The Medicine of Attention

5Rhythms was devised by Gabrielle Roth in the late 1970s and draws from indigenous and world traditions, employing shamanistic, ecstatic, mystical and eastern philosophies, as well as Gestalt therapy and transpersonal psychology. Dancing the 5Rhythms is a practice, a dynamic way to both workout and meditate in the same breath, where the body becomes the spiritual path. Described by Roth as a “soul journey,” the 5Rhythms is also teacher, imparting the knowledge and felt sense that life is energy in motion. That experience can be freeing from any fixed notions about people, places, objects, or ideas.

The 5Rhythms are Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness, and when danced in sequence are known as a wave, which typically takes about an hour. Adaptations are part and parcel of the ecstatic dance world, but there are also Certified 5Rhythms teachers who have been trained in the practice by Roth or others directly trained by her. Erik Iversen, who co-founded the first 5Rhythms Teacher’s Training in 1988, has been a practitioner for three decades and is also a reflexologist and a practitioner of Hellerwork Structural Integration. Iverson, who will be teaching a three-day weekend workshop starting this Friday, August 3, creates a safe “laboratory-like” setting for exploration, learning, and healing and is able to relate to many diverse participants, having taught dancers ranging in age from four to 90.

Iverson is now also certified in the Hendricks Leadership and Transformation work as created by the former Santa Barbara and now Ojai-residing Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks, and integrates the modality with the 5Rhythms. In his approach, the 5Rhythms movement meditation practice serves as the Medicine of Attention and investigates using our bodies to express, which creates the opportunity to slow down and rhythmically notice where we unconsciously or consciously put our attention, and our sense of occupying a space in the moment.

People of all experience and abilities are invited to attend a single session 6:30 to 9 pm on Friday night, or the entire weekend, which continues 1 to 6:30 pm on Saturday – both at the Santa Barbara Dance Center, 127 A West Canon Perdido St. – and at the regular Santa Barbara Dance Tribe gathering, 11 am to 1 pm on Sunday. Visit www.facebook.com/events/362651574144055 for details, or email kijafox@gmail.com.

Master Your Personality

Crystal Stokes‘s Authentic Freedom is presenting a one-day Enneagram Workshop this weekend, when participants get take large steps toward transforming relationship with self and others, focus one’s lifestyle and, most simply, “show op” more authentically. The Enneagram refers to the model of the human psyche that serves as a typology of various interconnected personality types. The nine different types or styles each represents both a world view and an archetype that resonates with the way people think, feel, and act in relation to themselves, others, and the world itself.

Participants at Saturday’s workshop will gain an in-depth understanding of all nine types of the system and, most importantly, learn how to apply it in daily life. Stokes says the workshop will equally serve those who are completely new to the Enneagram and curious about getting started; those who know their type and want to understand its impact on relationships, body, and work in more depth; and therapists, coaches, or entrepreneurs who want to employ the Enneagram with clients or employees. Stokes – who has a master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, bachelor’s in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, and more than 15 years of experience as an ACE Certified Medical Exercise and Fitness Nutrition specialist – says the Enneagram Personality System has “become a secret superpower” in her work with psychology-coaching clients.

The class, which takes place from 10 am to 5 pm on August 4 at Regus Santa Barbara, 7 West Figueroa Street, is limited to just 10 students, so there will be plenty of time for personal attention. But registration closes at 11 pm on Thursday, August 2.

Visit https://crystalstokes.clickfunnels.com/enneagram-workhop-registration or www.facebook.com/events/1060040107478872 for more information or to register.

