Berkshire Yoga Festival 2024

Neural flexibility. Neural resilience. Neuroscience. If these terms seem heady, this workshop will help you embody your brain’s neural playground….your body. The vagus nerve is beloved by humans for being our chief parasympathetic (relaxation response) nerve. But new science around the influence of the vagus has shifted our understanding of parasympathetic responses. This workshop teaches you how to access the three anatomical zones innervated by the vagus nerve, and how each zone affects our state of perception and quality of being. The workshop includes novel breath-based exercises coupled with soft-tissue self-massage and positional release in order to feel the fascinating interplay of stimulating sympathetic and parasympathetic modes of being. Learn to distinguish between the myelinated and unmyelinated vagus pathways and become familiar with Polyvagal Theory. Ultimately it will help you to be more aware of your own state and help you foster a safe environment for your students.

*Bring your favorite self-myofascial release balls to use in the practice portion. Jill will be using Yoga Tune Up® Balls and a Coregeous® Ball.

Fascia science continues to produce exciting findings that are relevant to Yoga Therapists and clinical practitioners for integrative health care. By now you’re likely familiar with the term fascia and have explored different modalities that impact fascial tissues. In this session, learn the most recent evidence based research on self-myofascial release and entertain your own fascial tissues with intriguing self-myofascial release techniques inspired by this burgeoning field.

*Bring your favorite self-myofascial release balls to use in the practice portion. Jill will be using Yoga Tune Up® Balls and a Coregeous® Ball.

This embodied movement session travels you through the neuro-myofascial impact of the respiratory diaphragm throughout the body. This class provides biofeedback on proprioceptive and interoceptive aspects of breathing via gentle fascial stimulation. Explore 3 zones of respiration and be prepared to decompress your spine, improve your breath’s range of motion and increase your tolerance capacity for a parasympathetic dominant state. *Bring your favorite self-myofascial release balls to use in the practice portion. Jill will be using Yoga Tune Up® Balls and 2 Coregeous® Balls.*

With our cultural obsession with our bottoms, you'd think that the buns would have a better sense of themselves. Gluteal amnesia is a phenomenom that refers to this lack of awareness. Many bodies have a difficult time fully sensing the position and activation of the tissues that support the backside of the pelvis. This “darkside of the moon” will be explored through rolling and unforgettable activation exercises that will leave you with a Happy New Rear every time. *Class taught by your bionic teacher Jill Miller who had a total hip replacement in her mid-40’s, and lives to tell the TAIL*