JourneyDance Journeys Back to Town

JourneyDance is a dynamic, conscious dance form that combines freestyle and structured movement to inspire participants to move from the mind into the body. Lisa Buell, who boasted a decade of experience as a life and business coach before adding dance and intuitive painting to her repertoire, brought the practice to Santa Barbara from the East Coast in early 2017, but was on hiatus for six months earlier this year as she moved back east for family obligations. Now, Buell is back and ready to restart the JourneyDance journey. A movement form that is based on the chakras, the practice leads participants on a ritual journey of physical and emotional transformation – through breath, sweat and expression, you gain a palpable experience of yourself as pure powerful energy.

“The greatest challenges of modern life come from living in our heads, dominated by our thoughts,” Buell writes. “Ten years of dancing have convinced me that everything we need to thrive we’ll find by coming home to our body. Freedom, self expression, grounding, acceptance, sensuality, release, emotional well-being, peace, joy – these are the gifts that are waiting for you when you step back in to your body, and begin to inhabit every inch of your life.”

Saturday, October 19, at 4 pm brings the first new experience, entitled “Follow the Light Within,” at Santa Barbara Dance Arts (531 East Cota Street). Over the 90-minute session, participants will forge a response to the shortening days and colder weather by slowing down and turning within to ground and connect, release and make room for the new, find the natural movement of our energy, and express our deep creativity through the JourneyDance Flow exploration into a loving, intimate relationship with body, mind, and energy.

Admission is $15 in advance, $20 at the door. To register, or learn more about JourneyDance visit, www.lisabuell.com/journeydance or www.meetup.com/Journey-Dance-Santa-Barbara.

Art Journaling and Collage Playshop

Minette Riordan’s bi-monthly gatherings – which haven’t officially met since February – are focused on connecting to your inner artist through creative processes like SoulCollage®, Zentangle®, art journaling and JourneyCircles™. Beautifully You – Exploring the Heroine’s Journey through Collage, which takes place 10 am to 12:30 pm this Saturday, October 19, employs the creative process and art-making as powerful tools for personal development, managing stress, mindfulness, connecting to intuition, thus transforming our relationship with ourselves and connect more deeply to spirit. No artistic experience or skills needed as the group is about deepening connection to self through reflection, journaling, creative play and meaningful conversation with other caring women in a safe and supportive environment. All art supplies, coffee, tea and snacks included with admission, which costs $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Visit www.meetup.com/Healing-through-Creativity.

Buddha of Boundless Life 

This weekend’s retreat with Drub-la Tsampa Karma comes directly via an invite from Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies’ Alan Wallace, who requested special empowerment and teachings on longevity to take place in Santa Barbara. Venerable Drub-la Tsampa Karma was born in eastern Bhutan and joined the Long-Nying Chöling Monastery at a young age, later receiving empowerment and teachings from many revered teachers, including H.H. Dodrupchen Rinpoche, H.H. Penor Rinpoche, H.H. Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, and H.H Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche.

He has spent over 12 years in strict meditation retreats, and is renowned as a genuine retreat master throughout Bhutan and as one of the most important Bhutanese lamas to disseminate the teachings and maintain the tradition of Terton Pedgyal Lingpa. Drub-la will offer Amityus Long Life Empowerment in the morning and teachings on Shamatha in the afternoon on Saturday, October 19, and additional teachings on Shamatha for both the 9 am and 2 pm sessions on Sunday, October 20. Registration for the weekend, which takes place at the Marriott Courtyard, 401 Storke Road, Goleta, is $135. Info and registration at www.sbinstitute.com/product/oct-1920-2019. 

Compassionate Communication Convenes

Veteran Nonviolent Communication practitioner and teacher Rodger Sorrow, who brought the annual regional NVC Convention back to Santa Barbara this spring, is resuming leading weekly gatherings to practice the basic foundations of NVC as developed by founder Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D. – who himself led periodic weekend workshops in town before his passing. Under the aegis of SBCC’s School for Extendeed Learning, Sorrow – a Certified Trainer and Assessor in Training with The Center for Nonviolent Communication and co-founder of www.ChooseConnection.com – will delve into the practice that aims to improve the quality of connection in all interpersonal relationships, including the spiritual basis of nonviolent communication. Among the topics to be covered over the two months are listening more fully with presence, honest feedback without criticism or blaming, conflict resolution, forgiveness for ourselves and others, “beneficial regret,” role playing games and more. The 6:15 – 8:30 pm class runs for eight Tuesdays, October 22 to December 10, at the Schott Campus, 310 W Padre Street. Admission is free, but registration is required. Visit www.sbcc.edu/extendedlearning. 

