Great workshop with Roger Cole or ‘You want me to do ‘what’ with a chair?

On By CherylIn Related to Yoga, in some form or fashion, Yoga Therapy Training Journal

  ….Salamba Sarvangasana supported Shoulderstand

I had a fantastic weekend! What about you? I am in another Yoga training (yea I know that’s hard to believe) for yoga therapy and this weekend we had the privilege of studying with Roger Cole, those of you outside of the Yoga world, you tilt your head and say ‘who’, while we yogis clap our hands and go ‘Ohhhh, cool’. Roger is one of the preeminent yoga teachers on the planet. He is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher and has been teaching since about 1980. If you read his bio, you think that he might be stuffy or very academic, at the very least a whole hellova lot smarter than me. But he was nothing of the sort, ok he is smarter than me (dude has a Phd for heaven’s sake) but his teaching style was very down to earth he didnt talk down to anyone or making you feel stupid. He was precise and to the point and didnt waste anytime. And he never hesitated to answer anyones question. He was a gracious teacher.

He is a Yoga Rock star! And getting to learn from him was amazing; my head is still swimming from all the great information. But better still was getting to learn hands-on Iyengar techniques.

….supported Viparita Karani on 4 long fold blankets…..

Training this weekend with Roger, my fellow students and several other well-known Iyengar teachers, reignited my love of Iyengar yoga. Years ago when I started taking yoga classes and then began studying yoga, the Iyengar style with its precision and its attention to alignment, taught in a way that makes yoga so accessible to everyone, was the one that I was always drawn to. And Iyengar yoga therapeutic applications are almost endless. Iyengar yoga was the basis for all my early trainings. But over the years as I grew as a teacher, and my students changed too, I studied many other kinds of yoga and created a blend of styles that seems to work best for my students and clients. But this weekend it became clear that Iyengar Yoga will always be my base. It is the yoga style I most gravitate towards. And having the opportunity to study with Roger reaffirmed my commitment to the direction that my life is going. If you have a love of anatomy or teach or train in Iyengar Yoga then you must make it a point to study with Roger Cole. You will not be disappointed.

Om Shanti

Cheryl

Roger demonstrating an adjustment for the SI joint, yea that’s me. And yea, it felt really good.

A special Thank You to Missi, my friend and fellow yogi for takeing these pictures.

2 thoughts on “Great workshop with Roger Cole or ‘You want me to do ‘what’ with a chair?”

    1. You would love it! It was terrific. You can get a similar effect by laying on the floor, put one foot on a chair with that 90 degree hip & knee, have the chair as close so you can rest your whole calf on the seat. Then extend the other leg resting on the floor, rest and allow gravity to do the gentle pushing on the hip. I promise it will help 🙂

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