The Yoga International Fall Retreat: Deepen Your Practice

This will be a practical approach to addressing sacral and low-back pain that incorporates an understanding of the structure of the sacrum and its supporting ligaments and muscles, and the role of the layers of the ‘Core’ in maintaining sacral freedom and stability in movement. It will be put in the context of ‘bandha’ in relation to movement (as opposed to how ‘bandha’ is practiced in pranayama) and will focus on key actions that can be practiced in isolation to improve low back and sacral health, as well as in asana — with special attention to the challenges of twisting in the torso, which is an important element of most asanas. Some traditional instructions will be examined and even refined in user-friendly terms, as well as some of the problems caused by overly simplistic instructions. And we’ll approach ‘bandha’ from a somewhat different and functionally oriented angle.