Mission:
Opening doors to something deeper
A Mission workshop taught by Mission teachers gives students a chance to unpack a particular skill, technique or posture, and linger a bit longer than you would in a regular class. A workshop is a chance to explore and to ask questions. They are generally taught on a Friday night or at the weekend, giving students more time to sink in, reflect and learn.
Saturday 27th April: 12.30-2.30pm
£40
Hot on the heels of Marcus and Nino’s Part 1 adjustments workshop, this time we will look at backbends. Whether you’re on your stomach, your back, your knees, your feet on your hands, spinal extension postures are energising and enervating. Helping your students with your hands whether they are dropping back, in camel or cobra, requires skill and an understanding that depth and stability must be finely balanced.
This workshop will give you the practical skills necessary to deliver adjustments and assists with equal parts sthira and sukha, or strength and comfort, which is how Patanjali described asana in the seminal yoga text The Yoga Sutras. When you as a teacher guide your students with your hands, you become part and parcel of the asana itself. If you are unsteady, it’ll transmit to your students who will tighten up and the adjustment will be lost.
Key themes covered:
Adjustments should be given with the spirit of ahimsa, or non-violence. They must be given with great thought, care and humility — adjustments are for the student, never for the teacher. When you adjust with sensitivity and awareness, and respond to your student’s state, you become one and there is no longer a boundary between the asana and the adjustment. You achieve union. Yoga.
Attendance to Part 1 not necessary.
Saturday 27th April: 3.00-6.00pm
£15-£30 (you decide based on your income)
Mission welcomes the PILLA community to an afternoon of movement, mindfulness and connection. This unique event partners a Dharma Yoga Class led by Marcia Sharp, with assistance from Rory Bradshaw, followed by a meditative sound journey facilitated by Pablo Hernandez Urzola.
The PILLA community is passionate about allowing men to take better care of their wellbeing and through this fusion of yoga and sound, you will be able to connect with yourself on a deeper level in a fun, welcoming and supportive environment amongst other guys. Newcomers and experienced practitioners are all welcome – this workshop is an opportunity to connect with your present experience – we will flow, breathe and listen as one.
This not-for-profit workshop is suitable for anyone who identifies as male or non-binary. Based on your income, please select what you pay starting at £15 and going to £30. Revenues cover the costs of running the workshop.
Sunday 28th April: 4.30-6.45pm
£40
Welcome to this unique fusion where 4-beat rocket meets yin yoga – a journey that combines dynamic energy with profound stillness. Engulfed in a dreamlike sound journey, this transformative practise takes you on a voyage of strength, flexibility and deep relaxation.
During this yang to yin experience, we will embark on a journey that balances effort and ease. The session will begin with a powerful 4-beat rocket practise led Emily, marrying breath to the beat to enhance and challenge your asana practise. Emily will then move you into yin, giving students a deeper experience and introspection, with Pablo joining on sound. The session will include a transcendent gong meditation with multiple instruments creating a sensory meditative experience. Take a trip with us, see you there.
This workshop is suitable for everyone.
Saturday 4th May: 12.30-2.30pm
£40
Learn to incorporate rolling in your movement practice, a foundational form of locomotion often forgotten.
The workshop will break down specific rolling techniques across different planes of motion, with particular focus on exploring how we can soften into and out of the floor safely and efficiently. The floor will serve as a useful point for feedback towards efficient weight distribution, also to identify ways to massage and release tension in the body along the neck and shoulders.
You will leave with a deeper, embodied understanding of softening into and out of the floor safely and efficiently, utilising bodyweight to release tension along the spine and upper body and rolling as a foundational practice of total body connectivity.
This workshop accommodates different levels of experience in rolling, with opportunities for discussion and individual feedback as well as space for improvisation and consolidation within your own pace from the restorative to the dynamic.
This workshop is for:
(It is not suitable for those currently working with injuries along the spine or if you are pregnant. Please contact us if you are in any doubt.)
Saturday 4th May: 3.00-5.30pm
£50
When the body softens and sources earth moving with the direction of gravity, there arises in equal measure a radiant and expansive tone engendering body as sky.
