Exploring the Fascial Archetypes: Let’s Make This Yoga for Your Body

Every Monday, September 8 - October 20, 2025, 8:00-9:00AM EST
Each class will be RECORDED in the event you cannot attend live. All sign-ups will receive the link for 7 days.
Led by Sam Sather, MS, BSN, C-IAYT, RYT-500
Hybrid - In person at Stonegate Studio or online via Zoom
You do not have to attend all sessions, but we encourage you to sign-up to receive the video for all sessions. This series is appropriate for all levels.

Visit our class sign up page to register!

For students who have attended at least one of our Osteoporosis and Yoga workshops, we’re excited to offer a unique 7-session experiential workshop that blend Yin/Yang poses and movements designed to target specific fascial lines in the body. Each session introduces a distinct archetype, creatively nicknamed to represent a series of poses and embodied movements. You’ll explore these through both physical practice and guided discussion, deepening your awareness of how your body moves and holds energy. This series is ideal for students and teachers.

Paul Grilley, a founder of Yin Yoga, developed the seven archetypes to help us better understand the body through mapping the movements and poses of yoga through the lens of fascial planes, the connective tissue that weaves through and supports every structure in the body. The foundation of this approach is that all bodies are unique and there is no ultimate way to perform a pose. Rather than categorizing poses by how they look, the archetypes group them according to what area of the body they primarily target. This functional approach allows us to adapt the practice to our own unique structures and needs. We find this encourages us to meet our body where it is with loving kindness.

Sam has methodically adapted this approach for those living with various medical conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis. Come explore your yoga that you can take into other yoga and fitness classes to be safe and more effective.

The Seven Archetypes - Every yoga posture fits into one of these seven categories:

Lateral Body - Shoelace Archetype
Front Body - Saddle Archetype
Back Body - Caterpillar Archetype
Inner Legs - Dragonfly Archetype
Twists - Twist Archetype
Deep Center - Dog Archetype - Weight Bearing in the Arms
Warrior Series - Dragon Archetype

By understanding these archetypes, teachers and students can adapt a series of poses for Any Body. How a teacher instructs is therapeutic in nature to the target of the pose or movement. It gives us a clear way to apply the Continuum of Practice, progressing variations in an effective, safe, and sustainable way. This approach helps cultivate the awareness of the inner body, how we hold ourselves, and where we are or are not moving. This is not easy, but so important for repatterning how we live in our body for greater health.

This series is accessible to all levels, with thoughtful variations and modifications offered for each pose to support your medical history.

Session Format:

Introduction to the Archetype
A short yin/yang practice
Continuum of Practice: a focused exploration of one key pose, including discussion and reflection
Savasana to integrate and rest

What to Bring:

Yoga mat
Yoga blocks, blanket, and strap **props will be available for those attending in person
Notebook and pen
Session handout (sent prior to class)

Questions? Email info@dogwoodstudioyoga.com. We are here to help!

Sam Sather, founder of Dogwood Studios, is a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) and an Insight Yoga Institute (IYI) endorsed teacher. She individualizes the yoga practice with appropriate modifications for participants’ unique bodies and medical histories with a focus on finding calm and improving health. She offers several live, online and in person yoga classes as well as private sessions so you can focus on your needs one-on-one.