This 2-hour workshop is designed to help students manage anxiety and move stagnant energy and stress lodged in the first and second chakras. Sarah Hyde will guide students through a practice that incorporates a strong vinyasa flow, yin and restorative poses, and an extended savasana. Mindful questions will be incorporated into the workshop so that students can reflect on their shifting emotions and thoughts before and after movement.

During the winter (kapha season in ayurveda), these chakras can easily be thrown out of balance, causing an increase in anxiety. The first chakra is the root, located at the base of the spine and pelvic floor, the seat of fight or flight, security, survival and human instinct. Second is the sacral chakra, located in the lower abdomen and lumbar spine, associated with emotional body, sensuality, creativity, and the ability to experience pleasure

When the root chakra is out of balance, we may feel depleted, hopeless, ungrounded, anxious, or lonely, particularly if we are already prone to chronic anxiety and depression. An out-of-balance second chakra can result in dependency or co-dependency on people or substances, lack of control over your emotions, potentially feeling numb, sad, stuck or disconnected, and a lack of sexual desire or satisfaction. By moving our bodies intentionally through poses that engage the first two chakras, we can help to restore balance to our bodies and minds, and come out feeling more grounded, self-assured, safe, happy and steady.

This workshop is open to students of all levels. Participants are welcome to bring a notebook or journal, but pens and paper will be provided.

About the instructor: Sarah Hyde

I became a yoga student in 2012, at a time when anxiety and depression were taking over my life. I’ve always enjoyed a good, sweaty workout, but I was looking for something more contemplative, something physically challenging that would also support me on my inward journey of healing and growth. My sister (who is a yoga teacher) convinced me that yoga could help, and it hasn’t just helped, it’s changed me and made my life so much richer in ways I could not even have predicted. When nothing else can quiet the mind or still the body, coming to your mat can. All you have to do is show up.

Despite a fear of being upside-down (I didn’t even do cartwheels as a kid), I signed up for the Sangha Yoga Sat Guru 200 hour teacher training. Becoming a teacher has deepened my practice and given me the opportunity to share my love of yoga with others, many of whom may never have tried it or had access to it before. I practice vinyasa, hatha, yin and restorative yoga and am currently enrolled in Sangha’s Yin Yoga 50 hour training. I teach a strong physical practice, rooted in all eight limbs of yoga, with a focus on breath and body connection and listening to and honoring your own body and what it needs. Also, I will laugh in my class, and I hope you laugh with me!

I love Radiohead, knitting, and the color gray. When I’m not on my mat, you’ll find me sweating in the gym, listening to podcasts, or snuggling with my dogs. I am so grateful for this community and eager to share this life-changing practice with each of you.