To practice yoga involves working not only with gravity’s pull to the centre but with its opposite – soft, radiant expansion that embodies space. This interplay results in soft, fluid strength expressed as integration.
This workshop spotlights the interrelationship between body, gravity and expansion.
All are welcome – 1 year of yoga practice recommended. The workshop may include active and Restorative postures as well as meditation using props to amplify and sustain experience.
May 10th – June 21st (no class June 7th)
£115
This beginners’ handstand course embarks on a journey of balance, strength, and poise. The classes will unfold with careful guidance, focusing on foundational elements crucial for success.
You will delve into body tension, understanding weight distribution, and mastering proper alignment. Each session cultivates mindfulness as students gradually overcome fears and build confidence in inversions. Progression unfolds through drills targeting shoulder stability, wrist mobility, and body awareness.
With instruction, participants learn to kick up, finding stability against gravity’s pull. Amidst hard work and determination, you will discover newfound strength and agility on the palms of your hands.
Saturday 1st June: 12.30-2.30pm
£40
Why does Yoga Asana sometimes give me (or my students) low back pain?
It’s a guilty secret that even Yoga teachers and yoga students get low back pain – and sometimes their yoga practice MAKES IT WORSE. Why does this happen and how can we stop it?
Join Anji Gopal, Osteopath, Yoga teacher & Yoga for BackCare Expert for a 2-hour workshop breaking down some of the more challenging asana groups. A highly useful & engaging workshop including anatomy, postures, problem solving & more.
Bring along your questions.
Saturday 1st June: 3.30-6.00pm
£50
‘Floreio’: From the Brazilian Portuguese (flor – flower – to flourish). Floreio(s) is a Capoeira concept which embodies an evolving family of acrobatic movements commonly popularised and utilised today by the ‘movement’ field often described as ‘softacrobatics’.
These movements in the Capoeira etymology and context are like flowers which have the possibility to grow, flow, blossom, flourish, and embellish with beauty. They can metamorphose appearing as definitive objective skills, continuous fluid movement(s) in combination or stand alone offering the practitioner new paths and perspectives.
In this workshop we will develop our confidence by confronting our fear of falling and explore objective and practical ways of navigating the uncharted dimensions between our body and space. Our spatial awareness will grow through sensory feedback mechanisms and physical risk assessments. We will learn how to become soft, agile and light as a feather developing fluid transitions.
What uniquely differentiates Capoeira ‘floreios’ from other disciplines is the emphasis on expression which makes them readily available for any body to learn. There is no better or worse way of performing them per-se, nor is there a right or wrong way. Rather a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way will depend on the moment and the practitioners expression of will as the ‘miss-take’ is what promotes learning creating opportunities to explore different pathways and to ‘flourish’.
This playful and inquisitive approach is the key to learning and development as once you arrive in this state of being you are available to see, learn and embody.
Sunday 2nd June: 12.30-6.00pm
£200
This unique live workshop for women and their birthing partners is informative, practical and confidence-building. Knowledge is power and you will gain a good understanding of physiological birth and how to cooperate with and encourage this innate and evolved process to flow.
Your environment has an enormous influence on the way you birth and Lolly pays particular attention to educating your partner on how to hold and protect your space.
She will draw on her many years as a doula, yoga teacher, certified hypnobirther and childbirth educator to provide you with the tools for working together before and during the birth. You will learn how to release tension and fear though education, breathwork, visualisation, movement and massage.
You will be given reading references and leaflets for additional information as well a hypnobreathing script. Across the six-hour session we will look at:
There will be a maximum of 10 couples attending this workshop, giving time for individual questions. Ideally, this workshop should be taken in the third trimester of pregnancy, but it can be taken at any time.
A FREE online Yoga for Pregnancy with Lolly is offered as part of this workshop. These classes take place online through www.mother-time.co.uk on Wednesday evenings 19:00-20:30 and will complement and embed the benefits of the workshop. To claim your free class please email contact@mother-time.co.uk and a copy of your Mission booking confirmation and we will send you the link to Lolly’s class.
