TWIST WORKSHOP with Richard Rosen, Patricia Sullivan (via zoom), MP and possible mystery guest! 10/26
- In Person and Online

Greetings! Welcome to Fall
One of my favorite months for practice - there is something about the softening of the light, shortening of the days, the touch of chill in the morning air in the Northern Hemisphere, and a sense that as much as we are all beetling around like crazy, we yearn to move inwards. Twists are a great theme for this transitioning, unwinding time and I welcome the opportunity to dive deeper in with my fellow dinosaur teachers (see below). Also this month, I’m looking forward to exploring the theme of Vision in our regular online classes, finding the still point in the spiraling universe, sensing the potency of a broad vista at this time.

See Free Mini Twisting Practice below….

Excerpt from the 'Four Quartets'

by T.S. Eliot

At the still point of the turning world,

neither flesh nor fleshless

neither from nor toward

at the still point

there the dance is

but neither a rest nor movement

where past and future are gathered

neither from nor toward

neither ascent or decline

the inner freedom from practical desire,

the release from action and suffering,

release from the inner and outer compulsion

surrounded by a grace of sense

a white light still and moving

except for the point

the still point,

there would be no dance

and there is only dance.

STOP PRESS:
October Online Yoga - Join us for over 16 classes this month on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday ams + one restorative practice. Recordings available for auto subscribers and an inspiring, supportive community awaits you! Our theme is vision in all its possibilities.

A Twist Immersion at Nest Yoga, Oakland CA - October 26, 12.30-4pm - Join Richard, Patricia and myself in person, online or follow the recording (1 Month Access) - Early Bird ends 10/12

Samhain - In Person Workshop, Ukiah - November 1, 12-3 - Early Bird ends 10/15

Online Weekend - Nature as Guru - November 7-9 - A special workshop sponsored by Drala Center to let us delight in the power and peace of the natural world - Early Bird ends 10/7.

Celebrating Winter Solstice - In Person Workshop, Boonville - December 21, 12-4pm

RETREAT PLANNING TIME!!
I have just finished teaching the retreat in Spain at the quirky and delightful spa hotel that we have grown to love over the years. I swore this would be my last time!! mainly because the administration around retreats befuddles me as I age, and it appears that folks take ever longer making up their minds if they want to come on these events. But the actual time there, intense as it is, is so extraordinarily worthwhile and seemingly more and more important for all of us. Such a blessing to have this kind of yoga sangha and opportunity to step away from the nuttiness in our regular day to day lives….
So who knows what will happen with the Catalan retreat but I would like to ask those of you interested in the 3 following retreats to decide soon if you would like to participate and be kind to an old lady with limited computer and admins capacity, and to everyone else involved in manifesting these moments to rest, restore and rejuvenate.

4/8 -12 Outdoor Meditation and Yoga Retreat at Pomo Tierra with Kirsten Rudestam & MP

5/1 - 8 Presence Retreat - The Language of Animacy - Gray Bear - Our Yoga Paradise in TN!

7/2 - 7 Summer Retreat at Spirit Camp, Albion, CA - Fees go up 10/3 so get your deposit in now and join us at “this magical gathering…in a beautiful setting”.

Dinosaur Yogis! RRosen, MP, PSullivan and who can that be?!
From many many moons ago.

LETS TWIST AGAIN - the Dinosaur Yogis convene!
Some Reflections on Twists

Richard and I have taught on numerous occasions together and have often chosen contentious subjects to explore - As he states, “We dinosaurs go back a long, long, way, and the dinosaurs in this group have all had similar training. But while our asana foundation is similar, over the last 35 years or so, we’ve built different teaching "structures" on the foundations. Teaching with other dinosaurs is both highly enjoyable but very instructive, we see how we've each built our own asana "buildings." In 2000, Richard, Patricia, Rodney and I taught a teacher training at the old Piedmont Yoga that was I have to admit! a pretty phenomenal training, partly - maybe mainly! - because those who attended that training were extraordinary practitioners and have become in their own distinctive ways, amazing teachers - Vickie Bell, Jason Crandell, Patty Hirota Cohen, Baxter Bell MD, Karen Schneider, Chris Hoskins, Sandra Safadirazieli, Alan Leon, Traci Joy Burleigh and many, many more - if your name is not here it’s simply because our paths in some ways have not crossed recently, so forgive me!

This month RR, Patricia and I are inviting folks to an arena of practice - Twists - where I believe we have all shifted and evolved since our early trainings in the 80s and even in what we taught in this memorable 2 year program 2000-2002. Why Twists? I have found these poses both challenging and illuminating, exploring more and more the natural spiral inherent in the human body and all life. And I would concur with Patricia’s rationale for bringing them into one’s practice. “For relief, release and realignment! And along the way strengthening of various aspects of the “core”, to twist to untwist the spine and back body”. Patricia also notes that in her early practice she probably started with standing poses but as she has aged (and become wiser!) twists appear a more inviting entry point. “As the years went by and my body became stiffer I found it helpful to start out on my back doing some supine twists, repetitions without “trying” to accomplish anything other than warming up. I can talk more about what I learned from that practice over time (in the workshop!) And that encouraged me to often begin my classes that way.”

