Yin Yoga Teacher Training and Yin Yoga Workshops

Session One, 4 hours
THE FIVE ELEMENTS BIRTHING CYCLE
Topics:

• The Five Elements: Theory, Energetic qualities, The cycle of transmutation
• Philosophy of Taoist yoga- the concept of non-interference
• Relationship of the microcosmic self to the macro-cosmic universe
• The natural breath cycle and the circulation of energy
• Taoist meditations for grounding and relaxation

Session Two, 4 hours
THE FIVE ELEMENTS YIELDING CYCLE
Topics:

• The Five Elements: The Yin and Yang aspects, Health and balance of the emotions and internal organ
• The Taoist way of spontaneity and receptivity
• Being in harmony with our individual Tao
• Relaxing the thinking mind to awaken to our primal and intuitive natures
• How to grow the body supple
• Taoist visualizations for deepening your practice

In this Yin yoga teacher training workshop we will explore

Yin Yoga- Postures of stillness for promoting growth, clearing energetic blockages, and enhancing circulation.

Yang Yoga- Postures for developing core strength and muscle tone, balance, and stamina.

Yin Flow Yoga- Including both Yin and Yang yoga, Taoist Flow is more than just a sequence of postures. In Taoist Flow the process of transition from pose to pose is as integral to the practice as the postures themselves. Taoist movement incorporates continuous, smooth and circular motion that promotes ease, fluidity and grace in the body.

Energy Alchemy- Cultivating and harmonizing the five transforming alchemical elemental energies that are contained in the universal life field and animate distinct qualities in the body such as lightness, fluidity, strength, springiness, and calm.

Certificate:
Participants who complete the requirements earn a Yin yoga teacher training certificate  for the total hours of the workshop plus the number of hours committed to the assignment. These hours are applicable towards teacher Paulie Zink’s Yin Yoga Teacher  Certification course.

Certificate Requirements:
(Attendees who do not wish to earn the certificate are not required to write an essay)
To earn a certificate, students must attend all sessions of the Yin yoga workshop plus read two translations of the Tao Te Ching and write a personal reflection of at least 100 words on a chapter of their choice.

The Art of Yin and Yang yoga
All levels
Developed from the healing practices and spiritual philosophies of ancient China, this art is based on the Taoist principles of living in oneness with nature. We will experience how to cultivate vital life force and direct it through the body, balance our yin and yang energies, liberate ourselves from limiting perceptions, feel with the intuitive heart and express the artist within.
Mostly asanas, energy awareness exercises

Yin Yoga Energy Alchemy
All levels
We explore specific yoga postures to endow the body with the energetic qualities of the five transforming alchemical elements of earth, metal, water, wood, and fire, which contain distinct qualities such as lightness, fluidity, strength, springiness, and calm. By integrating the power and healing aspects of these properties we stabilize emotions, harmonize the internal organs, and resonate with the true nature of our being.
Mostly asanas, energy awareness exercise

Yin Flow Yoga
All levels
Including both Yin and Yang yoga, Taoist movement is much more than a sequence of postures. It incorporates a continuous synergistic economy of motion designed to quicken our primal spirit, and to promote relaxed confidence, fluidity, and grace in the body.
Asanas and movement

Yin Yoga: Fun, Flow and Flexibility

In this spontaneous and playful practice we step aside from traditional asana and into the realm of postures like the crab, seahorse, and T-Rex which allow the body to gain flexibility and strength while freeing the mind of mechanistic and self-limiting thoughts.

Remember how being imaginative just came naturally when you were a child, and how exhilarating it was to feel being fully alive in your body, to freely rejoice in all your senses, to laugh and shout, to jump and dance, and to play pretend without any rules? Paulie’s liberating approach to yoga shows us how to reawaken our childlike playful spirit. Paulie makes learning fun; and when learning is fun it becomes almost effortless.

In this session we will go beyond the rigidly timed and passive postures so commonly taught in Yin classes. We will practice both still and dynamic postures for developing core strength and balance, and the flowing of postures in smooth transitions from pose to pose.

Yin Yoga: Animals & Elements- Take a pose on the wild side

Let your primal spirit come out and play. In this session we will practice postures that embody a variety of animals and enliven the energies of the five transforming elements of Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire–experience the springiness of a frog, the lightness of a bird, the might of a bear, the calmness of a cow, the slinkiness of a seal. 

Here you will discover the deeper dimensions of Yin yoga. Specific postures are used to actualize the energetic essence of various creatures and to stimulate the properties of the five alchemical elements, thus harmonizing these qualities within the body and engaging the primal power that resides within us all.

This practice enables us to move beyond the constraints of limited thinking, to clear blockages, and to develop a heightened awareness. We have an innate ability to attune our consciousness with our fellow beings of the plant and animal realms. By returning to our true and wild nature we can enjoy a greater vitality and a newfound freedom of movement and relaxed confidence within our bodies.

Yin Yoga: Head to Toe, Heart and Soul

Experience the art of Yin yoga with the founder as it is intended to be: a complete practice which includes postures for both upper and lower body, creative movement, and the self expression of our unique individuality. Let your spirit become one with the rhythm and flow of nature that lives within you and all around you.

Yin yoga is an art form not a theoretical science. Paulie’s approach to yoga is about following our own personal path. Each of us have our own Tao- a unique way of being imbedded and evolving in the world. Paulie gently guides us in opening to our intuitive hearts and discovering the artist that is inherent within.

Paulie shows us how to experience the power of our mind to transcend the boundaries of presumed limitations and to realize our untapped potential. It’s about remembering our wholeness by returning to the mysterious source of our being and aligning our heart, our mind, and the energetic field of our entire body with the greater body of mother earth and the spirit of creation from which all springs forth.