Lolly Stirk is a pioneer in her field. She began studying yoga in 1970 and with the birth of her daughter in the 70’s she was drawn into the world of birth. Her career has spanned over four decades and has been dedicated to creating the ideal practise for labour, birth and beyond. She trained as an NCT teacher, is a qualified hypnobirther of many years and has attended hundreds of births in the capacity of Doula. As a founding member of the Active Birth Movement in 1980, she trained scores of Active Birth Teachers and campaigned for the rights of women to move freely during the births of their babies. This contributed to a global movement towards natural births which resulted in changes in policy, establishing birth centres in many major hospitals. Lolly has lectured to obstetricians, midwives and midwifery students in hospitals on physiological birth and breathwork. Lolly remains and has always been grateful for the safety net of modern medicine and technology when necessary. She also believes wholeheartedly in the capacity of women to give birth ‘on their own steam’ given the right environment and education, both physical and intellectual.
Friday 7th June: 5.15-6.45pm
£25
Experience the original hot yoga sequence designed to heal injuries and calm the nervous system. The practice opens with its very own unique Pranayama breathing and is followed by 26 postures designed to systematically warm up the body inside out.
The practice is accessible to everybody from complete beginners to longtime practitioners.
Sindy has been teaching this Yoga since 2009 and still holds this practice close to her heart. She believes the therapeutic benefits specifically helped her inflexible body open up but more importantly it truly transformed her mental health. The combination of the heat and repetition is whilst very much a challenge can be the exact elements to help quiet the monkey mind.
This workshop is an extended practice where we will break down technique and explore this classic Hatha yoga system.
Friday 7th June 2.00-5.00pm & Saturday 8th June 12.00-3.00pm
£165 (or £85 for individual workshop)
Friday’s class will focus on refining the different shapes of handstands (tuck, pike and straddle) and adapting them for advanced level transitions and sequences.
Saturday’s class will focus on press to handstand, stalders, and the holy grail: one-armed handstands.
Both workshops are intended to give students a better understanding of how to practise complex handstands, and how to create or refine their own practice routine. While the workshops can be taken individually, you’ll get the most out of Yuval’s teachings by taking both.
These workshops are suitable for students with a committed handstand practice, and who can hold a solid handstand for at least 30 seconds.
About Yuval
Yuval is one of the world’s top handstand teachers, his career built on 20 years as an international/collegiate gymnast and circus performance artist. For eight years he performed at the Las Vegas award-winning show “Le Reve,” and is today a faculty member at the professional circus school Académie Fratellini in Paris, France. He travels internationally teaching others the art of hand balancing and self exploration.
Friday 7th June 5.30-8.30pm & Saturday 8th June 3.30-6.30pm
£165
In this workshop Yuval will teach you the basics of handstands. He’ll help you establish a solid base necessary to take your handstand practice to a new level, safely and efficiently.
You’ll learn the technical preparations for handstands and come to understand and experience the alignment points of a straight line handstand. You’ll experiment with some different handstand shapes, learn balance strategies, and play with various wall drills, as well as different ways to enter a handstand.
This workshop is for beginners who can hold a handstand for 20 seconds against the wall. It is also for intermediate handstandsers who want to revisit the basics and improve alignment and control.
About Yuval
Yuval is one of the world’s top handstand teachers, his career built on 20 years as an international/collegiate gymnast and circus performance artist. For eight years he performed at the Las Vegas award-winning show “Le Reve,” and is today a faculty member at the professional circus school Académie Fratellini in Paris, France. He travels internationally teaching others the art of hand balancing and self exploration.
Sunday 9th June: 12.15-6.00pm
£100
Life is sensation, and by awakening the purity and power of this sensation we project ourselves into a field of immense lucidity and joy. We are sensation, we are feeling, and purifying this feeling leads us into extraordinary ways of being.
This workshop uses gravity, inner space, and heightened sensation to explore what lies beyond. As the sensations of the body, the mind and existence itself unite, we invite a deep transformation on all levels.
The earth’s gravitational field can be seen as a life producing and sustaining blanket of intelligence arising from a vast beyondness. As our practices plug us into the earth, we tap into a cosmic intelligence, the foundation for human consciousness.
