props, along with physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of a backbend. Your heart will dance through the fine art of balancing and effortless surrender. We will also bring more awareness to pranayama and ujjayi breathing in this workshop, as the lungs are an integral part of this area of the body.
Sunday 30th July
10:30am- 12:30pm
Facing Embracing Fears - Arm Balancing and Inversions for All Levels
Arm Balances and Inversions can be some of yoga’s most challenging yet fun poses to practice. Learn to safely defy gravity, starting with a single breath. In this workshop you will strengthen your core to better support your arm balances. Build upper body strength which will help support and build healthier wrists, elbows and shoulders. Engage the legs, so they don’t take refuge in Savasana. Begin cultivating awareness of your body being upside down and moving through space, while surfing from one pose to another. Yoga should be satisfying and fun, not a chore. This workshop will launch you there. This very fun workshop is accessible for beginners, intermediate/advanced practitioners and teachers who want to learn how to teach newer students the foundations and set up of arm balancing and provide safe up leveling for the advanced practitioner. Flying is like a great fire of courage – once that flame is ignited – it never goes out.
2:30pm- 4:30pm
Yamas & Niyamas
How do these first two Limbs of the 8 Limbed practice affect the asana practice on the mat and everyday life off the mat? We will explore what the 8 limbs are and where the Yamas and Niyamas fit in and their application. We will discuss how these ideals can be themes or intentions for the practice. We’ll take some time to review our ethics and how we might shift our perspective on how we see things culturally and/or personally and then weave all that into an asana practice to cultivate awareness. Our lives are forever shifting and sometimes we need to make tough decisions about how to love ourselves and others, compassionately.
About Les
Les’ sequencing is safe and made available for all levels of practitioners, whether it is your first day of practicing yoga or your first day of your twentieth year. Everyone will play and dance on their edges. Les’ teachings are founded in ancient wisdom and tethered into modern culture so that what and how we seek can be recognized through the joy and suffering we all experience in the form of attachment in our lives.
He teaches what he is working on in his own life. This cultivates a sense of belonging and intimacy to find courage and strength to live a life filled of dreams, purpose and contentment. Les’ teachings are the intricate and intimate connections of the yamas, niyamas, chakra awakenings and Les’ very own story of yoga and recovery. Getting as detailed as we can in our bodies to see how working on poses for the first time, falling out of poses for the thousandth time and experiencing some new level of a pose for the first time, all rouse emotions in the body. Les wants us all to explore what these emotions are, what is their history and where do we hold them in our bodies. Do we experience attachment because it feels amazing but it was just meant to be one moment in time and we are meant to help others in the future? Maybe it is an old habitual pattern of familiarity continuing to enhance what Les likes to call, the qualities of suffering. These revelations are meant to inspire and regardless of how we identify and where it lands in the body, Les’ purpose comes from that divine place of creating altruism, selfless devotion for the benefit of another.
Whether you read his book, Two Lifestyles, One Lifetime, Les’ journey through yoga and recovery, or practice with him in classes, workshops, retreats, teacher trainings or through his on-line platforms, you get all of Les. He does not edit truth. Being honest wastes no ones time. You experience his atman, divine true uncluttered nature of who he really is and the path he is on and providing for everyone in the form of opportunity.
Follow Les on Social Networks: @yogawithles