During this 2 hour Yin Zone with Polly, you will be introduced to:
* Philosophy and psychology related to Heart chakra energy
* Yin Yoga poses to activate the heart chakra and stimulate the Traditional Chinese Medicine heart and lung meridians
* Physically opening up the chest, shoulder and mid to upper back areas of the body
* Pranayama and Meditation to direct your Heart chakra energy through breath and awareness
Meet Polly
Like many, what started out as a purely physical practice with time I started to notice the shifts that were occurring as a part of this re-discovery of body, breath and mind. Yoga has brought me back to myself with a new sense of freedom and peace I didn’t know possible, and helped me to heal from chronic anxiety. Through my experience I am passionate about creating a nurturing space for others to heal and discover more about their own true nature. I do this by combining my personal experience with my various trainings in Yoga, Counselling and Embodiment practices to hold a non-judgemental and empowering space without any dogma or fancy tricks. I find Yoga to be the most impactful when it is meditative, fluid, slow and breath-centred. I am dedicated to my own continual practice as well as professional development and and have over 1000 hours of teacher training including 500 hour Advanced Teacher Training from the Byron Yoga Centre, 80 Hr Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Jo Phee, 100 hour Embodied Mindfulness Teacher Training with Tina Nance , 30 hrs of Yoga Psychology online training with Ashley Turner, 220 hours of Yoga Therapy training with Adore Yoga and 200 hour Women’s Self Care Yoga Teacher Training with Emily Kuser and Women’s Yoga Therapist, Uma Dinsmore Tuli. Yep, I’m pretty much obsessed with learning all things Yoga!
Sadhana covers all bases including prayer, breathwork, exercise/asana, meditation and mantra/chanting. It daily practice and it is your daily practice or spiritual effort. The purpose of Sadhana is to create time to consciously sit with the soul, to connect to the infinity with you. It’s usually done first thing in the morning during the ambrosial hours at least two to three hours before sunrise when the sun is at a sixty degree angle to the Earth because this is when you get maximum results from your efforts. During this time, there is stillness before the world around you wakes up and it’s much easier to meditate and focus. Sadhana is a discipline and it will challenge you and you will face up to all aspects of yourself; resistance, boredom, discomfort.
As the team at Ramadasa explains, “the reward is clearing your subconscious mind, sweeping out old stored patterns and allowing space to be more present and live with greater vitality and sense of connectedness to your own infinity”.
Experience Sadhana with Dhyan Mantra on the first Sunday of every month. It is a community practice with donations accepted and all funds going to Coast Shelter.
Meet Dhyan
Dhyan has practiced yoga for over 10 years and she is a KRI Certified Teacher and dedicated student of Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan. She received her training through Suraj Kaur Khalsa and the team at RA MA DA SA Australia where she continues to receive mentorship from her trainers on this lifelong path of deep learning and self inquiry. Dhyan serves to hold space for community where they can access and practice the ancient and traditional practice of Kundalini Yoga which engages all four aspects of yoga with pranayam, asana, meditation and mantra/sound. Regular practice of Kundalini Yoga provides you with life skills to build a strong self awareness and enable you to work through limiting beliefs so that you can live a heart led, happy and healthy life. Dhyan is a devoted mother and lover and she lives alongside her passion for food as a commercial food photographer. She is also host to a yoga inspired bookclub and in her spare time you can find her walking in the sun or swimming in the ocean.
Yoga, by definition, means union and during this workshop, you will learn the tools and understanding to build a strong foundation for connection to your body, mind and soul through asanas (physical postures), meditation and setting a sankalpa (an intention). You will learn:
• Warm ups to open the body
• Correct alignment in foundational yoga postures
• How and when to use props
• Breathing techniques (pranayama) to create heat and clear the mind
• How to sit in stillness and be
• And the 8 limbs of yoga (how to take your yoga off the mat)
We will combine what you have learnt into a 30 minute class. This is when your practice will truly integrate, and then close with a short Yoga Nidra (guided relaxation). Join us for this friendly, fun and relaxed workshop, which will leave you feeling confident about attending yoga classes. Wear comfortable clothing. No equipment is required – everything is provided at our studio.
Spots are limited to 12 people!
Meet Leah
Leah is The Collective studio owner and teacher. She is a passionate yogi, human rights activist and storyteller. Drawing on the inspiration of sages, poets and freethinking minds, Leah’s classes are fuelled with purpose. Linking the physical body with the intellect, breath and spirit, Leah uses her skills in storytelling to create a class that takes her students’ practice off the mat and to empower positive change. She is an eternal student to the practice who has shared her love of yoga with men, women and children in Australia and London, as well as with refugee women as a way of healing. She found her spot on the mat more than 10 years ago and has been mentored by Mardi Bell, Mary-Lousie Parkinson, Joy Kunkanit, Ricardo Martin, Kat Clayton and Noelle Connolly in Ashtanga, Hatha, Vinyasa, and Pre-Natal and Post-Natal Yoga. During Leah’s classes, all levels of experience are respected. You will be guided through the movement of postures, while linking the breath, the drishti (point of gaze) and the body’s bandhas (energy locks). Combining a flow of movement with relaxation, you will learn to better understand who you are and how you connect with the world.
Meet Mardi
Mardi gained her initial teaching accreditation in 1992 in Integral Yoga (Asana, Pranayama, Bandhas, Mudra, Meditation,Kriya) and continued her studies and gained further teaching credentials in Jivamukti Yoga with David Life (New York), Mandala Flow with Shiva Rea (Bali) Anatomy of Hatha Yoga with Bimone Borg-Oliver Synergy Yoga (Sydney) Ashtanga Yoga Primary Sequence Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois (Mysor India) and further training workshops with Clive Sheridan Hatha Yoga, Pranayama & Meditation (Goa India & Sydney) Rodney Yea Hatha Yoga (Sydney), Shandor Remit Shadow Yoga (Melbourne & Sydney) Donna Farhi Vinyasa Yoga (Sydney & Auckland) Manjui Jois Ashtanga Yoga (Bali) David Swenson Ashtanga Yoga (Goa India), John Scott Ashtanga Yoga (Sydney),Twee Meridan Mandala Flow Yoga & Adjust, Assist, Enhance (Sydney)
Mardi has taught both nationally and internationally, gaining her teaching experience in Hatha, Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Restorative style teaching in Australia, New Zealand, Bali, Nepal, India and Bhutan. She hopes to create space for students to connect, listen and nourish their ‘whole’ selves in this moment, gaining the tools for acceptance, gratitude and humility.