This workshop is open to everybody.
John Stirk is a yoga teacher and author with a background in osteopathy. He has been teaching and running courses for more than 40 years in the UK and internationally. He has published several books, notably The Original Body, Primal movement for Yoga Teachers, (2015) and Deeper Still, Authentic Embodiment for Yoga Teachers (2021).
Saturday 15th June: 12.30-2.30pm
£40
Much of the world still thinks the ‘core’ is just the abs. In 2024 the science has moved on and we now know that there are a range of muscles supporting the lower body. Understanding how these muscles work and support you is crucial for anyone who likes to move.
Who’s it for:
● Anyone!
● If you feel your ‘core’ is weak but you don’t know how to fix things
● If you are only exercising your abs and need to know what else to do
● If you want to explore how a targeted Yoga practice can address the core – and how learning this can help your regular Vinyasa practice.
What will you learn:
● What is the core
● How does it work (and what happens when it doesn’t)
● How can you strengthen it – with breath, movement & more – in your yoga practice and outside it
Join Anji Gopal, Osteopath, Yoga teacher & Yoga for BackCare Expert for a 2-hour workshop breaking down some of the more challenging asana groups. A highly useful & engaging workshop including anatomy, postures, problem solving & more.
Suitable for all – if you are experiencing a current episode of back pain then please get in touch with Anji before booking anji@backcarefoundation.com
Friday 5th July: 3.00-6.00pm
£45 (Fri & Sat workshops – £130)
This session explores the theme of the weekend through breath, movement and stillness practices that incorporate teachings from the tradition, as well as more contemporary approaches. The Teachers’ Practice will weave together aspects of philosophy, physiology and psychology – time dedicated to experiencing deeply felt wisdom of breath, body and mind.
After the practice we will come together to discuss and share our thoughts, findings and reflections that center around a particular topic of interest relevant to the group.
Saturday 6th July: 12.00-4.30pm
£95 (Fri & Sat workshops – £130)
This session spotlights cakṣus, the jñānendriya that involves the cognitive sense organ of sight, taking in knowledge through what is seen. The line enquiry for this session will ask questions such as, “What is being seen? Who is seeing? Where in the body sees/has insight? How does this impact our ability to teach well?”
Drawing upon the theme for the weekend, the Teachers’ Development offers time to explore essential sensory perceptions and actions (jñānendriya and karmendriya) that sustain and nourish teaching. This session includes open enquiry, somatic and experiential movement practices, group work and dialogue. These approaches deepen and widen understanding and capacity to teach with authenticity while helping others access their own power and wisdom.
These sessions support teachers to:
● Explore and expand personal practice
● Build confidence
● Connect to authentic teaching
● Feel empowered and part of community
● Access innate wisdom and creativity
● Weave philosophy, physiology and psychology into classes
These sessions are for yoga teachers of all backgrounds and styles offering a supportive space to connect with others, explore and expand personal practice, discuss challenges, and contemplate what we value most in the teachings of yoga and how we may share this with others.
Sunday 7th July: 1.30-3.30pm
Sunday 1st September: 1.30-3.30pm
£45 per workshop
Learn to take you yoga up in the air as we show you how to base and fly some of the fundamental acroyoga poses.
We will look at alignment and form and will be working in small groups with someone spotting each trick to ensure safety!
You can come alone or bring a friend. Warning, the content of this workshop is very fun and highly addictive!
This workshop is suitable for all levels so come and fly!
Sunday 7th July: 4.15-6.45pm
£50
If you’ve ever experienced Transformational Breathwork and Sound, you’ll know it can feel almost miraculous!
Transformational breathwork is a therapeutic breathing technique that can relieve physical tension in the body, emotional stresses and blockages, leaving you feeling lighter and more connected to Self. Using circular breathing, you can move into an altered conscious state and access and release deeply buried obstacles and blocks. There is no other technique that can take you as deep into yourself, in such a short period of time, as breathwork.
