Laura Grant is a freelance performer, movement educator, and yoga instructor based in Brooklyn. She is currently studying for her MSEd at Bank Street College of Education, with a focus on interdisciplinary arts education and child development. Laura holds a BA in Political Science/International Relations from Carleton College in MN, where she also studied release technique, contact improvisation, and experiential anatomy. She has completed a 200-hr Yoga certification at Abhyasa Yoga Center (charter member, International Association of Yoga Therapists) and a Kids’ Yoga certification. In addition to dance and yoga, Laura’s somatic movement explorations have led her to studies in a variety of practices: Body Mind Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and RoseAnne Spradlin, contact improvisation with Nancy Stark Smith and KJ Holmes, improvisation and composition with Jennifer Monson, Neuromuscular Preparation for Dance with Irene Dowd, Alexander Technique, Pilates, and Embodied Anatomy and Yoga with Amy Matthews. Laura was a founding member and co-director of Ready At Will (RAW), dedicated to site-specific, somatically-informed, ensemble-driven, improvisational performance. She has also performed with Justin Jones, The BodyCartography Project, Willi Dorner, Stacy Grossfield Dance Projects, and Designated Movement Company (Katie Rose McLaughlin and Dan O’Neil), among others. Laura has been teaching movement, dance, and yoga to bodies of all ages since 2006, in a variety of school and studio settings. Laura’s approach to movement and teaching is as a research practice – asking, Who am I? Who are you? What is this world we live in? – and how that practice informs our personal growth, relationships with others, and the efficacy of our actions in the world.
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Class Description: “Breath, Core, Spine: Yoga for a Moving Body”
In this workshop-style class, we will investigate the connection of the breath, the “core”, and the spine to help us find a sense of support through the torso and an easeful extension out through the limbs. We will focus on linking breath and movement, and in particular, the use of the breath to find deep support from our abdominals and core stabilizing muscles. We will look at the structure and function of the spine, and how breath and core support can help us find length in our spine and efficiency in our movements. The workshop will include breathwork, guided imagery, strengthening exercises, working with each other, a slow flow asana yoga practice, movement improvisation, anatomy pictures, and time for Q&A/discussion. Inspiration will be drawn from the teacher’s experience with modern dance, Pilates, Alexander Technique, and Body-Mind-Centering, in addition to yoga. This class is for anyone, regardless of movement background. No previous yoga or dance experience is necessary.
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