Workshop met Adam Keen

YogaPoint Oudegracht June 15 & 16, 2024

185 euro voor 2 dagen!!

Ashtanga Yoga: Method & Technique The method of Ashtanga is often considered to be about the degree of determination one can exert in squeezing oneself into increasingly demanding postures.

However, there is another way to go about this. One where the body isn’t forced or struggled against and the postures themselves aren’t the central focus.  Instead, the postures can flow naturally from utilising the subtle internal technique behind every posture. This is more sustainable over the long term and as well as being essentially easier, it’s more effective for real progress.

Saturday, June 15th

7.00 – 9.00 Mysore

Adam gives yoga assistance in a safe and non-intrusive way. He does not believe in forcing people into postures, rather, uses verbal and light physical touch to open up new directions for the individual to follow as they wish. This practice is based on individual exploration, kindness, and fun. It is not an exam or military exercise. All are welcome to the Mysore class. 

9:30 - 11:00 Fundamentals

The building blocks of the work in asana are deeper than just making shapes. Using asanas from the primary series Adam will show how you can move forward in all the series’ effectively and safely. We will discuss using active as opposed to passive stretches and how to best work with them using the right tension to set up with forces structured within the body.

12.00 - 13:30 The History of Modern Yoga Asana

There is certainly a history of bodily practices recorded in texts that date back well over 1000 years. However, these practices are very different to what we are doing today, leading to the question of the roots of modern asana. 

In discussing yoga’s trajectory over the 20th Century, we turn to a few trailblazing individuals; Sri Krishnamacharya, Sri Yogendra and Swami Kaivalyananda (all related to a mysterious, possibly, shared guru), to consider their influence on what we are doing today. And, of course, where our tradition of Ashtanga and whether it did come from a Himalayan sage recorded in the equally mysterious Yoga Korunta.

Sunday, June 16th

7.00 – 9.00 am Mysore

As above

9:30-11.00 Hip Openers

It’s often assumed that opening the hips simply means the ability to get the knees to the floor in baddha konasana or achieve mari D. However, this particular opening is only a small part of a much more complex process of hip opening; less to do with the inner thighs than opening the sacrum. It’s no exaggeration to say that the whole practice is based on sacral opening. So, to practice effectively we need to be aware of all that this entails, for it is much more than simple external rotation of the hips. 

12.00 – 13.00 Practice Chat + Q&AWe will discuss together the roots of modern asana and then how this relates and intertwines with the roots of Ashtanga yoga, then, how the tradition of Ashtanga yoga has evolved to get to where it is today.

Adam Keen Bio

Adam made his first trip to Mysore in 2007, received level 2 authorisation in 2012 and completed the Advanced A sequence of Ashtanga yoga in 2013 with Sharathji. He has been a yoga practitioner since 1999, starting with hatha yoga while studying philosophy at university.

Having taught internationally and spent over ten years running a Mysore program in his native London, Adam’s style is open, non-dogmatic and eclectic while remaining rooted in an appreciation of the tradition as taught in Mysore. He has a unique way of making everyone welcome and meeting students where they are with humour and kindness.

He is a co-founder of Keen on Yoga, an online yoga platform hosting workshops and events, and the host of the Keen on Yoga Podcast and YouTube channels. Adam has interviewed and learned from most of the top Ashtanga teachers and philosophy academics in this capacity, leading to a unique overview of the modern yoga world and teaching approaches.

When not practising yoga, Adam likes to cook – in his earlier years, he was a chef, supporting himself in this profession by cooking in Buddhist and yoga centres whilst studying yoga. This took him to Purple Valley in Goa, where he was employed as the chef by his future wife, Theresa who was Director of the centre at the time.

Still a philosophy student at heart, Adam shares his thoughts and experience daily on social media, where you can find him discussing many of the questions that come to our minds, but we’re often afraid or unsure how to ask. Find him on Instagram @adam_keen_ashtanga