After the Breathwork session, you’ll continue to lie on your mat, while Pablo will bring you into a state of deep integrative relaxation using sound. Sound healing has been used for centuries to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and enhance overall wellbeing. The soothing sounds and vibrations of the Gong, singing bowls, chimes and drum, will help create a meditative and immersive environment for you to assimilate and integrate all the benefits of the breathwork session.
We aim to show you the power of your breath and sound as vehicles for healing and enhancing your physical, mental and emotional health. The session will last for 2.5 hours, giving us space to set an intention and to share and integrate our experiences after the breathwork and sound. We will start with a breathwork session, moving into beautiful sound healing and floating off into bliss.
This workshop is suitable for everyone. For this experience, bring a bottle of water… you might want to bring a journal to make notes on your experience but this is not required. There is no movement component to this workshop, so no need to wear “yoga clothes” but please dress for comfort.
If you are aware of any heart conditions or brain conditions (ie. Epilepsy, PTSD) you may experience or could be/are pregnant please let Sally or Pablo know on the day.
Friday 12th – Tuesday 16th July
Kino is returning to Mission to teach a series of workshops in July.
More information about individual workshops, and booking links can be found here.
Friday July 12
18:00 – 20:00 The Hidden Mysticism of Yoga
Saturday July 13
10:30 – 12:30 Led Full Primary Series
13:30 – 15:30 True Strength
Sunday July 14
9:00 – 11:00 Mysore
12:00 – 14:00 Yin and the Subtle Body
Monday July 15
10:00 – 12:00 Mysore
13:00 – 17:00 Yoga Methodologies: Hands-on Assists, Asana Technique
Tuesday July 16
10:00 – 12:00 Mysore
13:00 – 17:00 Yoga Methodologies: Injury Prevention and Healing, Subtle Practices, Accessibility
Saturday 27th July: 12.30-5.00pm
£80
Have you ever wondered how movement might meaningfully connect us? How yoga could possibly expand into the realm of dancing and how dancing might slide beyond choreography into group and self-care?
Join Yoga teacher Catherine Annis and Choreographer/Director Ben Wright for this one day movement workshop which explores the primal connection we experience when we move together, as a group.
Rooted in a dialogue between awareness and action, this unique workshop offers participants a range of experiences to uncover, discover, and invite movement through the complimentary disciplines of mindful yoga and dancing. Together we will play with the idea that moving has the possibility to change thinking.
Throughout the day, we’ll bring sensation to the foreground to sharpen perception and spur kinetic imagination. From the generosity and expansiveness of unstructured, intuitive free-form movement, we’ll transition into more organised and directional movements, leaning into and away from forms we may recognise as yoga asana to intensify a sense of immediacy.
The workshop is suitable for movement practitioners, dance artists and those who are curious about expanding their experiences from a yoga mat into wider expressive intention.
Image: Chris Nash from Spectrum by Ben Wright for Skanes Dansteater
Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th August: 12.30-3.30pm
£165
Are you new to handstands? Come learn from Cirque du Soleil performer Alona Zhuravel who since an early age has been gracing circus stages and big tops around the world.
These workshops are pitched at beginners and will help you understand the principles of alignment when upside down, first against the wall and then slowly away from it. You’ll build confidence and become familiar with the different shapes of a handstand — tuck, straddle and full handstand. The capacity of these workshops are limited so that Alona can spend time with you individually. You’ll also learn how to work safely with a partner.
Alona started training handstands when she was just six years old. Her performance career started in 2001 and since then she has been touring around the world with shows like ‘Varekai’ and ‘Joya’ from Cirque du Soleil. She uses different teaching methods to fulfil her purpose to make the upside-down world comfortable and light.
Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th August: 4.00-7.00pm
£165
These workshops are for those who have a more established handstand practice.
You’ll work on sharpening your focus and perfecting alignment in the freestanding handstand. You’ll develop familiarity with tucks, straddles, full handstands and even flags and the one-armed handstand. You’ll work new and different shapes, some of which you may have practised before but others you probably haven’t!
Alona started training handstands when she was just six years old. Her performance career started in 2001 and since then she has been touring around the world with shows like ‘Varekai’ and ‘Joya’ from Cirque du Soleil. She uses different teaching methods to fulfil her purpose to make the upside-down world comfortable and light.
