DOUG KELLER
FREEING THE SHOULDERS & THE HIPS
& REFINING THE BREATH:
THREE WORKSHOPS
01ST – 02ND AUGUST 2025
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SIMPLE KEYS TO THE SHOULDERS
FRIDAY 01ST AUGUST
7.30PM – 9.30PM
£50
Discover the secrets to moving the shoulders well in order to reduce pain and gain greater freedom – and it’s not just about stretching! We need to understand how the joints of our shoulder girdle work, and this all-levels asana session will provide simple and memorable keys for finding space and freedom in the shoulders – and for overcoming obstacles.
Yoga poses help us to explore shoulder freedom in all possible movements of the shoulders, and we’ll include lots of variations and exercises that keep the practice interesting and accessible. With Doug’s guidance, you’ll understand the purpose of these actions, poses, and their variations, and will easily remember them as ‘news-you-can-use’ principles that you can incorporate into your yoga practice, and into your everyday life! -
HIPS & SHOULDERS: OPENING THE FOUR CORNERS FOR FUNCTIONAL FREEDOM
SATURDAY 02ND AUGUST
2.00PM – 5.00PM
£60
Yoga classes often focus on ‘hip openers’ or ‘shoulder openers,’ but rarely are the two put together. Yet the connection between the two is essential if we’re to make progress in either!
Yoga reinforces our most fundamental functional movement patterns that maintain the health of our knees, hips, low back, shoulders and neck. This master class will explore a broad range of all-levels poses that rely on these connections that coordinate the movements of the upper and lower body for healthy movement. Through a combination of learning and doing, there will be plenty of ‘light bulb’ moments as we open up new realms of experiencing familiar poses.
The theme is greater freedom of movement in the hips and shoulders – but once they’re connected through asana, you’ll find out that this is about so much more! -
REFINING THE BREATH: THE KEY TO HEALTH & DEEP RELAXATION
SATURDAY 02ND AUGUST
6.00PM – 8.00PM
£50
Pranayama introduces refinements of our experience of breathing in ways that are essential to maximising its cardiovascular and cognitive benefits. And yet these simple refinements are rarely explored or explained, even when they could lead to deeper meditation and relaxation, and even better health.
Moreover, ‘mudra’ was always an essential component of hatha yoga practice – for pranayama in particular. Yet mudra too has not been effectively incorporated into breath practices. In this session, we’ll see in very practical and tangible ways how simple mudras of the hands are enormously supportive in pranayama practices, providing greater focus as well as a direct connection to refined aspects of the breath.
So in this evening session, we’ll explore and experience these refinements in the breath, supported by mudra, culminating in a deep experience meditation and Yoga Nidra. And you can look forward to a very good night’s sleep afterward!
ABOUT DOUG KELLER
Doug Keller’s background reflects a lifelong commitment to studying, imbibing and sharing the vast field of knowledge and practice known as yoga. After receiving honours and graduate degrees in philosophy from the top Jesuit universities in the United States, Georgetown and Fordham Universities, and teaching philosophy at a college level for several years, he then pursued his ‘post-graduate’ education in the practical experience of yoga at the Siddha Meditation Ashram, Gurudev Siddha Peeth in India, for seven years. He spent a total of 14 years doing service, practising, training in and teaching yoga in Siddha Meditation Ashrams worldwide. He received intensive training in the Iyengar system in New York City, mainly with senior certified Iyengar teacher Kevin Gardiner. He also practised Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in India, and became one of the first certified Anusara Yoga teachers, producing three highly respected books on asana, pranayama and yoga philosophy.
His further expansion in learning is reflected in his latest and most in-depth work, ‘Yoga as Therapy,’ which is truly one of the most comprehensive, innovative and useful treatments of the structural aspect of yoga therapy available. And for three years he was a regular columnist for Yoga+ Magazine (formerly Yoga International, published by the Himalayan Institute), writing the ‘Asana Solutions’ column that addresses specific therapeutic problems. He is at the highest level of certification with Yoga Alliance, ERYT500, and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Doug also served for three years as a ‘distinguished professor’ on the teaching faculty at the Master’s Degree programme in Yoga Therapy at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, a state–approved institution of higher learning. The programme is also officially approved as a certification programme for yoga therapeutics by the International Association of Yoga Therapy. Doug’s teaching is rooted in a vast and inclusive perspective of study and practice that honours the insights of the many streams of wisdom that flow into the river of yoga.
