It doesn’t look like the workshop will sell out so you may still register now or at the door.
We are now accepting registrations at the front desk for the Anatomy of a Yogi Workshop to be held July 19 and 20 (Sat & Sun). Attendance will be limited and early registration is recommended. The cost is $150 per person but if you register before July 12 we’ll reduce that to $125.
The workshop will be approximately four hours each afternoon and will include an optional Bikram class afterwards. Workshop topics will cover emotional anatomy and the chakra system with an emphasis on how different emotions and chakras are activated in the Bikram series.
Paul and Jaylee Balch have dedicated their lives to helping people awaken and understand their innate ability to heal themselves. Paul, as a certified Bikram instructor and hypnotherapist and Jaylee, with a background in psychology and counseling, have followed the guidance of Tibetan and Tao masters and imparted a treasury of knowledge around the world. Combined, they have taught for over twenty years and run seminars in over 14 countries.
This workshop is designed to take your yoga practice to a new experiential level of energetic awareness. It will be helpful to have attended at least a few Bikram classes but all experience levels are welcome.
The four hour workshop will mostly be lecture with some breaks. Chairs will be provided. The studio will provide some light snacks during the break (very light). The room will not be heated for most of the workshop but it will still be somewhat warm due to there being a class beforehand.
Workshop Schedule
Saturday
11:30 am - 3:30 pm, Lecture
4:00 - 5:30 pm - Bikram Class taught by Paul Balch Sunday
12:30 pm - 4:30 pm
5:00 - 6:30 pm - Bikram Class taught by Paul Balch
I’m an English professor living in Decatur. I like professional sports as much as I like 19th-century novels. I like when my toddler plays on my yoga mat. I dislike the way my yoga mat smells (and sometimes the way my toddler smells).
How often? 3 times a week
How long? 4 years
Benefits: I started doing Bikram yoga when I moved to Beijing, and my regular practice helped me find the mental calm I needed to deal with the stresses of living in a foreign country. Also, I could notice improvement in my yoga more readily than in my Chinese. Back home, the calm of my yoga practice helped me finished my dissertation. Also, this yoga helps me sleep (instead of counting sheep, I rehearse the series in my head).
Challenges: Initially, the heat was the most challenging. I notice that less these days, and am more challenged by staying present in each posture, not mentally jumping ahead.
I’ve been taking Bikram classes on and off since BYD opened. At first, I took classes because I thought it would be challenging exercise, and, of course, it is. But I keep coming back to Bikram, sometimes after an absence of months, because it is the best, most affordable, and most convenient therapy I can get.
I’m 47 years old, and my job as a judicial law clerk keeps me at a desk or a computer all day long, crunching up my neck and shoulders. I’m also an avid gardener and work my half-acre garden year-round – hauling rocks and digging holes and pruning shrubs. That’s hard on the back and joints. But an hour and a half in a Bikram class and I’m limber and pain free again. More importantly, I’m stronger.
Bikram yoga works the spine and back like no other exercise I’ve done. The 26 postures are designed to keep the spine flexible and the muscles supporting it very strong which helps maintain the core strength and balance needed to continue doing the things I love as I get older. The postures also work the internal organs and the endocrine system. Although I’m perimenopausal, and the occasional hot flash makes hot yoga challenging, it is worth it because the postures keep my hormonal systems balanced, too.
Finally, Bikram yoga is mental therapy, the perfect adjunct to my regular meditation practice. Ideally, yoga should be meditation in motion. During a Bikram class, I couldn’t dwell on the stresses and worries of the day even if I wanted to! Intense focus on the present, on how my body and breath work together to stay in the posture, pulls my mind away from nagging thoughts. After a class, my mind is peaceful, and that peace stays with me for the rest of the day.
The online Teacher Schedule has been sporadically unavailable for the last week or two and continues to be problematic. I’m not sure what the problem is but it originates with the Apple servers and not something I have any control over.
I’m about to take the stage in St. Paul and announce that we have won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
It’s been a long journey, and we should all pause to thank Hillary Clinton, who made history in this campaign. Our party and our country are better off because of her.
I want to make sure you understand what’s ahead of us. Earlier tonight, John McCain outlined a vision of America that’s very different from ours — a vision that continues the disastrous policies of George W. Bush.
But this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past and bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.
It’s going to take hard work, but thanks to you and millions of other donors and volunteers, no one has ever been more prepared for such a challenge.
Thank you for everything you’ve done to get us here. Let’s keep making history.