Sunday 29th September: 12.00-2.00pm
£60 or £125 for all 3
Surrender to the traditional Ashtanga Yoga method with careful emphasis on the traditional vinyasa method and have fun along the journey. The Primary Series will be instructed and counted in Sanskrit from start to end.
Experience the integrity and purity of the Ashtanga Yoga practice and be prepared to sweat.
Prior Ashtanga Yoga experience required.
Sunday 29th September: 2.30-4.30pm
£60 or £125 for all 3
If you enjoy a challenge but think you are too stiff to ever bend your back then this is the perfect class for you. By understanding how to work your body in a safe way you will learn what it takes to really bend over backwards with no fear.
The secrets of deep backbends are available to you through the integration of sound anatomical principles, healthy alignment techniques and fun, intense stretches. The dynamic movement mechanics of bending your spine are the key to increased energy flow and in this class you will begin to explore your natural potential for deep backbends with safety, support and enthusiasm.
Sunday 29th September: 4.45-6.00pm
£25 or £125 for all 3
Dive down into your inner world and discover your calm, steady mind and a courageous heart. Train the mind to be single-pointed in the Eka-Tattva state and cultivate a state of equanimity.
A strong mind is a vital tool on the path of living the yogi’s life. Join this session and begin your spiritual journey.
Saturday 5th October: 3.00-5.30pm
£50
Our lives are bound by time. And yet there is an aspect of human experience that seems to exist beyond time. This paradox sits at the heart of yoga.
The pathway from body to essence embodies unfolding knowledge through steady application and presence. Questions arise – how do we inhabit a body and yet transcend it? What does this mean and why would we want to?
The Graceful Path alludes to a process of transformation expressed through the metaphor of the central channel, or suṣumnā nāḍī. By paying attention to inner subtle pathways moving from earth to sky, the full experience of human ‘being’ can be known.
This workshop spotlights the movement from embodiment to transcendence utilising the subtle central pathway as a means of enquiry.
All are welcome – 1 year of yoga practice recommended. The workshop may include active and Restorative postures as well as meditation using props to amplify and sustain experience.
Wednesdays: October 9, November 6 & December 4
9.30am-5.30pm
£390
What if, in the first instance, we could only rely on personal investigation and ‘then’ look at what others have said? What if we were our own starting point, minus the expectations accompanying external knowledge? What if we only had our feeling, thinking mind and body as we perceive it? What if we were our only resource?
This course explores the source of the yoga experience within the group field. As we intensify our practice and discuss our discoveries we will open to a profound unitive experience and deepen the roots of transformation. The aim is to invite a further shift in internal behaviour and subsequently inform our practice, teaching and the quality of our communicative skills.
We will not be bound by a fixed formula. Elements that arise will relate to in the moment experiences as we pass through them. Contact time is spread over 8 weeks to give time to process the impact of each day long session. The following may provide a guide:
Information and Transformation; Applications and their limitations; The Source; The Nature of Experience; Dissolving Experience; Unveiling Anatomy; The Role of the body; Perception and reception Voluntary and involuntary activity; Sensation and Sensitivity; Unveiling Philosophy; Dividing the Indivisible; Consciousness; Mind and Ego; The Quantum World – Everything and Nothing; Original Intelligence; Fields of Influence; Space Silence; Energy; The Known and the Unknown the Roots of Transformation; Processing Conditioning; Identification and Vulnerability; Communication and Communion; Existence Love and Healing; Conclusions Possibilities and Potential Outcomes; Mystery Magic; Reflection
The reality of yoga is unseen, beyond shapes and extensions and everyday experience. The reality concerns an awareness of all that we are and might be. We are the reality. As we pass through inner emptiness, we come out into the light.
John Stirk is a yoga teacher and author with a background in osteopathy. He has been teaching and running courses for more than 40 years in the UK and internationally. He has published several books, notably The Original Body, Primal movement for Yoga Teachers, (2015) and Deeper Still, Authentic Embodiment for Yoga Teachers (2021).
