Sādhanā : "a means of accomplishing something", 1. is an ego-transcending spiritual practice. 2. It includes a variety of disciplines in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.
Ready to come alive?
Join Suzanne Dunning for a five-week Ayurvedic cleanse and yoga intensive either in person or online to help bring you into vitality.
A sādhanā is a period of heightened intensity of practice- it’s essentially stepping up our game for the purpose of growth and spring is the perfect time. This sādhanā is a committed five-week program in which to rapidly deepen health by establishing (or re-establishing) a home yoga practice, making dietary and lifestyle changes, and adding gentle spring herbs to assist the process of detoxification and internal reset.
Spring is the perfect time; the earth is coming to life- warming up and burning off what’s dead and ready to be renewed. Buds are emerging and seeds are cracking open.
After all the heaviness and darkness of the past many moons there is a great deal of forgiveness that needs to thaw internally so that we can move on and new projects, energy and life can grow from within us.
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…. Now is the greatest time to support our body in releasing.
Detoxifying supports all of our other systems, including our immunity and our spirit. ….
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This program is focused on clearing waste and distractions from all parts of our our life to reveal an existence that is simpler, less stressful, and overall, more vibrant.
While the fall sādhanā emphasizes slowing down and nourishing our self, this program will focus on stimulating and shaking things up- stoking the internal fire so that it burns brightly.
Yoga Intensive ::
Perhaps you’ve always wanted to have a morning yoga routine- or perhaps you had your own practice at one time but have gotten away from it? This program will help you build (or rebuild) a daily home practice.
Establishing a self practice is challenging- the distractions are endless and it’s easy to become discouraged or bored. But for most people- the rewards for a home practice are well worth the effort.
A daily self practice brings a resiliency and depth to your experience of yourself, and will slowly but powerfully transform you as you align with more innate energy and strength.
Throughout the week we will carefully and methodically build the habit of a morning yoga practice using the container of the group for support. By the end you will have built the pattern of daily yoga into your day. This period of sustained effort is designed to bring you to a place where the morning practice doesn’t require so much effort- and instead is something we look forward to each day.
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.… We resist whatever is unfamiliar-
by practicing daily- we make it familiar to feel good ….
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The weekly Saturday practice will give you a boost to help inspire and motivate your daily practice. Our group practice will begin with mantra to begin the movement of prana and to set the template for our practice. From there we will establish the breath and flow into a deep, heat-building Vinyasa practice (prepare to sweat!) - finishing off with backbends and inversions and a deep savasana.
We will finish by bringing the clarity we created with the asana practice and moving into the subtler body preparing ourselves for meditation. (If you have never meditated before- that’s okay.)
As always, the practice will be modifiable to meet your needs- Suzanne encourages you to listen to the wisdom of your body and to rest or modify when needed.
Dinacharya ::
Along with your morning yoga you have a regimen of Dinacharya (daily self-care)- which will consist of small, joyful changes toward health and well-being.
We will be adjusting our diet according to Ayurveda to support detoxification and to balance our body with the season of spring. There have been tons of requests for more recipes in the sādhanās so this one will include several weekly recipes and grocery shopping lists to help you.
Ayurvedic herbs, teas, and essential oils will be used to supplement our health as well. You will be provided with all the herbs needed for the program.
We will incorporate various daily practices including dry brushing and self-oil massage (abhyanga) with herbs to support the lymph and detoxification systems. You will learn myofascial release techniques to aid elimination and detoxification that you can use daily to support your body.
You will also be given assignments for clearing out various parts of the rest of your life- becoming sensitive to your home and noticing what parts are stagnant and unloved. We will systematically be attending to the spaces around us to bring them back into beauty.
We will extend this sensitivity to our interpersonal relationships and do work around bringing our relationships back into vibrancy as well.
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Lets release what’s ready to be released
Lets nourish what wants to come alive!
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Together, as we make this 30-day commitment to practice, we create space for new possibilities, become calmer and more at ease, and commit to transforming patterns that are weighing us down.
