Experience your vagus nerve through movement, touch, and imagery! 

If you've attended a yoga class or read anything about wellness over the past several years, you've probably heard of the vagus nerve. But what exactly is it, and what's all the hype?

The vagus nerve is actually a collection of the vagal or “wandering” nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls involuntary bodily functions such as digestion, heart rate, and immunity. These longest cranial nerves run from the brain through the neck before winding their way through the chest, heart, lungs, and abdomen. They are involved in the regulation of everything from the stress response to blood pressure and mood and may be implicated in conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and headaches.

In this workshop, you’ll explore your vagus nerve through movement, touch, and imagery. You’ll develop an understanding of its role in your overall health and learn how to consciously activate it, as well as recognize what you already do that influences it. There will be breakout rooms for short practice teaching sessions, and you’ll leave the workshop with a copy of Christa’s keynote presentation and videos of three vagus nerve embodiments. A picture is worth a thousand words—and after this workshop, that’s what you’ll have: a picture of your vagus nerve.

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A recording will be made available to all registrants for two weeks following the workshop.

Yoga bolster; Mini Balls (you can order them here); and yoga blanket

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Christa Rypins is a certified 500-hour Kripalu yoga instructor, Level 4 Franklin Method Educator, and Certified Pilates Instructor. She has had two drives in her life—figure skating and how to make sense of life. She discovered yoga 33 years ago. While on tour with the Ice Capades, she heard about a place where they practiced “meditation in motion.” She didn’t know what that was, but knew she wanted to try it. 

When her tour was done she went to Massachusetts to check it out, and soon after changed her life and went to live in the ashram. A couple years later she became a yoga teacher. 

Yoga opened the door to as many questions as it answered and she became a student of the body. In addition to athletics and yoga, Christa has studied, practiced, and taught somatics, Pilates, and The Franklin Method of Imagery. 

The Franklin Method, a system of anatomical embodiment using movement, touch, and imagery, is the transformational tool that underlies all of Christa’s work.

She uses embodiment to help athletes feel more connected to their bodies so they can achieve their goals, and the rest of us to feel more connected to our bodies so we can heal pain and enjoy our lives 

In addition to yoga and meditation, embodiment has had the most profound effect on Christa’s health and well-being. 

Join us in an exploration of Jin Shin Jyutsu (JSJ), an ancient Japanese healing art that translates as “The Art of the Creator through Compassionate Man.”

This gentle, hands-on practice harmonizes the body’s life force energy—much like yoga does with prana—through simple, accessible techniques that can be practiced on oneself and shared with others.

In this 3-hour training, you’ll:

• learn the foundations of Jin Shin Jyutsu through a short presentation.
• experience easy self-help “quickie” applications to support common physical and emotional needs such as pain, digestive issues, respiratory challenges, worry, fear, anger, grief, and more.
• understand how JSJ relates to acupuncture and yoga to restore balance and flow, but without needles—using only the power of your hands to “jumper cable” the life-force energy.
• explore how to weave JSJ into your practice to support your overall well-being.

The second half of class offers an integrative practice blending Jin Shin Jyutsu with Meditation-in-Motion, gentle Kriya Starters, and a deeply restorative Yoga Nidra for healing. Together, we’ll cultivate harmony in body, mind, and spirit while deepening our connection with Source.

This class is accessible for all levels. Handouts and a Dow Integrative Intake Form will be sent in advance so we can focus on your needs.

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A recording will be made available to all registrants for two weeks following the workshop.

Recommended props: A yoga mat, blanket, and pillows for comfort. You’re welcome to practice on the floor, in a bed, or from a recliner—wherever you feel most supported.

Julianne Roshan Dow is a certified Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner, RYT500+ yoga teacher, and Founder/Director of the Dow Integrative Institute. With over 30 years of holistic health training and 44 years as a classroom teacher, Roshan has offered healing arts in hospitals, schools, and wellness centers. She is passionate about making these practices accessible to all—humans and animals alike. Her yoga-life began at age 10 where her family attended a local ashram for classes. Since then, she has relied on its practices to comfort and heal her nervous system as she navigates her spiritual life and teaching that has served her along the way. She has been blessed to receive the offerings of many Hatha and Ashtanga yoga teachers throughout her life and is a student of the Kripalu-Lakulish lineage.

This workshop, in 2 parts, explores basic elements of teaching asana according to Iyengar principles. Safety,  precise alignment, correct use of props, logical sequencing, modifications and how yoga's philosophical roots are embedded in asana are examined throughout.

Part 1: Practice of a basic sequence as taught to Iyengar beginners.

Part 2: Restorative asanas and the 2 most important inversions: Sirsasana (headstand) and Sarvangasana (shoulderstand). Students who don't practice inversions will be given alternates.

Students are encouraged to ask questions throughout both parts and there will be sit-down Q&A at the end, if time allows.
 

Recommended props: TK

NOTE: Club Fit has limited props and no blankets, so please bring your own if you have them.

Please be aware that we cannot control the temperature of the studio at Club Fit, and it can run cold. So please dress appropriately in layers and bring a blanket, hat, socks, etc. if you are sensitive to the cold. Thank you for your understanding.

This workshop will be held in-person only; there will be no live Zoom feed or recording.

Kim Peralta, C.I.Y.T. lll, trained in Pune, India under B.K.S. Iyengar from 1989 until his death in 2014. She is an original co-founder of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York and founder of Iyengar Yoga centers in New Jersey and Maine, where she taught general classes and directed teacher training courses for students preparing for Iyengar certification. Kim has taught the Iyengar method for over thirty years. Her style of teaching is precise, coherent, perceptive, and cheerful.

Learn more at iyengaryogawarwick.com.