Wisdom Warriors

Desirée and I have offered Wisdom Warriors workshops in the USA, Mexico, Europe and Asia beginning in 2013. They have been an amazing opportunity to integrate alignment based yoga and physical therapy. In 2018 we travelled to Singapore and Zurich, Switzerland with Desirée’s husband Andrew Rivin. This is our first live training  since Desiree and Andrew’s annual retreat in San Miguel, De Allende in 2020.

 

Wisdom Warriors™ workshops: San Miguel de A’llende, Mexico, 2020; Fusion Yoga, Cedar Rapids, IA, 2020; Namaste Yoga, Cleveland, OH, 2019; The Yoga Experience, Flagstaff, Arizona, 2019; Springs Yoga, Atlanta Georgia 2019; Perfect Balance Yoga, Billings, Montana 2019; Namaste Yoga Studio, Cleveland Ohio, 2019; Sonnenalp Club, Edwards, CO 2018; Stambha, Zurich, Switzerland, 2018; Space & Light Yoga, Singapore, 2018; YOUnique Yoga, Schereville, IN, 2018, Ali Certain St. Paul, MN, 2018, Shakti Yoga, Des Moines, Iowa, 2017; Yoga Village, Fountain Hills, Arizona, 2016; Freedom Sprit Yoga, Zurich, Switzerland, 2016; Montana Lotus Yoga, Bozeman, Montana, 2015; Laughing Dog Yoga, Boston, MA, 2015; Sunshine Yoga, Kansas City, 2015; Springs Yoga, Atlanta, Georgia, 2015; From the Heart Yoga, Grand Rapids, MI, 2014; Digg Yoga, Lambertville, New Jersey,  2014; Breathe Yoga, Los Gatos, California, 2013: Kindness Yoga, Denver, Colorado, 2013; Hare Krishna Temple, Austin Texas, 2013.

What Participants are Saying:

 

“I really enjoyed the format – the 30 minutes with Karen, and then back to Desiree showing us the asana to support the lectures from Karen. The format/flow was clever, and it kept everything fresh, with an appropriate amount of information. I never felt overloaded.  Well done. Love it. Kira Founder, KiraGrace. peace, love, and inspiration” Participant from Zoom Workshop, May 30-31, 2020.

“I liked the opportunity to hear Karen present an analytical format with slides and Desirée putting them into practice. This opportunity to build on what I learned in Teacher Training in a small studio up in Vermont in 2017 is exciting for me.” Lyn

“I enjoyed the format and having Desiree show us the poses after Karen explained the anatomy part. Karen’s explanations and the real life examples allowed me to stay engaged and gain a much better understanding of the body. I typically have a hard time staying engaged in anatomy trainings as it is information overload. Overall, I have only positive things to share with how it was presented, the educational aspect was incredible and I feel like I learned more from this online format and took more in than I would in a traditional in person training.” Stephanie, Participant from Zoom Workshop, May 30-31, 2020.

“The slides were clear, informative and meaningfully presented, and the pix of people in poses to illustrate particular body parts/points were an ideal way to ‘bring anatomy to life’…..Karen’s high level of knowledge combined with her laymen-level presentation offers this as an ideal anatomy-educational aspect.” Barbara, Participant from Zoom Workshop, May 30-31, 2020.

“For me it was most useful to simply hear from Desiree and Karen that there are indeed things you can proactively do to create longevity in the practice, both with postures you love and want to keep doing, and ones that students may have avoided out of fear because their teacher couldn’t really educate and support them in safe, progressive approaches to the asana.  It’s not that there aren’t globally recognized teachers out there who are aging and still rocking their practices for all to see.  But we don’t know their stories and what’s possible for us when we see those photos.  Through Desiree’s and Karen’s stories and explanations one is able to make sense of what might be possible in their own bodies if they honor the hard and thoughtful work of strengthening and aligning rather than be driven by the fear of being injured. Together they have a great deal of credibility which gives confidence in the information and techniques they share.” Gina, Participant from Zoom Workshop, May 30-31, 2020.

“….Karen is amazing, and that whole workshop is so great!  Anatomy plus practice, what a perfect combo.  Teaching one-hour-long classes, as the year goes by between RYV summers, I sometimes forget all the intricacies and they are so hard to fit into an hour unfortunately, and even in my own practice I get a bit complacent, although some anusara still stands me in good stead….  That Karen leg lift with the foot turned in immediately turned my annoyed right 68 year old hip on, in a good way….am doing those every day !   In the meantime, was there some mention of Karen’s list of her-type practitioners in other places?  Need a Karen Church in L.A.! See you tomorrow, so grateful! xxbk Barbara”

“The workshop wonderful. I’ve streamed Desiree’s classes for a few years through Gaia and now Yoga Download.  As a student in the streamed class, I learned a lot and am a stronger teacher for my students, most of whom are over 50.  Learning from her and Karen in a workshop setting is such a treat.  

“I live just outside of New York City and these last few months have been emotionally draining because of COVID.  It’s been hard to get on my mat to practice and I’ve avoided teaching video/Zoom classes because I felt empty.  This workshop is re-igniting my excitement and love of yoga practice and teaching.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for offering it through the Zoom and for letting last minute students like me, join in. With love, Terri”

“The Integration of PT and Yoga is exactly what I have been looking for.  While overall healthy, I am experiencing more frequent pain issues and like to understand what is going on with my body while working with professionals.  Personally I would prefer to do educated yoga than PT.  I will look for PT’s trained like Karen in my area since I believe that all of my bodies issues contribute to my pain, not just the local muscles.

I have taken one live workshop with Desiree when she was in OKC most recently and simply love the way she teaches and thinks.  That is why I signed up for WW.  Would love to join you both in Mexico sometime.” Bonnie

“The training inspired and will facilitate my teaching skills as well as building and supporting my own practice. To practice with Desiree and Karen’s wisdom and how they model what they teach refills my cup. The points that were stressed for strengthening and vertical stacking provided me with a new way to support my alignment in asana practice as well as how I see my musculoskeletal system  at work. Thank you for that. – I was so excited that I learned how to engage my muscles correctly to do the vertical stacking. Now I know exactly what to say to my students to keep them safe without having second thoughts. – Karen’s anatomy lectures were so informative.” Takako

“Since becoming a Yogi I am fascinated with anatomy and Karen’s knowledge and experience was the perfect pairing with Desiree’s asana! I learned so much from the slide show.” Alicia, Participant from Zoom Workshop, May 30-31, 2020. 

“I thought everything was very helpful and it’s hard to narrow down, but I will try. Vertical stacking was huge for me, and the adjustment of the rib cage in side body long to make space was also an aha moment. I loved the focus on creating strength and all of the small exercises that were provided to help strengthen certain things to be incredibly helpful.” Elaine, Participant from Zoom Workshop, May 30-31, 2020.

“My primary insight is I have a lot of great material to play with on my own body and my students – many of whom have foot, knee and shoulder injuries. I appreciate having more information and ideas on how to help address those issues. I love the idea of reconstructing ourselves as we age.  Having the background/anatomy insights from a PT gives it even greater power.

“It is almost a week after this TT with Desiree, Karen and Andrew, and I’m still full of superlatives when describing this event. Suffice to say it was the most important Yoga workshop I attended to date. I’m already making plans to attend the same workshop is Grand Rapids or Atlanta.”  Ed, Participant from DIG YOGA, Lambertville, NJ July  24-25, 2014.