Emerge: A Spring Wood Yin Yoga Workshop

Embrace the fresh life of spring with a special Yin Yoga workshop! This is a season when we germinate and grow, tap into courage and curiosity, and embrace new beginnings. To deepen this connection, we’ll explore the element of Wood and how its qualities correspond with springtime. Maya will guide you through meditation, pranayama (breathwork), the liver and gallbladder meridians, and a Yin Yoga practice curated for this time of year. This workshop is part of a larger series that will meet once a season throughout the year to explore each of the elements. Meet Your Teacher: Maya Rook is a certified yoga instructor with nearly 30 years of meditation experience. She received her 200-RYT in 2019, completed additional certifications in Yin Yoga and Yoga with Seniors, and is the creator of Firefly Studio. Maya is passionate about making meditation and yoga practices accessible to everyone, breaking through misconceptions about mindfulness, and helping people connect with the present moment through breath and movement. Her yoga and meditation classes are also supported by her work as a cultural historian and college educator. Participants have described Maya’s approach to Yin Yoga as nurturing, relaxing, and meditative. What is Yin Yoga? Yin Yoga is a beautiful complement to our more active Yang lifestyles and practices. Here, we slow down and hold poses of stillness, typically for 3-5 minutes, using props to help support us. The intention of a longer hold on a physical level is to stimulate and nourish the connective tissues and fascia. We also work consciously with the breath and the mind-body connection through these poses of relative stillness and cultivation of awareness of sensations that arise. Yin Yoga draws from Daoism and the Five Element Theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine as different poses relate to specific organs and meridians in the body, supporting and balancing one’s energy.