Richard’s response to the Why Twist? question also reflects our shifting priorities “…One reason is that as we age, the intervertebral discs, mostly water and one quarter to one third the total length of the spine, tend to shrink. Thus we literally shrink, making our spine less flexible. In addition, the discs have no direct "irrigation." Imagine a sponge soaked with water, squeeze it, and then hold it under a running faucet, soak and squeeze. This is essentially one very useful result of the twists, they "soak and squeeze" the discs, keeping them more supple as we age”

This is clearly not restricted to the ancients! This juicing of the disks is probably what gave the ”twist” such power and popularity. One of the reasons I enjoyed traditional twists in my youth was their energizing quality. However I learned the hard way that if the twists were done primarily from the back with over stimulation in the kidney area, there could be some unexpected impacts. I can remember returning from one twist workshop and having intermittent bleeding in my cycle that was clearly caused by over doing it in the twists. I can also remember especially with the over rotation in the hip joints encouraged in some of our standing pose twists, a deep sense of distress and pain inside the joints that was alarming and totally unnecesssary.
Along with RR, I have become more enamoured with a pelvic orientation in twists - in my case, primarily enhancing belly, breath and central channel consciousness. Even the notion of a “Twist Workshop” was probably ill-advised in the way that many of us dived intensely earlier in our careers into some of the stronger poses.

*Even the very young find “The Twist” challenging! - What’s your range?*

Richard expands on his cautionary approach in this Supta Badakonasana - “Lie with your sacrum on a low block, soles touching in Supta badha konasana. Slowly, gently rock from side to side, be sure NOT to push the knees down, let them "float." Notice that when you tilt right, the block presses more firmly on the RIGHT side of the sacrum, but your upper torso twists LEFT. To translate this into a common standing pose like trikonasana (which involves a twist as does several other standing poses) when you go to your RIGHT side, only the UPPER TORSO turns right, the pelvis ideally turns slightly LEFT. NEVER "flatten" your pelvis, it can create unhealthy stress in the low back and knees. “

Patricia’s comments on the hazards of twists: “Don’t be greedy to "get somewhere" in these poses, but hold them long enough to allow your body to figure out how to ease more deeply into them when it’s ready, which may not be today.” I needed to hear this in my avaricious yoga youth!

*Click on* *this link* *for a few mins of “Lets Twist Again!”*

We are spiraling creatures. We love to move and to play and the twist if practiced with care can be incredibly enjoyable. Which twists are your favorites? Which are your challenges? For Richard, it’s the intense belly revolving Jathara Parivartanasana which will inevitably come up in our workshop and it will be interesting to see how our styles differ/complement each other on teaching this pose.

For Patricia, her current fave is Prasaritia Padottanasana, standing wide legged forward bend….as described here - You can see the utter delight she has in this pose in these words! “When I back up and get my legs and buttocks pressed into a wall behind me I get terrific feedback; is one leg more easily able to press into the wall; do both sit bones touch the wall? etc. Then when adding the variation of walking the arms to one side for a few breaths I noticed that the opposite upper thigh and sit bone came way off the wall, following the movement of the arms. So I started anchoring back in to the wall before walking the arms over and it added a stabilizing element to the pose while entering into a strong side stretch. Adding the twist element here by reaching under the armpit with the opposing hand/arm to grasp hold of and pulling on that calf anywhere from the knee all the way down to the ankle produces an intense side stretch combined with a twist reminiscent of parivrtta janusirsasana. Which is my other favorite asana” .

Personally, Ardha Matsyendrasana once a nightmare pose for me!, is similarly informative, progressive, variable and a joy not because I am any more open in the pose! but because I have opened to broader perspectives of its possibilities. My other faves include twisting variations in inversions where the intention is to find a sense of inner peace and spaciousness amid the spiral. Many of you who practice with me online know that there is rarely a class without fluid supine or prone spiraling movements from the belly that connect into the interior body and the language of diagonals, all twists having a potential to unwind, soothe, heal along with the more dynamic impacts all of which we will discuss and explore further on 10/26.

FREE 22 MINUTE PRACTICE
with MP - Half Human Half Fish Pose Ardha Matsyendrasana

If this has tickled your interest, consider joining us to twist again and to unwind on October 26, in person for local folks, and online for those of you faraway. If you are in different time zones, the recording will be available for a month. As Richard says, “The three teachers in this group collectively have over 100 years of teaching experience. There is both a commonality and difference in detail that gives students the opportunity to experiment with different ideas and find the practice that suits them best”

Register here
* Although the 3 of us are collaborating on this workshop, Patricia will be joining us via zoom because of a family memorial.

October Update: Let’s Twist Again!

Sept Update - Softening the Selfie - 2026 Retreat - Online begins..