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What do we teach and how do we teach it?
An approach to teaching yoga with Peter Blackaby

January – June 2024 in Sheffield

 

Over the last decade or more Pete has been one of the most influential teachers in the development and understanding of movement and posture work in Yoga in the UK. This course is an opportunity to explore his ideas and approach from a teaching perspective.

The course will include eight full days of in-person teaching as well as online sessions.

Themes included in this course

• The big picture : Integration through appropriate responses to sensory input with particular reference to feelings of discomfort.
• Some basic ideas around anatomy, including how anatomy changes over time and anatomical variations in human beings.
• How to teach from a ‘bottom up’ rather than ‘top down’ approach.
• The importance of understanding how to lose tension through grounding and why this is an important part of integrating movement.
• Common problems we face with students in class, eg joint pain / restriction and chronic pain generally.
• The integration of breathing rather than the controlling of it.
• Practical sessions focussed on the movements, postures & asanas.

 

The Tutor : Peter Blackaby

Pete’s humanistic approach to yoga is firmly rooted in the here and now, underpinned by scientific research.

Rather than approaching yoga as an exercise system, he sees it as a tool for self-exploration. By paying attention to our bodily responses, we are more able to react appropriately and are less likely to meet discomfort and pain in life. As we become better at this, life slowly takes an easier turn. We learn to act usefully, and sooner rather than later. We age more gracefully, and we adapt to change with less rancour.

 

“To understand as clearly as one can the rationale for yoga practice, and then to encourage practice with attentive curiosity. So that practice becomes your own, and you grow to be your own teacher.”                                                      Peter Blackaby

 

Who this course is for

This course is for Yoga teachers and student teachers looking to explore Peter Blackaby’s ideas more deeply and to integrate his approach to Yoga into their own teaching.

 

Dates 

In Person sessions : 

• 27th & 28th January 2024
• 24th & 25th February
• 9th & 10th March
• 8th & 9th June

Details

• Venue : Sharrow Performing Arts Space, Sitwell Rd, Sheffield, S7 1BE
• Saturdays 10.00am – 5.00pm. Sundays 10.00am – 4.00pm

 

Online sessions : 

There will be a series of online sessions. These will be two hour sessions, starting with an online Yoga class relevant to the themes covered in the course, followed by Q&A. 

The dates and the exact format of these online sessions will be decided nearer the time.

Online sessions will be recorded and made available to download so that you can save them and use again in your own time.

Costs

The fee for this course is £690.00.

To reserve a place, please fill in the booking form and return it with either the full payment or a deposit of £150.00.

• Cheques are payable to ‘SYS Courses’
• Send to : 16 Robertson Drive, Sheffield. S6 5DY
• For bank transfer : SYS Courses, 089299 / 69527210 
  Please put your name as a reference for the transfer.
  

In cases of real financial hardship we can offer concessions. If you want to discuss this with us please get in touch.

Book a Place 

 

Info & Booking Form

Info & Booking Form 

The information for the booking form can be emailed if that is easier than filling in the form.

Course Outline

The big picture:

Integration through appropriate responses to sensory input, with particular reference to feelings of discomfort.

We meet the world through the senses and then give meaning to those sensations based on what they have meant to us before. This process has been going on since we were born. This means that how we open or close to the world will have a lot to do with our prior responses to sensory input. We will look at how we can start to sift the useful from the less useful ways of responding to what we meet in the  present moment. 

Anatomical variations and genetic dispositions.

Although as human beings we all share common anatomical characteristics and can  make helpful judgements on the type of movements that are or are not helpful for us by looking at our anatomy it is also true that within those shared characteristics there is a great deal of variation. Hips shoulders and to some extent spines can vary significantly from person to person, and these variations will  influence the freedom  that these joints have.

In this session we will look at our shared anatomy and the variations within that anatomy.

Teaching : Movement is learned, it isn’t taught

All children and animals figure their bodies out through trial and error, no one tells them how to move their bodies.

It is also true that when learning a new skill there is a cognitive element to it. If I’m learning the guitar I have to learn where to place my fingers on the fret board and initially it is a thoughtful process; however as we refine the skill it becomes less thoughtful and more automatic.

In yoga when we practice the asanas or movements we are trying to refine the quality of the movement by noticing the most comfortable way that we can move towards our intention.

Loosening tension 

Human beings are creatures of habit. It’s an extremely important part of being efficient. All well practiced movements in the end become habituated. However it is also true that we can habituate the unintended. When we are very small and learning to move any anxieties we may have will express themselves in our body in one way or another and will be learned along with the movements we are practicing.

Part of our practice in yoga is trying to sift the helpful from the unhelpful habits we have absorbed, this session will look at ways of loosing unnecessary tension from our bodies as we move.

Common problems we face in classes

Students come with all kinds of pains and conditions and sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming for a teacher when a student arrives with a list of things that are wrong with them.

This session will look at many of the common conditions students bring to the class and how we can approach them, we will also take a closer look at chronic pain which needs a certain level of understanding in order to be helpful to those who suffer from it.

Integration of Breathing

Breathing is a natural process something we came into the world knowing how to do, so nobody needs to be taught how to breathe. However we can habituate breathing or stifle it with tension held in our muscles, so this session will look at how we can free the breath from unnecessary tension and unhelpful habits.

Practical Sessions

The course will include an exploration of a wide range of movements and postures that are useful in a Yoga class. Central to this will be ways in which we as teachers can enable students to better sense and understand their own movements, habits and experiences.