Soul Rejuvenation, More Seminars at the Soup

Tania Isaac’s group healing session combines restorative yoga, Reiki hands-on healing, and channeling for a transformative and nourishing experience that also integrates sound healing and essential oils in a holistic workshop intended to help heal and rejuvenate the mind, body and soul. The 2-5 pm workshop on Saturday, October 19, costs $60…

Sarah Uma and Greyson Kirby team up for Inner Re-Balancing: An Alchemical Ceremony that serves to integrate the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine in sacred union within. Through conscious breath, alchemical ritual enactment, and movement, participants will experience the transformation of inner re-balancing resulting in more freedom, wholeness, unity consciousness and ecstatic embodiment. The 7-9 pm seminar on Saturday, October 19, costs $22 in advance, $30 day-of…

Elisa Rose’s two-hour Embodiment Alchemy is a journey in which people will turn attention inward with blindfolds to learn somatic tools to connect to the body’s wisdom. Participants will nourish nervous systems with restorative practices and open voices to the innate healing power of expressing through sound as well as periods of movement and rest. The 7-9 pm event on Saturday, October 19, costs $15…

Sunday afternoon, October 20, brings the four-hour Trauma, Attachment, and Self Healing workshop with Suzanne Marlow, M.A., LMFT. The licensed psychotherapist who is also a senior instructor at Yoga Soup with two decades of experience will lead an exploration of trauma and issues of attachment with focus on their impacts on relationships. Techniques will be taught through Insight yogic practices, including movement, breath, meditation, and psychological inquiry, while self-regulation tools will guide students to become more current and present in body and mind. Admission to the 1:30 pm workshop is $40 in advance, $45 day-of. 

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

Yoga Tasting

Whether you are new to the practice of yoga, a newcomer to the Santa Barbara Yoga Center or even a longtime student at the area’s oldest continuously running studio or elsewhere who is feeling stuck in a rut, all are welcome at SBYC’s Saturday afternoon Yoga tasting event. Sample as many classes and teachers as you’d like over the 12-2 pm gathering as each class in both studios is 25 minutes long, with a five-minute break between. Try Yin & Meditation with Heather Tiddens or Level 1 Flow with Holly Rushing at 12, sample Accessible Yoga with Amardeep Kaur or Iyengar Yoga with Vanessa Bacher at 12:30, check out Relax with Gong with Amardeep Kaur or Ho-listic Yoga with Chris Brems at 1 pm, then choose between Mindful Yoga with Erin Kownacki and Kundalini Yoga with Mitsuko Conner Newlan to close out the day. Not only is admission free, so are the additional Healing Arts being offered during the day, including Reiki, Acupuncture, Auricular Therapy and Massage. Santa Barbara Yoga Center is located at 32 East Micheltorena Street. Call (805) 965-6045 or visit www.santabarbarayogacenter.com. 

Going, Going, Qigong 

Veteran Carpinteria-based Qigong/Tai Chi teacher Jessica Kolbe, whose ongoing TV show on TVSB earned an award earlier this year, has scheduled a couple of special events as the calendar heads toward mid-Autumn. Up first is a Happy Heart Dance workshop slated for 10 am to 3 pm this Saturday, October 19, combining joyous Nia movements led by Gabi Barysch-Crosbie with Kolbe’s healing Tai Chi energy work. SBCC’s School for Extended Learning’s Schott Campus at 310 West Padre Street hosts the event designed to bring delight to your heart and peace to your spirit as participants dance their life stories and gain insights about their lives, patterns and more. The uplifting, easy-to-follow Nia dance and meditative Tai Chi movements allow you to reach your true potential, and let the best version of yourself emerge. Course fee is $45. Register in advance at www.thecll.org.

The Tai Chi Easy™ Educational Symposium, which takes place next Saturday, October 26, at Carpinteria Veterans Hall on 947 Walnut Street, features teachers Kolbe, Trish Shade, and Terry Perretz sharing the healing practices of Tai Chi along with an introduction to Wisdom Healing and Mind/Body Connection Qigong. Tai Chi Easy™ is a simple form of mind/body self-care which includes gentle movement, breathing, massage and meditation, and requires no prior Tai Chi experience. Shade’s Wisdom Healing segment involves movements to break up stagnation and blocks along with healing sounds, and Shibashi: Flowing Japanese Qigong to soothing music, while Perretz’s offering imparts how to harness the power of your intention and focus attention for improved healing. The $65 tickets include a catered lunch and free passes to future classes with the instructors. All proceeds go to the Healer Within Foundation: Training thousands to improve the health of millions. Visit www.QigongSB.com.