My recent post was about choosing which workshop or retreat will be best for you and around the time of writing it an opportunity arose to practice with a travelling, well-known teacher nearby where I live. Although the teacher was quite well-known, I had never heard of him, so I did my research and decided to attend one session of his weekend workshop and these are my thoughts about attending a Rolf Gates yoga workshop.

From the description of the Faith & Flow weekend I had a hunch that Rolf’s classes would offer more than simply asana. In my research I discovered that Rolf consults works with the US Military and has projects supporting boys and men, all through meditation and yoga. This peaked my interest as service and karma yoga are two areas of the eight limbs that speak to me. The weekend description included meditation and lectures both of which he delivered in the module that I attended.

The three-hour workshop began with him having all 60 or so participants join him

Seated, receiving intention

around his mat so that he could speak to us about philosophy, yoga, and life in general. From this I took away some lessons and put them down in my notebook to reflect on and possibly incorporate into future classes. One thing I should mention is that due to the lecture portion of the class there was a decent amount of time spent sitting. I presumed as much and brought a cork yoga block to use under my sit bones. If you are attending his workshop or any classes that involve long periods of sitting, I suggest bringing along a yoga block, meditation cushion, or blanket to use under the sit bones for ease of sitting.

The asana portion of the class was very similar in style to a class of his that I found on YouTube from five years ago. It was vinyasa and a nice steady flow. Rolf incorporated his philosophies into the flow sprinkling them into his cues now and again, enough to make an impact and still give cues to the flow.

There must be a note made on the organization of the event and event space. Whoever arranged the workshop paid close attention to detail that I myself quite appreciated. There was water sit out in the hall with real glasses (no plastic!) and little ginger candies for participants. There were flowers on the sign in table and a bowl of cards. It was explained to us upon signing in that the cards were for participants to take and leave notes for the teacher. I assume they were for comments and compliments, which after more thought I think are a great idea. As a teacher I would very much appreciate instant feedback from class attendees. I had never seen that before and think that it was a nice touch.

All in all, the workshop was a nice way to spend a Friday night. A room full of local yoga students and teachers is refreshing and inspiring. Two other local yoga teachers went as well and we practiced together. It was a nice way to get to know them better and to learn and grow together. If you are considering attending a workshop with Rolf Gates then I would recommend it. It was a good blend of yoga, meditation, and philosophy. A nice balance to the heavy asana practice that I personally, usually practice.