The Odyssey Home is a winter solstice workshop built around the arc of Homer’s Odyssey — a hero’s journey through trial, descent into darkness, and return to light, mapped onto the body on the longest night of the year.
The solstice marks the turning point where darkness peaks and light begins its slow return. The Odyssey follows the same shape: a hero who must sail through danger and descend into the underworld before he can find his way home.
This workshop doesn’t move around the dark half of that story — it moves through it, the way the poem does, using the practice to hold space for both the descent and the return. Students will be guided through six chapters of the myth, each mapped to a different quality of movement: grounding and release with the Lotus-Eaters, focused strength facing the Cyclops, instinct and transformation on Circe’s island, discernment between Scylla and Charybdis, disciplined attention resisting the Sirens, and — at the heart of the workshop — a long, deep, candlelit descent into the underworld itself, before slowly rising back into the light as Odysseus returns to Ithaca.
The workshop opens with a short telling of the myth’s arc and a ceremonial pour of blue lotus tea, echoing the moment in the story where the offer of the lotus flower lets the outside world soften away. It closes with a slow return to full light and a shared moment of reflection.
This is a workshop for anyone drawn to mythology, ritual, and the deeper turns of the year — no prior knowledge of the Odyssey is needed, and no experience beyond a general comfort with a yoga practice.
For more information on Pashupa, please see his teacher profile here. He teaches weekly donation-based Vinyasa Flow on Mondays 6pm-7pm.
Cost: $30
Financial Aid Available- Please stop by the front desk, call, or email kelsey@ashevillecommunityyoga.org.
PLEASE NOTE:Â We encourage pre-registration for all programming. Registering in advance guarantees your spot and helps the studio have adequate staffing. If fewer than 5 participants register the event may be canceled.
Refund Policy:Â We understand that life happens and unforeseen circumstances come up. If life offers up an unexpected event and you need to withdraw from the workshop:
- A full refund will be issued if you need to withdraw 4+ days before the workshop. Please reach out for your refund, as it will not be automatically applied to your account.
- If you need to withdraw within 3 days or fewer, no refund is provided.
Please create a Mindbody account for each participant if registering more than 1 person. If you have any questions regarding registration, please email Kelsey at  kelsey@ashevillecommunityyoga.org
