Individual consultations

Individual sessions provide the opportunity to experience a safe place to explore your thoughts, feelings, and body experience so that, at your own pace, you can go deeply into your own heart. Meetings last from 1 to 1.5 hours. If possible, it's good to give yourself some time after the session to reflect on what took place and to allow some settling of the learning that comes from the work.

Expressive movement, mindful breathing, heartful communication, deep listening to the messages of our bodies—these are some of the asanas of Yoga for the Emotional Body. Asana (Sanskrit for posture) is a term from hatha yoga; and its root is to stay or to be. In our work, we are continually creating new forms that help bring us to a state of yogic steadiness, alertness, and lightness.

Our work is an art form. It is not art that can be viewed in public, but it is an art form nonetheless—an improvisation and a collaboration
between teacher and participant that reveals and expresses the beauty of pursuing a life lived with passion, compassion and presence.
--Kenneth Robinson

Weekend Intensives photo by Kenneth Robinson From The Soul of Rumi by Coleman Barks "The work of the dervish community was to open the heart, to explore the mystery of union, to fiercely search for and try to say truth, and to celebrate the glory and difficulty of being in a human incarnation. To these ends, they used silence and song, poetry, meditation, stories, discourse, and jokes. The great human questions arose. What is the purpose of desire? What is a dream? A song? How do we know the depth of silence in another human being? What is the heart? What is it to be a true human being? What is the source of the universe and how do these individual awarenesses connect to that? They asked the Faustian question in many guises: What is it at the bottom that holds the world together? How do we balance surrender and discipline? This high level of continuous question-and-answer permeated the poetry and music, the movement, and each activity of the community. They knew that the answers might not come in discursive form, but rather in music, in image, in dream, and in the events of life as they occur. There was more practical inquiry. How should I make a living? How do I get my relatives out of my house? Could you help me postpone payment of this loan? The dervishes had jobs in the workday world: mason, weaver, bookbinder, grocer, hatmaker, tailor, carpenter. They were craftsmen and women, not renunciates of everyday life, but affirmative makers and ecstatics." Coleman Barks’ writing on the dervish community in Rumi’s time is descriptive of what we aspire to, and many times achieve, during our retreats. Together, we work to create an environment that is supportive of this depth of inquiry and this height of celebration. When we chant or dance, converse, or turn silently inward, we approach these practices not as hollow gestures, but as opportunities to experience those qualities of connection and awareness that bring forth the most creative and compassionate aspects of our humanness.

Workshops for Professionals

If you are a professional counselor, psychologist, social worker or other practitioner of the healing arts and would like to learn about transpersonal and body-centered approaches to healing, we offer programs that can be tailored to your interests. Past trainings have included breathwork, body awareness, and expressive movement taught in concert with basic spiritual principles. Through study, instruction, and experiential work, participants learn how these methods help people move to deeper levels within themselves to find strength and guidance. The works of authors such as Ken Wilber, Stanley Keleman, and James Kepner assist us in our understanding of the workings of body, mind, and spirit.

Our training programs are a learning and practice environment for those in the healing professions who wish to further their understanding and skill in body/mind approaches to transformation.

Our teachings focus on character development, body-centered practices, and the role of the healer in the transformative process. Participants may contract with us regarding the nature of their individual program. (For example, a trainee might create a program for themselves that would include teaching, planning, and other leadership functions within the group, along with personal work, scholarship, and special projects.