Sarah Durney Hatcher Workshops at Yogarose

"Purposeful Practice" a weekend of Yoga with Sarah Durney Hatcher

15-17 August 2025

Join Sarah for five workshop-based classes exploring ashtanga vinyasa yoga and hatha yoga. During this workshop, Sarah will thoroughly explain how a dedicated yoga practice can influence our daily state of well-being. Through exploration of asana (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), bandha (internal awareness of the pelvic diaphragm) and dhyana (meditation practices) we can craft a daily practice that is just right for everyone.

No two yogis are the same: with this in mind, Sarah will offer everyone present in the workshop adaptations to the ashtanga yoga practice when needed; advanced instruction for those hungry for it and for the absolute beginner, tools to learn how to craft their practice in the right way for them. Students can attend all five classes or drop in for individual classes.

Schedule:

Friday Morning 8:30-11 am

Pranayama and Led Class

Friday Evening 5:30-7:30 pm

Pranayama and Surya Namaskara A and B

Saturday Morning 8:30-11am

Pranayama and Led Class

Saturday Afternoon Workshop 2-5 pm

"The Yoga Craftsman"

Sunday Morning 8:30-11 am

Pranayama and Mysore Class

Investment: £40 per workshop OR whole weekend £175. 

Details about Each Workshop:

Pranayama Portion of Workshop in Detail

Explore "Four Purifications", the art of breathing with sound (ujjayi breath) and learn how to cleanse the nasal pathways with Nadhi Shodhana Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing), followed by strengthening the abdomen with Kapala Bhati (skull shining breath).  These first two pranayamas strengthen the nervous system and digestive system. The last two purifications strengthen the exhale breath and inhale breath, and we will explore these in relation to space and time. We will take time holding the exhalations followed by the inhalations, ending with meditation at the end. We will go through these pranayama practices three times during the workshop so that there is full understanding of each respective practice.

Led Class 

Friday morning and Saturday morning will consist of guided instruction class, also called "Led Class". Students will be offered specific instruction in the ashtanga yoga method, and Sarah will teach both a bit of primary and intermediate series postures. The linking of the breath with specific movement (also called 'vinyasa') will be taught and there will be a specific emphasis on key postures that are the bread and butter of a hatha yoga practice: Downward-facing dog, upward-facing dog, Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) and tricksters like Marichyasa A-D, that require ones attention and interest.

Mysore Class

The Mysore Class on Sunday morning will be a specific style of yoga practice that is consistent with ashtanga yoga: self practice for each individual with Sarah's 1:1 attention. This means that all students practice at their own pace individually in the group. Sarah will walk around offer verbal instruction, demonstration and adjustments to help each and every student purposefully practice.

Friday Evening Class

Sarah will introduce the foundations of ashtanga yoga in this class: correct ujjayi breathing, a glimpse into the elusive and quite special "uddiyana bandha", the pelvic diaphragm and the art of vinyasa - moving with the breath. Through the main sequence of Surya Namaskara A and B, we will look at these key movements and refine them and make them purposefully ours. Some people may need to adapt and change the nature of these foundational postures, and in this specific workshop we will look at how to make this sequence just right for us all. 

Saturday Afternoon Workshop "the Yoga Craftsman"

Ready to learn more about your health and wellness through hatha yoga? In this workshop we will begin with an exploration of the twists and inversions that riddle us all: how do we successfully twist our thoracic cavity? How does the breath help us with our twists? Why do some of us need a prop for shoulder stand? We will look to the classic postures of hatha yoga that are within the ashtanga yoga system and research, refine and craft out what may need to happen to make these postures ours comfortably. We will also explore what Patanjali the great yogic philosophy coined as "sthira sukham asanam", translated as "Yoga posture is to be done with steadiness and ease". Let's explore how.

More about Sarah: 

Sarah grew up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Reno, Nevada and currently resides in Dublin, Ireland. Having spent most of her life skiing and in pursuit of the highest peaks, injury prevailed and she turned to yoga at the age of 17 to heal her knees from competitive skiing. Currently she still practices daily, rock climbs and hill walks. When Sarah isn't teaching her small Mysore programme based in Dublin, she is teaching retreats throughout Europe and workshops in Ireland and abroad. Sarah has been a long-term student of David Garrigues and Dena Kingsberg and has completed the fourth series of ashtanga yoga. Currently you can find her working on the primary series and building her pranayama practice and chanting the Bhagavad Gita. Find more about Sarah at www.sarahhatcheryoga.com

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