Pottery Meets Yoga in Studio Norae’s New Mindful Movement Workshop
Local ceramicist and yogi Lauren Shin teaches Vinyasa yoga and pottery hand-building in Presence, a four-week workshop.
Photo: Rebecca Dang
The acts of shaping clay into expressive forms and shaping one’s body into dynamic yoga poses may be more alike than you think. For local ceramicist and yogi Lauren Shin, both quiet the mind and bring a sense of peace. “Yoga allows me to drop into my body, to be introspective and to release tension,” she says. “And then the clay allows me to channel that energy into something outside myself.”
Photo: Rebecca Dang
Now, Shin is hoping to share the benefits and healing she’s gleaned from both with Presence, a new four-week workshop series at her Kāne‘ohe pottery and yoga space, Studio Norae. The program meets once a week with the first three weeks centered on Vinyasa yoga and silent reflection. Along the way, Shin provides guidance with thought-provoking prompts. Then in the final week, one’s musings are made tangible via clay. Students learn basic hand-building pottery techniques and create pieces that Shin glazes and fires in the colors of their choice.
All skill levels are welcome. And Shin is even piloting a simpler version of the program for senior citizens that she hopes to make available through local care homes. “We have such rich internal worlds, and sometimes, it’s hard to communicate them fully with words,” she says. “Through this practice, I hope people better understand themselves and on a deeper level.”
From $395, studionorae.com, @studionorae
SEE ALSO: We Tried It: Studio Norae’s Wheel Pottery Class
Brie Thalmann is the home and style editor of HONOLULU Magazine.
