Restorative Yoga & Prāṇāyāma with Gabriel Halpern
Many of us live with chronic tension, often without realizing how far we are from ease, clarity, and vitality. This class offers a spacious and grounding exploration of restorative yoga and classical prāṇāyāma as pathways toward calm, steadiness, and renewed inner energy.
We will begin with a sequence of deeply supported restorative postures designed to settle the nervous system and prepare the body for refined breath awareness. From this foundation, Gabriel will guide students through the principles of prāṇāyāma, exploring the distinctions between abdominal breathing, deep breathing, and true prāṇāyāmic breathing. Breath patterns will be explained, practiced, observed, and gently refined.
Seated breathing techniques and traditional digital control (mudrā) will also be introduced, offering practical tools to cultivate a slower, subtler, and more regulated breath.
According to the Yoga Sūtras, sustained prāṇāyāma practice helps thin the veils that obscure inner clarity, preparing the mind for concentration and allowing the senses to naturally turn inward. From this place, practice becomes a direct support for insight, steadiness, and peace of mind.
Dharma Talk
The evening will conclude with a short dharma talk. Drawing from over 55 years of continuous study and practice, Gabriel will reflect on why disciplined practice matters, not just philosophically, but in lived experience. The theme of the talk will be ethics and their immediate and long-term effects on our minds, actions, and lives.