Feeding the seed of Rocket Vinyasa Sequences

Rocket Yoga Training can begin after you have completed a 200 hour yoga training and would like to learn more advanced yoga sequencing and transitions. Rocket yoga training is based in Larry Schultz's Rocket Yoga.

"Our training school has met the stringent requirements set by Yoga Alliance Professionals, demonstrating that our courses are of the highest standard and that our graduates may register with Yoga Alliance Professionals to use their relevant membership level designation, as a sign of quality training.

Module 1 Rocket Training 60 Hours - 5 Days - 40 contact hours - 20 non contact hours - Overview of the Rocket system, learn to instruct Bottle Rocket, develop home practice of all Rocket sequences, learn the Larry Schultz Philosophy

Module 1 and 2 Rocket Booster  - 60 Hours - 5 days - 40 contact hours - 20 non contact hours - Focuses on Rocket 2, if you have been instructing Rocket you will have an oppurtunity to instruct and refine your Rocket 2 script.

 Daily lead practice

-Bottle Rocket/Modified Rocket
-Rocket 1
-Rocket 2
-Rocket 3 or Mixed Levels

Learning “The System”
– History of the Rocket
– 6 day a week practice schedule
– Larry Schultz Philosophy
– Pacing and tempo

Journaling
– Keeping a practice log to record hours
– Keeping an instructing log to record hours

Scripting
- Writing out a Rocket class including breath and Rocket transitions

Asanas
-arm balances
-bakasana/crow
-eka pada bakasana/one legged crow
-koudinyasana/grasshopper
-ashtavakrasana/eight crooked limbs
-parsva bakasana a,b,c/side crows
-pincha myrasana/elbow stands
-hasta sirsasana/handstand

Rocket transitions
– from headstands to arm balances
– arm balances to handstands
– mula bandha check up into arm balances

Core training
-dolphin
-Pilates
-boot camp

Deep stretching
-hips
-splits
-partner work

Learning the “Mechanics of Flight”
-weight transfer into the hands
-floating back and forth in the Sun Salutations
-jump backs from seated postures
-inversions and handstands from standing postures
-arm balances and inversions from seated positions
-creating fluid movement throughout your practice
-floating with control vs. ballistics

Rocket Finishing Poses
- raja kapotanasana, pigeon
– ardha matsyandrasana, bhardvadrasana
– passchimottanasan/forward bend

Backbends
– shalabasana/locust
– danurasana/bow
– ustrasana/camel
– kapotanasana/ advanced camel

Modifications and assists for all postures

 Bad Man Story

“Do your practice all is coming” Pattabi Jois

 Pattabi Jois said there were three kinds of student: good students, medium students and bad students. Good students all is coming 7 years. Pattabi looked around at his students and looked at a young lady and said, “you good lady, you practice every day, very strong lady, all is coming 7 years.” Pattabi continued to look around the Shala and he began to speak to a male yogi and he said, “you are doing good, practice is coming along, you medium student, all is coming 10 years.” 

Then Pattabi looked at Larry and he said “you bad man, all is coming 25 years.” Larry’s eyes got big and he thought to himself, I’m 30 years old now, when I’m 55, I’ll know what he’s talking about,” and what Larry found out was late in life you could have love, health, and happiness late in life no matter what. He also realized how long this practice is!! It’s a very long practice and if you’re good, medium, or bad student, all is coming, just keep practicing.

What can we learn from this story? Larry left his physical body over 4 years ago and during that time many of his students have been searching and wondering, where is their practice going? what did Larry teach us? and ultimately the big question is what were Larry's deepest wishes for the Rocket and his beloved students? The story reminds us that this is a long practice and sorting all this out takes time, time for our Rocket yoga community to heal and get organized.

When Larry was alive we all sat in the same circle and as David Kyle of Ashtanga Yoga Puerto Rico reminded Amber Gean , "why can't we all sit in the same circle again?" 

