ADAM KEEN
Ashtanga Yoga Inside Out
3-days workshop in Athens
We are delighted to announce Adam Keen's visit to Athens for a 3-days Ashtanga Workshop. Adam is a highly regarded and accomplished Ashtanga teacher and one of the few to have completed the Advanced A series in Mysore under the guidance of Sharath Jois. Adam's passion for the practice brings a unique blend of expertise and mindfulness to his teachings and his commitment to sharing the transformative power of Ashtanga yoga, which extends, beyond the physical practice, into its philosophy and history.
Ashtanga Yoga Inside Out Workshop
This workshop aims to give you renewed inspiration and enthusiasm for the Ashtanga practice by going back to the original spirit of fun, inclusiveness, and individual-oriented yoga. This doesn’t have to mean not practising ‘traditional’ Mysore style ashtanga. It simply means fitting the method, so it works for all different bodies and abilities.
Adam gives clear ideas about what's going on (or should be) behind simply making shapes. Indeed, when you know what you’re meant to be doing and feeling, things always go better. This has to do with using the Ashtanga tristana method (posture, bandha, drishti) for the sake of unlocking and harnessing the power of diaphragmatic breathing.
Who can attend
Everyone is welcome to this; Adam teaches with humor and kindness and with 25 years of experience.
Location
Led Class & Mysore practice: Chakra Yoga Shala, Dekeleon 46, Athens
Workshops: PLYFA
Registration
Spots are limited, so please secure yours early! Registration details can be found below. For anything you might need please contact Avra Yoga or Chakra Yoga Shala.
Schedule
FRIDAY 31/5
18.30 to 20.30: Led Class
This is a unique led class as it features both the vinyasa count as well as fundamental pointers for each posture. Everyone will be made to feel welcome and safe in participating in this class as options are given so everyone can do the whole series in a way that suits their bodies. Adam doesn’t believe in stopping people, the ‘perfect’ posture, or, dictating exactly how something should look.
PLEASE NOTE: Led Class spots are limited and as soon as all are booked, the participation for the workshop (with a different price) will be for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday).
SATURDAY 1/6
7:00 - 11:00: Mysore practice
Two batches 7:00-9:00 & 9:00-11:00
Adam gives yoga assistance in a safe and non-intrusive way. He does not believe in forcing people into postures, rather, he 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. Adam is happy if you need practice sheets, or he or Theresa will show you the postures.
PLEASE NOTE: Mysore practice spots are limited and will be given only to students that are participating to the whole workshop, cannot participate as a drop in class
11:30 - 13:00: Fundamental Openings
There are a relatively small number of fundamental movements that yoga asana requires we grasp to progress. However, these openings are subtle; and not necessarily straightforward to understand at body level.
And, from the basic standing postures where they’re first presented in their most simple form, they get increasingly complicated. Therefore, we shall look at these postures, consider them in detail, and find they translate into a deeper understanding of what’s going on in various problem postures further on down the line.
14:00 - 15:00: Yoga Chat & Q+A
We 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 has today.
SUNDAY 2/6
7:00 - 11:00: Mysore practice
As described above
11:30 - 13:00: Mobilizing the Shoulder Girdle and The Jump-Back/Thru
A look at how we can generate more mobility in the scapula area. For, despite the claims that we need more core strength, or the (most unhelpful cliché) more bandha, it’s scapula mobility that results in how well we achieve this most elusive linking movement.
And everyone can get this movement in varying degrees according to our bodies’ capacity. We all have all the muscles we need; we simply must use them all more effectively in combination. This is something that, whatever level we’re at, we all can work on more, so this workshop aims at giving some effective pointers to unlock our, often hidden, floating potential.
ABOUT ADAM
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.
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
REGISTRATION & PAYMENT
The spots for this workshop are limited. It can be attended in full including the Led and Mysore practices or in drop in classes for the seminars only.
Workshop full price 220€. Drop in price 45€.
For your registration please fill in the form below and proceed with the payment through the online payment provided or via bank transfer.
Please read T&Cs below. For anything you might need you may email Avra Yoga at info@avrayoga.gr.
Fulll Workshop
3 days participation: Led Class, Mysore Practices
& Seminars
220€
Drop In class
Only for the seminars on Saturday & Sunday. You cannot participate as drop in for Mysore or Led practice.
45€
T&Cs:
/ Your spot will be reserved upon payment.
/ Payments can be done by credit or debit card through the link above, cash, or bank transfer (please email us to receive bank accounts).
/ Upon or before payment please fill in the registration form as well.
/ If you want to attend more than one drop in classes and in the case you pay online please repeat the payment as per the classes you chose.
/ If you pay via bank transfer please send us proof of payment and which package or course you are enrolling to at info@avrayoga.gr (if you pay for one or more Drop Ins please indicate in your email which specific classes or workshops you want to participate to).
/ If you wish to cancel your participation the following cancelation policy applies:
For cancellations up until 31/3, full refund of the amount to the original payment method.
For cancellations from 1/4 to 30/4, 40% refund to the original payment method.
For cancellations after 1/5, no refund is offered.
/ The organizer and hosts have no involvement or responsibility on expenses made for transportation/traveling to Athens or expenses on accommodation, thus refund on those will not be applied under any of the mentioned circumstances.
/ You may ask us to provide you useful information for your accomodation, however we don't offer accomodation services.
/ The organizer and hosts reserve the right to cancel the event for serious reason (including - but not limited - pandemic, epidemic, illness). In that case full refund of the cost of the workshop will be applied to the original payment method.