From Sun Salutations to Inversions: An Ashtanga Weekend
with David Garrigues
4th – 6th June, 2027
£50 each or £245 for whole weekend

 

Some teachers show you what to do. David Garrigues shows you how to understand why you’re doing it. Across five workshops, he’ll unpack the foundations of Ashtanga practice — from Surya Namaskara and standing poses to backbends, arm balances and inversions — revealing the principles that connect every part of the system.

 

Whether you’re refining the basics or working towards more advanced postures, you’ll leave with a clearer, stronger and more intelligent practice that continues to evolve long after the weekend ends.

Surya Namaskara

The Whole Practice in One Sequence

Friday 4th June: 6.00-8.00pm
£50 or £245 for full weekend

Come explore Surya Namaskara with David — not as a warm-up, but as the template for the entire practice. You’ll slow it down and look at just how much is stored inside that simple sequence.

 

You’ll work through it using David’s seven asana principles, a framework he has developed over decades of teaching. One principle in particular — what David calls crouch and spring — is about skilful transitions, overcoming hesitation, and learning to take smart risks in a way that builds real strength and confidence.

 

You’ll leave with a fresh way of seeing your practice. One that fits your body, keeps you curious, and actually makes sense.

Standing Poses

The Hidden Gold

Saturday 5th June: 12.30-2.30pm
£50 or £245 for full weekend

These are some of David’s favourite poses in the Ashtanga practice. Triangle, the Warriors, the lateral stretches — poses to come back to every day and work on with real attention.

 

Standing poses get treated as a warm-up for the “real” practice. They’re not. The hip opening, the foundational stance, the way you set your feet and legs — that’s the same technology you’ll need when the practice gets more demanding. Skip past these too quickly and you miss the benefit and leave yourself exposed later on.

 

David will break down the transitions and positions, extract what’s actually happening, and find the skill and mastery that’s usually left on the table. Once you find it, it serves you everywhere.

Backbend Essentials

Primary Roots, Second Series Wings

Saturday 5th June: 3.30-5.30pm
£50 or £245 for full weekend

No Second Series experience required.

 

Life can bend you forward, down, close you off into stagnation. Backbends are the answer — chest open, spine long, heart forward. They’re defiant and affirming, and that’s exactly the point.

 

You’re not alone if you struggle with pain in your backbends or don’t know how to do them well. That’s not a talent or genetic problem. There’s a systematic approach. You can learn it.

 

It starts in the Primary Series. Only three backbends, but they carry every principle you’ll need going forward. We dig into those roots first, then bring what we find into the Second Series shapes. Dealing with pain, confusion, or a plateau? This workshop is for you. Want to go deeper and feel what’s actually possible? Join in.

 

What we’ll practice:

• Purvottanasana and the transition from Upward Dog
• Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel)
• Dropping back from standing with commitment, not collapse
• Shalabasana
• Dhanurasana
• Ustrasana
• Kapotasana

Smart Strength

Building Upper Body Power in Ashtanga

Sunday 6th June: 12.30-2.30pm
£50 or £245 for full weekend

Your jump back is stuck. Headstand feels unstable. Crow is confusing. Forearm Balance seems impossibly far away. You’re doing the vinyasa every day — so why isn’t it working?

 

Because doing lots of vinyasa and progressing to harder poses isn’t a strength strategy. It’s just repetition.

 

In this class you’ll learn how to build upper body strength systematically — starting right where you are, establishing a solid foundation you can trust, and making real progress toward the strength poses you want to achieve.

 

• Plank drills and smart vinyasa

• Headstand: coming up with confidence, balancing with ease

• Crow, Arm Pressure, Forearm Balance — step by step

Smart Upper Body Strength

Arm Balances and Inversions

Sunday 6th June: 3.30-5.30pm
£50 or £245 for full weekend

No Second Series experience required.

 

In every pose, your legs and arms are the foundation — one set leads, the other supports. Normally the legs are the team leader. Arm balances and inversions flip that. The arms get to shine. The legs become the auxiliary support. That shift is profound — it builds upper body strength that opens up a whole dimension of the practice that otherwise stays closed.

 

Often approaches to building strength in Ashtanga are inefficient. Too many Chaturangas, held to too low a standard, leads to plateauing or injury. In this class we experiment and play differently — breaking things into steps, building systematically, learning the mechanics so the strength actually accumulates.

 

And here’s what’s underneath all of it: the quality you’re going for is sthira. Rooted. Grounded. Resolved. Trustworthy. Immovable. When you develop that in your arms, in your practice, it doesn’t stay on the mat. You become more of an anchor — to yourself, to the people around you. That’s what these poses are really training.

 

What we’ll practice:

• Sirsasana (Headstand): rise with confidence, hold with strength
• Bhujapidasana
• Bakasana
• Pincha Mayurasana
• Advanced variations of forward and backward jumps

Your Teacher

David Garrigues

David Garrigues is one of the world’s most respected and experienced Ashtanga Yoga teachers. He was among the first generation of Western practitioners to receive certification to teach Ashtanga Yoga and has devoted more than three decades to the study, practice, and teaching of the method.

 

Known for his depth of knowledge, humour, and ability to make complex ideas accessible, David has taught internationally for more than 30 years. His approach blends a deep respect for tradition with a spirit of inquiry, encouraging students to think independently, practise intelligently, and develop a sustainable relationship with yoga.

 

Whether exploring the fundamentals of standing poses, the intricacies of backbending, the discipline of Mysore practice, or the challenges of inversions and arm balances, David’s teaching is rooted in clear principles rather than rigid formulas. His workshops are known for their practicality, warmth, and capacity to transform how students understand both the practice and themselves.

 

David is the author of several books on yoga and continues to teach workshops, retreats, and teacher trainings around the world from his home base in Philadelphia.