Dharma Talk in the Woods

The Venerable Thepo Rinpoche, founder of the Santa Barbara Tibet Summit, will give a public talk at the Santa Barbara Zen Center at MacVeagh House on the grounds of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on Sunday, August 5. Thepo Rinpoche was recognized as the 8^th Thepo Tulku and was trained the Ganden Shartse Monastery before working at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala and serving as a special cultural adviser for the Smithsonian’s Tibetan Library. In the early 1980s, Thepo Rinpoche moved to Northern California and worked for the Tibetan cause in various capacities, including as founding board member of the Bay Area Friends of Tibet, president of the Tibetan Association of Northern California, and coordinator for the Tibetan Resettlement Project. Now living in Santa Barbara, he is the founder of the Santa Barbara Tibet Summit.

Sunday’s event begins with a 9 am Sutra Service officiated by sensei Gary Koan Janka, who is among the founders of the Santa Barbara Zen Center and is its head teacher and officiating priest. Zazen (seated meditation) takes place at 9:20, followed by Kinhin (walking meditation) at 9:50, and another Zazen at 10. The dharma talk begins at 10:30 am and is followed by tea and conversation at 11. Visit www.santabarbarazencenter.org for details, directions, and more events.

On the Bodhi Path

Dawa Tarchin Phillips is out of town, so the Buddist center’s resident teacher will be participating over the internet via Zoom as Sangha members conduct a Q&A session from 7 to 9 pm this Thursday August 2, when those who are feeling stuck or have questions about their spiritual practice have the opportunity to get some guidance. Phillips will be back the following week to launch a new six-week course at the center, called “View, Meditation, and Action: Progressing on the Path of Awakening”, which runs every Thursday from August 9 to September 13. The first five weeks are the teaching, where Dawa will offer students a solid understating of the Buddha‘s teaching – the Dharma and its practice – to impart clarity and encouragement on how to alleviate your own and others’ suffering and confusion. The aim is for those who attend to stabilize their life and daily activities within the framework of a timeless and proven path toward peace, freedom, and happiness. The final Thursday session on September 13 will be to discuss and integrate the teaching with Q&A with Phillips, who is also founder & CEO of Empowerment Holdings, The Mindful Leadership Tribe, and the Mindful Leadership Online Training Conference. The cost is $100 for the full course when ordered online, or $120 at the door, though no one will be turned away for lack of funds, not required to attend each session. Register online at: https://viewmeditationaction.eventbrite.com.

Walk and Talk

Conversation Masters, a new Meetup group created and hosted by Amber Grubenmann, a Santa Barbara-based relationship coach, is all about meeting new people, pushing your comfort-zone, and continuing personal development. The group had its first gathering last weekend at Yes! Dance Studio where, Amber, who own a coaching business and works with clients all over the world through The Center For Social Confidence, was slated to run a workshop based on simple, yet effective tweaks in mindset and skill that are applicable in everyday life situations. Now some of those techniques can be put into practice – even if you didn’t attend the first Meetup – at next weekend’s Walk & Talk by the beach. The free gathering is for those who want to meet new people and, particularly, practice having more in-depth conversations where you can learn from and about others. Meet in front of the famed dolphin fountain at Stearns Wharf at 10 am on Saturday, August 4. Amber is also repeating the Conversation Skills Workshop next Saturday, August 11, back at Yes! Dance. More info online at www.meetup.com/conversation-masters.

Sounds at the Soup

The vibrations will be palpable in both studios at Yoga Soup on Friday evening, August 3, as two regular events “compete” for your physical presence. The First Fridays Ecstatic Dance has its third gathering with the “barefoot, substance-free, live DJ get-down dance party” starting with a Contact Improv Warm-Up from 7 to 8 pm, followed by the dance that loosely follows an ecstatic dance “wave” from 8 to 9:30 pm. Admission is $15, with all proceeds donated to a local charity to support the community…. In the other room, Shane Thunder presents one of his periodic 432hz Sound Healing, a restorative evening featuring alchemical gemstone and Tibetan singing bowls, chimes, drums, aromatherapy, and guided meditation. Admission to the 7:30 to 9 pm sound bath is $20 in advance, or $25 day-of. Yoga Soup is located at 28 Parker Way. Call (805) 965-8811 or visit www.yogasoup.com/category/events.