Larry wanted us to be working together to keep the dream alive, so after four years Larry left his physical body Amber Gean and David Kyle sat in the same circle last week and are hoping that this is just the beginning, allowing the circle to grow. New yogis are coming in that have never met Larry and for those that studied with Larry feel it is more important than ever to have someone in the circle that studied with Larry to share the good word of the Rocket. 

This is a mountain and we must climb, Larry taught us well and he left his closest students with the teachings inside of them and he gifted them to share the Rocket freely, at It's Yoga San Francisco Larry would have free hand outs of Rocket sequences available for anyone coming through the door.

Larry's closest students have been working around the clock to refine materials to make Rocket yoga training's, available to the masses. They do this with great reverence to their teacher Larry. They believe " do you practice and all is coming" even if it takes 25 more years to organize a Rocket yoga alliance to give creditability to all of the yogis who have given their life to the Rocket yoga practice and for Larry so his legacy may live on for many many many more years.

15 Years Blog 

Grief: One year after Larry had passed and one month after one of my boyfriends never woke up and we were supposed to have a date that day I found myself in grief counseling, that was almost 3 years ago. I wanted to take grief counseling to help myself but also as a yoga instructor to be self-responsible so I could help others. I find myself moving into the 5th stage which is acceptance. Acceptance is the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. It's harder than any of the other stages. Larry was a person in my life that actually got me, he pushed me in positive ways to work hard and practice yoga, we had a spiritual bond that exceed any type of physical relationship and that can be hard for other people to understand. Since he's gone I've bounced around other male relationships and I'll admit I'm a tough cookie to crack, I'm pretty deep and if I do let you in and you hurt me then I close myself off to the world because it's hard to match the love you have for your teacher. When I was down Larry would pick me up, there were no conditions of his love and no crazy exceptions relationships tend to bring out in people. Accepting that, that person isn't there on the other end of the phone to pick me up, accepting that they are not there to protect me and stand up for me is one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Accepting that today I begin at the beginning again. Accepting that loss is a part of life and we have it to become stronger better people from it. So I really don't care anymore what other people think of me, Bob Marley talked a lot about not judging other people until you've walked in their shoes. As I walk through the door of acceptance the story will begin to change and shift for me, the perspective will reflect more of my story and how it has shaped me to be the person I am and the person I am becoming. I want to thank the yoga community that has been there for me and continues to be there for me. The Yoga ah yogis are amazing, all the instructors that have taught selflessly at the studio and my new mentors that are rising like the phoenix from the ash and my family that keeps me going and has stuck it out with me in the really bad times and of course my two beautiful sons and I want to thank all the angels that look over us. Mostly I want to thank Larry for sharing such a powerful experience with me, I guess we are always together now, so thank you!!! May I hold my head high and accept this is my path, this is my heart, this is me.

Wow! what a ride. Today is March 3, 2015 and the final day of our Rocket intensive. It has been an honor to have such amazing yogis come for this training. This morning we practiced the Rocket 3 together, this is part of our motto that we love strong endings. It looked like a small army this morning, as we laid down our mats, placing mala's my our side, we came to Samasthiti and began our practice with our breath as our harmony. It was beautiful.

For the final essay we ask the Rocket trainers, whats is your Rocket? this is also a Yoga tradition from when we had our first Rocket training in 2011.

So, What is your Rocket?

For me the Rocket has always been about sharing the love of the practice with each other. The Rocket introduced me to the yoga lifestyle, it created a place for me to explore myself while meeting new people. The Rocket humbles me and makes me look at myself off the mat. I can hear Larry say, "what are you focusing on?" I am reminded to stay focused in my practice and also as I create a vision for myself and my life. The Rocket teaches me that anything is possible and that's what I want to share with others.

~Fast, fast getting into poses this means a lot because I have only begin practicing for one year. 

~Disapline with creativity and ease, courage, encouragement, peace within change and choice, yin and yang,

~accesable, dedication, a little goes a long way

~Guidence for myself and my teaching, we all have a starting point and we all grow