Mountain Workshop 2018

                                A four-day intensive tai chi workshop for beginners and practitioners                                                                                                      with Ann Danaiya Usher                                                                                                                                               at Nøsen Yoga Retreat Centre                                                                       Friday, April 27, 2018 – Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Intensive tai chi workshop for beginners and practitioners

This four-day course tai chi workshop will deepen our investigation into the movement of the spine. It is open to beginners and practitioners. As beginners in tai chi we learn the external choreography, the placement of the arms and legs, the timing of the movements, the coordination of all parts of the body as we transfer weight, moving through space. We start to see the choreography as a medium for turning and stretching the spine.

As we become stronger, more flexible and comfortable with the mechanics, our balance improves, we become more centered and we learn to synchronize the outer movement with the inner movement - the dropping and relaxing, and the continuous rotation, extension and contraction of the spinal column.

This movement of the spine is the focus of this workshop. We will work systematically on unifying the external with the internal. We will try to turn our beginners' perspective on its head, and explore what it means to let the movement and flow of the spinal column - from the base of the skull down to the tail bone - guide the outer movement.

Ann has been practicing tai chi for over 30 years. This workshop will provide beginners with a comprehensive introduction to the basic principles, while more experienced practitioners will have the opportunity to share and deepen their understanding. During this workshop we will have time for a session of meditation each day and, weather allowing, for walks in the mountains and tai chi practice outdoors. 

 Practical Info

Nøsen Yoga Retreat Centre, surrounded by mountains, lakes and meadows, provides a beautiful and nurturing environment for our practice. This 100-year-old mountain resort is located in spectacular surroundings in the County of Oppland, three hours northwest of Oslo , halfway between Hemsedal and Fagernes. The Norwegian Ashtanga yoga teacher Alexander Medin acquired Nøsen Mountain Hotel in 2015 and has turned it into a yoga retreat centre; a place that is at once intensely vibrant and serene. In the fall of 2017, we held a first tai chi workshop at Nøsen. 

This coming workshop will take place over the May 1st long weekend, from Friday April 27 to Tuesday May 1, 2018. The workshop price covers tai chi instruction, four nights in shared accomodation, including bedding, sheets and towels, and three vegetarian meals a day from Friday dinner until Tuesday lunch. Single rooms are available for an additional NOK 300 per night. For participants from outside of Norway there are busses from Gardermoen Airport up to Fagernes, an hour from the centre. Pick-up by Nøsen staff can be arranged. Otherwise, it should be possible to hitch a ride with one of us from Oslo.

Friends and family of all ages are welcome to come along. Alexander is offering them a day rate of NOK 900 per person for three meals + lodging. The snow in the lowlands will probably have melted by then and temperatures, though hard to predict, can be between 5 and 15 degrees C. There are possibilities for hiking, canoeing and boating from Nøsen's doorstep. Children aged 3-16 are half price. Babies are free.

For questions about the workshop, please contact Ann: ann_danaiyausher@hotmail.com.

Price: NOK 5600  

Please register for the workshop directly with Nøsen here.