Turning the Senses Inward In Your Practice with Michael Lucey

Turning the Senses Inward In Your Practice

with Michael Lucey

April 22nd from 2 – 4:30 pm at our Berkeley studio, or attend via zoom

In this workshop, we will practice a well-rounded sequence of āsanas in order to investigate this question: how the use of our senses in an inward fashion can lead to deeper yogic experiences.

About pratyāhāra, the fifth limb of yoga, the withdrawal of the senses, BKS Iyengar writes: “while performing an āsana the intelligence of the body extends outwards, and the senses of perception, mind and intelligence are drawn inwards. It is the same in the performance of prānāyāma. This is pratyāhāra.”

In his book on The 18 Maha Kriyas of Yogasana, Prashant Iyengar writes a chapter about sensely acts, where he addresses what it means to use the senses that have been turned inward during our practice to produce a state that is “quiet, serene, sublime . . .” As a starting point, he asks us to consider about each of our senses a question like the following: “How do we take the aroma of a delicacy being cooked in the kitchen as against some burning smell from the kitchen?”

As we turn our senses inwards in our practice, can the lessons we learn in daily life about the different ways we use our senses to respond to sensory perceptions from the external world be applied to the perception of the inner world?

This workshop is appropriate for students with at least two years consistent practice of Iyengar Yoga.

The workshop will be held in person at Adeline Yoga Studio in Berkeley, CA.  OR signup to stream the workshop live.  All participants will receive the recording.

Tuition:

Register early and save $10

$45 – Early Bird Special – register by April 1  and save

$55 per person

Includes a recording you can use for 30 days!

About the Instructor

Michael Lucey is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher at Level 3.  Michael stumbled into an Iyengar yoga class in England in 1982, while he was a student at Oxford University. From his very first class he has been fascinated by the many ways yoga can transform your relation to your body, mind, and breath. He has been fortunate to study with many senior teachers from around the United States and Europe. He has also made 11 trips to Pune, India to study directly with the Iyengar family at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. His most recent trip was in December 2018. Michael is also a professor of Comparative Literature and French at the University of California, Berkeley, and served as President of the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States from 2014-2017.