Backbend Workshop at Baja Zen in Todos Santos
Kristina is passionate about sharing the lineage of yoga, especially that of SmartFLOW® Yoga and she loves traveling to do so! If you are interested in bringing her to your studio, please connect today!
Listing of Kristina’s Workshop Offerings:
- Breaking Down The Vinyasa
- All Levels. Beginners Welcome
- Ever wonder what those 4 muscles that comprise the Rotator Cuff are doing while you are in your vinyasa? Understanding your body mechanics in the yoga practice as you move through the simple sun salutations will enable you to take these basic steps into all your poses, even those deeper ones! Join us as we dissect the anatomy of the rotator cuff muscles, its movements, the Sanskrit pronunciations in these poses and develop an intelligence in our fluid form! Kristina Kuzmich, certified SmartFLOW© Yoga teacher and licensed massage therapist, will answer those lingering or overall questions that you have about your “vinyasa” in yoga.
- What you will learn:
- Why Vinyasa?
- Sanskrit Translations
- Structural Anatomy 101 for the Rotator Cuff Muscles
- Proper Alignment for YOUR Body
- Injury Prevention for Happy, Healthy, Yoga Practice
- Level 2: Breaking Down The Vinyasa for Intermediate to Advanced Practitioners
Ryan Bregante Photography
- It is strongly encouraged that you have taken the Level 1 Breaking Down the Vinyasa, but not mandatory.
- Recommended for those who practice “jump backs”.
- A solid understanding of proper body mechanics in the “jump back” is key in the longevity of the yoga practice, especially when we begin to take on more rigorous poses and maintaining steadiness and ease in the practice becomes challenging. This workshop will focus heavily on alignment, emphasizing the pelvis and the legs, as well as the fluid integration of jumping back to Chaturanga Dandasana with the breath. This is where, if we are not grounded in the basics of proper alignment, thatwe become vulnerable to injury.
- Join Kristina Kuzmich, E-RYT. LMT. in this two hour explorative workshop, working hands on with one another, seeing each other with compassionate eyes and a willingness to try something new, as we break it down!
- Integrated Flow: The Art of Arm Balancing
Kuzmich Photo
- Level 2, some yoga experienced suggested
- Do you fear balancing on your hands? Do you love it, but want to know how or even more? Connecting structural anatomy and flowing energy, Kristina Kuzmich, E-RYT. LMT. and Certified SmartFLOW Yoga Teacher will provide a safe, creative and playful atmosphere for you to explore, learn and grasp the myth of inversions and arm balances. Move from a place of integration and anatomical intelligence, letting go of fear, doubt and self-criticism, so that you may be open to new possibilities and lets not forget a good laugh here and there!
- Knowing Thyself: Understanding Headstand & Shoulderstand
- All levels. Not suggested for those with previous neck injuries or pre-existing conditions, those with high blood cholesterol or pregnant
- Deconstruct the King & Queen Asana poses!
- Understand the Sanskrit terms.
- Find safe alignment for YOUR body
- Gather information on the benefits and contraindications
- Know thyself for when to practice them or for when to back off
- Open To Space: Backbends
Independence Pass, Colorado
- All Levels. If back injury or disc issues, please consultKristina before taking class
- There are those of us who are like gumby or cirque du solei, able to backbend for days, while there are those of us who cringe or resist any if not all efforts of backbends entirely. And then there are those who fall in-between. Where ever you land in whichever category, backbends can be challenging on many different levels, physically, mentally and energetically. In fact, learning to back off or back away from your backbend is actually the start of learning how to have a long and sustainable back-bending practice. Join Kristina Kuzmich, E-RYT. LMT, and SmartFLOW® Yoga teacher in this two hour workshop creating space in our minds, bodies and hearts, deconstructing the anatomy and structural alignment so you may remain open and clear! Focusing on the anatomy of the shoulder, movement of the spine and the SI Joint, this class will give you personal tools to explore your body and yoga practice in a deeply intelligent way while integrating the power of breath and dristi (gaze).
- Find Your Joy Button: An Exploration into Handstand & Pincha Mayurasana
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
- All levels, some yoga experience suggested
- Who doesn’t love handstands? Ok, maybe not everyone, but remember when you were a kid and how much joy it brought you to play around on your hands? This two hour workshop led by Kristina Kuzmich, E-RYT, LMT., certified SmartFLOW® Yoga teacher, will have you finding that button of joy all over again! Structurally examining the anatomical shape of our inversions and learning what muscles to engage and how to integrate several pieces of the body together at once will give you accessible tools in your practice. Working with the breath and the discipline of the mind to find concentration, dharana, Kristina will teach you how to move from a place of steadiness and intention while exploring the possibilities in handstands, forearm balance and variations. This class is open to all levels. It is encouraged that you have a steady and strong downward facing dog or dolphin pose, but not mandatory.
- Discussion & Practicum on Restoratives
- All levels. No yoga experience required
- With our lives revolving around the sympathetic system, the flight or fight response, often we don’t take time to relax and turn on the parasympathetic system, our relaxation response. Sleeping and being on technology doesn’t actually help in turing it on either. In fact, we need to practice how to turn on this system so that when things do rev up, we are able to mindfully make a decision to re-act or to act upon it. We can choose to turn on the button. However, if we do not know what this is like majority of the time, it makes it difficult to find that on switch. This 75 minute class is designed for relaxation and renewal. Class will begin with a 15 min discussion on the benefits of this practice followed by a calming and revitalizing 60 min restorative class itself! No yoga experience needed. All levels welcome and encouraged.
