You? Me? Yoga Soup Mines New ‘Math’

“1 + 1 = 3?” is the title for round three of the recently revived Authentic Relating Games at Yoga Soup, which doesn’t mean co-leaders Jenny Calcoen and Damian Gallagher can’t perform simple addition. The inquisitive equation refers instead to the Vesica Piscis, a mathematical shape formed by the intersection of two disks with the same radius that intersect so that the center of each disk lies on the perimeter of the other. It’s employed here as a metaphor to explore concepts of Self & Other – perhaps coincidentally the same theme of the recently concluded 34th annual Body-Mind Centering Association’s annual conference, held this year at UCSB. The space where the circles overlap can be used as a representation to illustrate shared reality with another person, and a gateway for finding common ground or unity, both in our external experience and our internal landscape. The evening of self-discovery and group play will, through interpersonal “games,” delve into such questions as: Where does Self end and Other begin? What does it mean to truly welcome everything about our experience? How can we expand the space that we both exist in?Admission to the 7-9:30 pm AR Games on Friday, August 23, costs $18 in advance, $25 day-of.

Also at the Soup

A periodic visit from Patrick San Francesco, the energy healer from Goa, India, includes individual healing followed by guided “Angel” meditation and talk on the topic of “We say we yearn for peace, but do we really?” (7-9 pm, Saturday, August 24; $30)…

“Hearing the Cries of the World,” the third of four monthly programs in Alexis Slutzky’s Awakening Earth Series, honoring the call of service and community. The concept here is that, contrary to our misguided perceptions, acknowledging our pain for the world often connects us to a larger sense of ourselves and deepens a sense of solidarity and connection with others, creating the courage for bringing forth what is most alive in us in response to a world in need of repair (3-5 pm, Sunday, August 25; $20)…

A new 13-week session with the inCourage Chorus – the non-audition, non-denominational, all-ages community choir in which the songs are taught and shared in the oral tradition, call-and-response style – gets going this week. All experience levels from non-singer to professional are invited to commune in songs from around the world spanning culture, tradition and language, celebrating the wholeness and harmony of life through the medicine of music. The autumn series includes a daylong retreat on a Saturday in a forested canyon above downtown Santa Barbara, plus two optional benefit concerts to conclude the season (7-8:30 pm, Mondays, August 26-November 18; sliding scale of $150-$250; one-time only drop-in, $15). 

Yoga Soup is located at 28 Parker Way, near the train station. Call (805) 965-8811 or visit www.yogasoup.com/category/events. 

Unity Addresses Anger

Transitional minister Rev. Phil Smedstad leads “Anger, Forgiveness, and Transformation,” the fourth workshop in Unity’s six-month series for the membership and larger community. The 10 am to 4 pm workshop next Saturday, August 24, addresses a common question: “Why do I keep recreating painful patterns and limiting experiences in my life?” Explorations include how we are each creating our own reality according to our deepest beliefs and emotions, how unresolved issues with our childhood parents can continue to recur in our current relationships, and how to become “user friendly” with our anger and how to get to deep forgiveness with people from our past. Through lecture, discussion and gentle exercises participants will have an opportunity to more deeply change your life from one based on fear to one based on divine love and true inner peace. An optional breath integration session will be offered at the end of the workshop. (Bring a blanket, pillow and towel.) Bring a dish to share for a potluck lunch. A love offering will be received to help defray the cost of the workshop, held at 227 E. Arrellaga St. Call (805) 966-2239 or visit www.santabarbaraunity.org. 

Meetup Memos

Cacao, Oils & Sounds Ceremony Meetup’s Amy Bankoff, who also runs the New Moon and Full Moon ceremonies semi-monthly at various locations, leads an evening of ceremony, plant medicine, and soul connection at her private Studio 108 in Goleta from 7-9 pm on Saturday, August 24. Attendance is limited by capacity, so save your space and get the exact address provided upon RSVP at www.meetup.com/Cacao-Oils-Sounds-Ceremony-Goleta…

Space is even more at a premium for Ryan Chambers’ event that same afternoon, when the founder-leader of the Donation-based Energizing Yoga for all Levels @ East Beach Meetup moves the meditative practice to the mountain with a Yoga-Hike at Rattlesnake Canyon from 1-4 pm. The event combines yoga with nature-therapy to reach deeper states of meditation and rejuvenation. The maximum of five participants (limited due to the canopy space) will mindfully walk up the canyon trail to reach a beautiful pool of water with a small waterfall and then undergo a relaxing flow yoga session that segues into a guided meditation aided by being bathed in the sounds of the waterfall and nature. Healthy vegetarian snacks will be offered prior to the return walk back down the trail. Visit www.meetup.com/Donation-Based-Energizing-Yoga-for-all-Levels-East-Beach then contact Chambers at (858) 927-0145 to RSVP for the $20 session…