To focus our efforts and unearth buried parts of ourselves we will follow the guidance of the metaphor of the Koshas- a framework presented in Yoga Philosophy for understanding the body.
Kosha means "sheath" in Sanskrit. In yoga, the term is used to describe metaphorical layers within the human body- consisting of layers such as the physical, the mental, the emotional etc.
Through the five weeks of this sādhanā we will journey through the five koshas within ourselves while developing a practiced tone of self-love.
Saturday schedule (for the in-person sādhanā):
11:00-11:15- breathwork, mantra and intention
11:15-12:45- Vinyasa practice
12:45-1:15- Meditation
1:15-2:15- Lunch break
2:15 - 3:15- Yoga and Ayurveda philosophy, self-inquiry exercises
3:15-4:00- herbal and dietary recommendations, assignments for the week given
Having taken at least one sādhanā with Suzanne is a recommended prerequisite if you are considering enrolling in Tosha’s 2021 teacher training program.
Understanding that your life has to continue- work, kids, partners all need our time and attention so this program will be modifiable to the time and energy you have.
Online sādhanā:
For the online version of the course you will mostly be guided through the program via recorded videos that will be emailed to you. (The live version of the sadhana will not be recorded.)
You will also have handouts to download and print each week.
I will be giving you self-guided exercises as well as exercises that I will guide you through via the videos. The herbs will be mailed to you at the beginning of the program. Given that community is so helpful (I would argue- necessary) for our own growth and expansion there will also be an afternoon zoom discussion on Sundays from 2:30-3:30 to simply check in and connect. Also if you have a friend you could do the sadhana with that would also be ideal as you could be a little cohort of support for each other.
The online sadhana will be comprised of:
Sunday discussion via Zoom from 2:30-3:30
Pre-recorded classes that you can watch at your own pace- separate videos for the yoga practice and then the content of the course such as guiding your through detoxing your home, your relationship to technology, and your own spirituality.
Access to the Google classroom page where resources will be shared as a group
Writing and personal growth exercises to bring you back into your vitality
Reading recommendations to keep you inspired
Herbs that will arrive as a bundle of support for you at the beginning of the program.
Simple recipes and shopping lists sent via PDF that you can make to provide yourself with nourishing meals for our month together
$460
($400 if paid in cash before March. 1st)
Sign up here with a $50 non-refundable deposit to hold your spot in the course. You can pay later with Venmo or cash.
To enroll in the sādhanā:
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be ready to commit to practicing yoga for thirty minutes daily
be motivated to make changes to your diet - this will be modifiable to meet your needs and life constraints
be able to set aside at least a few hours a week to self-care, cooking, and a home re-vamp
be willing to release old patterns and step into change and growth
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Register with Venmo @ toshayoga - Please indicate if you would like the online or in person version of the course and if you would like the online version please provide your email address.
If you are already enrolled in a class at Tosha feel free to bring cash and enroll in person. Alternately please email Suzanne at toshayoga@gmail.com to arrange paying with cash or check. (Also please indicate in your email address and if you would like in-person on online).
There is a payment plan available- $100 non-refundable deposit will hold your space in the program- this can be sent via Venmo or cash. The rest of the program can be paid in two parts of $180 each on March 20th and on the last day of class, April 17th.
The price of the program includes our weekly saturday sessions if you are doing in-person, all herbs you will need (which are gentle and minimal- no extreme purging and cleansing here folks- just easing ourselves back to a state of balanced well being!) as well as handouts to keep you on track. You will also be part of a google classroom group where you can share, ask questions and maintain momentum.
A note on the online program: if you are doing the online version of the program you will need to register by March 1st in order to not have your herbs for the course delayed in their arrival to you.
Please email Suzanne with questions suzannedunning@gmail.com
Suzanne has led seasonal yoga sādhanās for years - it is one of her favorite ways to share yoga because it is a sustained and deep enough commitment to really witness the transformative power of the practice.
She has her degree in Integrative Medicine from UC Berkeley and has worked as a coach teaching people about the healing powers of food as medicine.
She is also a trained clinical herbalist and aromatherapist.
She is thrilled to offer a program that incorporates all of her passions into one experience.