The ancient practice of yoga originating from India centuries ago has proven health benefits. Practiced by millions around the world, this physical, mental and spiritual practice helps increase flexibility, muscle strength and tone, and thus improves respiration, energy and vitality.
Yoga boost metabolism, helps with weight reduction, cardio and circulatory health, improved athletic performance, protects from injuries and can also help with the more serious problems, such as back pain.
A large number of people in town practice yoga, but many more yearn to learn the technique. In what is good news for both yoga students and teachers, one of the most influential yoga teachers from America, Alison West is coming to Doha.
West, a back care specialist, will impart a three-day training workshop on back care at Yama Yoga Studios for both students and teachers.
“West is a back care specialist so she will be teaching different techniques on how to take care of your back with yoga. Over the three days she will teach yoga for general back care besides talking about a deep look at surya namaskara and the fundamentals of the scapulo humeral rhythm,” Suraj, assistant manager at Yama Yoga Studios Asas, told Community.
“The workshops are open to all; however, they are part of our teachers’ training programme. These workshops are compulsory for teacher trainees and will give them valuable knowledge on back care,” added Suraj.
Yama Yoga, he said, invites internationally renowned teachers every month for workshops on different aspects of yoga. The workshop with Alison West is on January 12.
Suraj said they are expecting around 50 students. This number may vary as some people are only interested in certain sessions, based on their needs. The 19 teacher trainees at the studio will, however, attend the full course.
Alison West, PhD, ERYT, was recently named one of the most influential yoga teachers in America and is the director of Yoga Union and the Yoga Union Backcare & Scoliosis Center.
She first established Yoga Union in 1996 in SoHo after studying widely and teaching Yoga in New York for ten years, both at the Sivananda Center and at Jivamukti.
She practiced Astanga Yoga for a number of years, studying in NY with Eddie Stern and in Mysore with K Pattabhi Jois.
During this time she continued studying Iyengar Yoga for alignment, working in particular with Kevin Gardiner, the late Mary Dunn, and, later, Genny Kapuler. Alison has also travelled to Pune to study with the Iyengars.
Alison is a teacher’s teacher who has formulated Principles of Practice that can be applied to most forms of yoga. She brings to her teaching insights born of the ongoing study of anatomy and kinesiology with master teachers such as Irene Dowd, Tom Myers, and Gil Hedley.
In addition to her regular class schedule, Alison also conducts 200-hour Three-Pillars of Practice Teacher Trainings, 300-hour Masters Programs and a full 500-Hour Teacher Training in New York City.
Alison’s work as the Back Care Yoga specialist has been featured in the New York Times and in numerous other yoga journals and blogs.
She travels extensively to work with back care clients and to train teachers in yoga for back care issues such as sound posture, generalised back pain, hyper-kyphosis (rounded upper back) and hyper-lordosis (over-arched lower back), scoliosis, lumbar herniation, pinched nerves and spinal fusions.
The sessions would include information on how yoga can help with general back care – daily life takes an enormous toll on the human body, leading to poor postural habits, back strain, degenerative disc disease, disc herniation and bulging and more. A clear, strong yoga practice, suitably modified to allow for differences in range of motion and strength can heal the back and prevent further problems, general anatomy of the spine included.
West will also talk about the sequence of Surya Namaskara, Asana for sound posture, generalised back pain, hyper-kyphosis, hyper-lordosis, and lumbar herniation standing poses with suitable modifications, besides teaching the fundamentals of the scapulo humeral rhythm.
Yama Yoga Studios invites an international yoga teacher every month for workshops.
