New Beginnings Writing Group

Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.

ONLINE | By donation $0, $5, $10, $15

Monthly on the second Friday

Free follow-up Friday, July 22 • 4:00 – 6:00pm Monthly on the fourth Friday (Zoom link will be sent with the original registration).

In these times of great change we will explore a path toward meeting ourselves where we are to give voice to all that matters! As we live with interruptions and chaos, we can deepen into the roots of our creativity, encouraging the river of expression to flow. Beginners and seasoned writers are welcome, as we explore various forms of writing: poetry, prose, short stories, memoir, among others. Through writing exercises using everyday life, place, family, images, poetry of others, while using pranayama, meditation and the guidance of the Sutras we will build a body of work. Participants are encouraged to go at their own pace.
Tools we will Practice:

  • The Art of Paying Attention
  • Acceptance
  • Play
  • Writing from the Heart

Together we will combine self-care with our writing and discover what a writing practice means to us and how it may take shape.

Susan Ford, C-IAYT, RYT-500, began teaching in 2011 and has been an assistant trainer for the Basic Yoga Teacher Training at Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) since 2012. She specializes in gentle yoga and yoga therapy working with people with disabilities, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, aging, bone health, anxiety, depression and asthma. Her focus is to help students to meet their bodies where they are by introducing and incorporating Therapeutic Yoga, Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, pranayama and meditation.
Susan has been a writer of poetry, short stories and plays most of her adult life and has been repeatedly featured in storytelling events in Northern California. She has led writer groups, tutored many in writing, and regularly hosts poetry reading Satsangs at the IYI.

Summer Retreat: Deep Rest & Timeless Teachings

Friday, AUG 5th – Sunday AUG 7th

$475 Single room ($375 Active IYI Teacher) price per person | Currently full.  Please email training@integralyogasf.org for waitlist.

$395 Shared rooms  ($295 Active IYI Teacher) price per person | Currently full.  Please email training@integralyogasf.org for waitlist.

The pressures and pace of daily life can be exhausting and the pandemic is keeping many of us on constant edge, making it difficult to find true rest. Join us in this retreat from the relentless demands and challenges we face. You can choose to leave behind the phone and internet, and give yourself the opportunity to truly relax and nurture yourself. We invite you to experience the timeless wisdom and practices of Integral Yoga and the healing power of silence and nature.

Astrud, Claudia and Swami Ramananda will guide us inward, using a relaxed schedule of Yoga classes, meditations, free time for walks, rest or reading, inspirational programs, and healthy vegetarian meals. We are blessed once again to use the Commonweal Retreat Center in Bolinas, known for the natural beauty of the ocean side location which is located on sacred Native American grounds.

Details:
Check-in is Friday, August 5th at 5 pm |  dinner at 6 pm.
Check-out is Sunday, August 7th at  12:30 pm.

 

Claudia Bartsch, E-500CYT, C-IAYT, has been teaching yoga for over 20 years. With over 1,700 hours of official training she offers an in-depth understanding of the yogic practices and techniques and how to apply them for healing, integration and transformation. She studied with the Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy School and was certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists in 2016.
Additionally, Claudia is a certified Stress Management Educator and a trained Reiki and Shiatsu practitioner. claudiabartsch.com

Astrud Castillo has been teaching yoga since 2001 and sharing Kirtan internationally for the last 10 years.She trained in NYC at Laughing Lotus, currently known as Body and soul Yoga collective and is a senior teacher and teacher trainer. She has studied the basics of yoga therapeutics and Vedic chanting with T.K.V. Desikachar in India. Her teaching has been inspired by her mentor and friend Mark Whitwell over the last 20 years. Astrud’s classes are warm, welcoming and all inclusive. She weaves together poses in a creative and mindful way using the breath as the bridge to deepen and explore the balance between effort and surrender and focus of the mind. Her love and relationship to Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, is always illuminated in her teaching. There is always chanting in Astrud’s classes, awareness around the breath and mindful movement. Astrud leads annual pilgrimages to India, teaches Bhakti yoga with teachers in training.

Swami Ramananda is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 45 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life, and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential.
He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced level Yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco, and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U.S., Europe and South America. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. He is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI) which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.

2022-08-01T10:15:19-07:00June 3rd, 2022|Tags: , , |

New Beginnings Writing Group

Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.

ONLINE | By donation $0, $5, $10, $15

Monthly on the second Friday

Free follow-up Friday, June 24 • 4:00 – 6:00pm Monthly on the fourth Friday (Zoom link will be sent with the original registration)

In these times of great change we will explore a path toward meeting ourselves where we are to give voice to all that matters! As we live with interruptions and chaos, we can deepen into the roots of our creativity, encouraging the river of expression to flow. Beginners and seasoned writers are welcome, as we explore various forms of writing: poetry, prose, short stories, memoir, among others. Through writing exercises using everyday life, place, family, images, poetry of others, while using pranayama, meditation and the guidance of the Sutras we will build a body of work. Participants are encouraged to go at their own pace.

Tools we will Practice:

  • The Art of Paying Attention
  • Acceptance
  • Play
  • Writing from the Heart

Together we will combine self-care with our writing and discover what a writing practice means to us and how it may take shape.

Susan Ford, C-IAYT, RYT-500, began teaching in 2011 and has been an assistant trainer for the Basic Yoga Teacher Training at Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) since 2012. She specializes in gentle yoga and yoga therapy working with people with disabilities, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, aging, bone health, anxiety, depression and asthma. Her focus is to help students to meet their bodies where they are by introducing and incorporating Therapeutic Yoga, Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, pranayama and meditation.
Susan has been a writer of poetry, short stories and plays most of her adult life and has been repeatedly featured in storytelling events in Northern California. She has led writer groups, tutored many in writing, and regularly hosts poetry reading Satsangs at the IYI.

Community Meeting

ONLINE & IN-PERSON | Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

Please join us for this online and in-person gathering of our community. We’ll discuss current news about the Institute and our mission. There will be time for sharing and questions. We always welcome your feedback about how we can best serve you going forward. Please take a couple minutes to fill out a brief online survey. We would appreciate it, and we look forward to addressing the input we receive from you all at the meeting. Thank you!

For those attending in-person, we will go out into the back garden after our meeting to share a picnic. Please bring your lunch. There will be tea and cookies for everyone to enjoy. Our kitchen has not reopened for public meals yet. Masks and social distancing are only required as needed.

2022-05-20T11:28:08-07:00May 4th, 2022|Tags: , |
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