Tag archives: meditation

Full Moon Evening Retreat at the Beach
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 6, 2020

On the evening of one of the most important holidays in Theravadan Buddhism – Magha Puja – Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup is hosting a mini mindfulness retreat outdoors by the ocean. Under the gorgeous, silvery full moon, participants will practice sitting and walking meditation, talk about the history of Magha Puja, and reflect upon […]

Just Breathe
By Michelle Ebbin   |   February 6, 2020

Are you stressed out? Is your heart racing, your breath shallow, and your mind scattered and unfocused? If the answer is yes and you’d like an effective, drug-free way to calm yourself down, I have a simple remedy for you that’s scientifically proven to work and literally right under your nose. Every Wednesday at Physical […]

Free Fundamentals Class and More Yoga
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 23, 2020

Twenty-year veteran Santa Barbara yoga teacher Kat Connors-Longo leads a two-hour introduction to the practice of yoga that serves as a great opportunity for beginning students who would like to learn yoga basics as well as a chance for yoga students of all levels who would like to review the fundamentals of the practice. Questions […]

Day of Reflection
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 23, 2020

Sarah McLean leads a meditation immersion/mini-retreat at Montecito Meditation from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, January 25, that serves as an opportunity to unplug from the bombardment of sound, take a respite from technology, put aside to-do lists and dive deeply into your interior. Offerings include silent meditations, a walking meditation, a guided […]

Envisioning the ‘Final Asana’
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 23, 2020

Kick off the brand-new year with a workshop that’s all about anticipating the end. White Lotus Foundation’s Santa Barbara Retreat Center begins the 2020 series of monthly retreats with “Preparing for the Final Asana: End of Life Law, Medicine, Policy and What Yoga Offers,” co-led by landmark attorney Kathryn Tucker, who is the Executive Director […]

MeetUps: Goddess Gatherings and More
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 16, 2020

Elizabeth Huebner is launching Bee Divine: Goddess Embodiment, a new group for women who want to dive into the embodied exploration of the sacred feminine within the safe container of other courageous sisters. The group will explore the many facets of the sacred feminine through sacred circles, embodiment practices and ceremony, including ritual theater, Divine […]

Soup’s on for Weekend of Workshops
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 16, 2020

Yoga, meditation and breath-work practitioner Jenn Parma’s “High Vibration Breathwork” seminar, slated for 7-9:30 pm on Friday, January 17, at Yoga Soup, is an invitation to bathe in the vibrational sounds of various medicine songs, crystal singing bowls and chimes. The class aims to activate your energy body and bring balance to your chakras through […]

Expanding Consciousness at SEL
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 9, 2020

There is a healthy selection of 14 classes under the Spirituality section in the new SBCC School of Extended Learning catalog of courses, 11 of which are being offered for the first time. Among the choices are SEL regulars David Cumes, who leads “Dreams and How Spirit Guides Script Them” and “The Spiritual Power of […]

Spirituality Matters
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 26, 2019

A Burning Bowl Bye-bye to ’19 Despite the fact that its ministry is in transition, Unity of Santa Barbara will again offer its popular annual releasing ritual known as the Burning Bowl Ceremony on New Year’s Eve in the sanctuary. Burning Bowl is an ancient fire ritual that serves as a symbolic way for people […]

Montecito Meditation for Solstice
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 19, 2019

Celebrate the Winter Solstice with meditation with Sarah McLean – the 25-year veteran contemporary meditation and mindfulness teacher who co-founded the new Montecito Meditation Center. Participants will be guided into a solstice meditation practice to welcome the dark on the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and let go of what doesn’t […]

The Mental Floss of Mindfulness
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 12, 2019

While decades ago, meditation and mindfulness might have been considered a New Age distraction for woo-woo Californians, the practices have clearly been adopted as mainstream by individuals, businesses, families and other organizations. The medical, emotional, and spiritual benefits are palpable, but perhaps still somewhat difficult to grasp. Integrating those two has been a two-decade-plus passion […]

Tending the Masculine Fire in Tenuous Times
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 5, 2019

The FireTenders men’s groups were founded several years ago by Timothy Tillman to be a self-sustaining community of responsible men committed to wakeful living and willing to support other men in the process of self-discovery, true masculine embodiment, and open-hearted relational engagement in the world. There are three such ongoing groups in town, plus several […]

Manifesting Magic: Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 21, 2019

Like many spiritual leaders, Madeleine Marentette came to her practice via finding healing through metaphysical experiences. The Toronto native had been in a series of health crises throughout most of her 20s, so sick that she almost skipped an invitation to a discourse from the Dalai Lama at the University of Toronto. “But something just […]

JourneyDance Journeys Back to Town
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 17, 2019

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 […]

The Divine Mess: Laughter is the Best Medicine
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 14, 2019

Sarah Taylor has been acting since high school, but was always interested in the serious roles. She didn’t get into performing stand-up comedy until many years later, right around the same time her own struggles led her to investigate Buddhism. “It was very odd, because I had a real pull to just sit and practice […]

NEST Fest Nestles into SBCAST
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 7, 2019

Last August’s debut of NEST Fest – produced by the collective known as New Earth Star Tribe – was a deep, one-afternoon immersion in all kinds of healing and transformational modalities, from ecstatic dance to conscious talks, sound healing and movement and plenty of partner play. The event was hosted at a private East Side […]

Relational Mindfulness: The Garden of Eden
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 31, 2019

Taking a mindful pause is one of the most important tenets of Relational Mindfulness, according to Deborah Eden Tull, the veteran meditation and mindfulness teacher who wrote a 2018 book of the same name. Even so, it was almost surprising when it took a moment for the words to emerge in response to a question […]

Healing Touch: Everything’s Coming up Rosen
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 24, 2019

It might seem counterintuitive to consider as a spiritual practice a healing modality that looks like it largely consists of massage-like touch with a little bit of talking. The Rosen Method, after all, was developed in the early 1980s by a former physical therapist named Marion Rosen. The bodywork is based on the concept that […]

FireTending for Mature Males
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 10, 2019

FireTenders is a self-sustaining community of responsible men who are committed to wakeful living and are willing to support other men in the process of self-discovery, true masculine embodiment, and open-hearted relational engagement in the world. Normally the meetings are in closed, ongoing groups that are formed following a weekend or other immersive training. Now, […]

Meditation Magic in Montecito
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 3, 2019

The Magic Castle Cabaret opened earlier this year just off Cabrillo Boulevard by the Andree Clark Bird Refuge. But even more magical moments might soon be taking place next door at the just-opened Montecito Meditation. The new center is designed as a non-denominational destination for the local meditation community as well as a retreat and […]