CIRCLEWORK

The Circlework approach to yoga is contemporary and modern, it retains the traditional focus on mindfulness with the safety and movement practices of modern sports science. Circlework.training focuses on practicing yoga vinyasa, a type of flow yoga based on developing stability and strength. It is easily accessible to all levels of yogis. It is very safe, it does not use force and teaches how to organise and activate the body resulting in improved movement habits and long term mental and physical health benefits.

Circlework.training yoga is slow and safe and is based on the principles and practices of Subtle Yoga, The Movement Template and Zhong Xin Dao/I Liq Chuan. The benefits of including Zhong Xin Dao/I Liq Chuan into Yoga training is best illustrated by the following testimonial:

The beginner training in I Liq Chuan is focused on stiff shoulders and neck, and I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made to Mark, one of my students. Mark has a university desk job and sits at the computer for most of his spare time. At the time he started I Liq Chuan with Chris, Mark had already been doing Kung Fu two nights a week and a yoga class with me almost every week. He could not do down dog, clasp his hands behind the back in gomukhasana (cow face), or lift the back into shoulder stand, he was as stiff as a board. When he started I Liq Chuan his shoulders improved so much that he now can do all the poses he struggled with at the beginning.

- Ela Majocha, Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, Level 2

Circlework teaches a simple vinyasa movement model that transcends specific styles and to some extent is universally applicable to all yoga movement. Vinyasa is a logically sequenced series of individual asana (postures) and includes periods of stillness and stability interspersed with moving transitions to the next asana. We use the breath and a set of internal feelings to frame the vinyasa. It's how you feel, not how you look.

The movement is framed around activation and organisation and the application of two sets of paired energies, Absorb and Project and Condense and Expand. These are feelings and are used as references as we move. Absorb and Project can be thought of as pull and push or sink down press up vertically. Condense and Expand relate to using the abdomen (tain dien) and kidney area (Ming mien) of the lower back.

Vinyasa links sequenced yoga asana together into an intentional flow practice using the breath, whole body based movement, mental focus and awareness. Slow Yoga vinyasa links sequenced yoga asana together into an intentional flow of logical stops and movements using the breath, and aspires to engage whole body based movement (biotensegrity), including mental focus and awareness. The system activates the fascial support lines to create stability and strength within yoga postures.

Circlework yoga incorporates internal energetics with external physical conditions and by default will aspire to a balanced and relaxed practice. It is a form of innercise yoga, strengthening body tissues (including bones, muscle and connective tissue) and the nervous system, and learning how to default to a parasympathetic rest and digest state.

The practice is safe and natural and focuses on learning how to safely practice yoga vinyasa within our personal limits and style. Progress will always be based on safe progressions developing stability, strength and range of movement and control.

Slow mindful yoga cultivates resilience. Resilience is the capacity to quickly and effectively respond to internal and external physical and psychological stress and return to a state of balance. Yoga practice provides many options for skillful mindful movement, a key to building resilience.

Slow yoga incorporates internal energetics with external physical conditions and by default will aspire to a balanced and relaxed practice. The overarching internal practice uses interoception and proprioception to recognize where neutral is and use that as a reference point for moving. Where possible we want to be able to be stable and in a safe position. Slow Yoga is safe and natural and focuses on learning a model for mindful movement and how to safely practice yoga vinyasa within our individual personal limits and style.