Soul Nourishment & Deep Rest: Meditation Workshop

April 6th – May 11th, 2022  / Wednesdays 9-10am via Zoom

(Concluded)

My wish is that this series will be a source of meaningful support and deep recovery for you at this time in your life.

Course Themes:

Week 1: Coming Home – Remembering and Reclaiming.

Week 2: Grace – Cultivating courage in times of challenge.

Week 3: Sovereignty – Being on your own side.

Week 4: Beauty – Letting nature nourish you continuously.

Week 5: Creativity – Unfolding your Self-expression.

Week 6: Self-Care – Practicing the Art of Receiving.

What participants have to say:

“I was drawn to Nancy Gaeden’s Soul Nourishment series to learn more about meditation. I have dabbled in various approaches through the years, but nothing really rang true for me. When I signed up for Nancy’s series, I hit the jackpot. Nancy showed me how to come home to myself, to claim the gift that was always there, to connect with the flow of life, no rules and no regimens. I experienced a deep shift in my thinking about meditation, something I felt throughout my body as true and joyful. Starting with a session on remembering and reclaiming the self, Nancy led us through sessions on grace, sovereignty, beauty, creativity and the art of receiving. Using the Radiance Sutras and her own deep wisdom, Nancy lit up our sessions, busting myths and flinging doors open along the way. There was also plenty of time to share experiences among our group. I came to feel a tenderness toward everyone taking this journey and am so grateful to Nancy for sharing her gifts.” ~ Betty L.

“Nancy’s Soul Nourishment class has opened my eyes to a whole new world of what meditation can be – joyful, playful, profound, and a place of rest and restoration. Instead of wrestling with my thoughts, I am learning to put myself (pesky thoughts and all) at the center of my practice. I didn’t realize how much I neglected myself or took myself for granted until I started this journey.  Nancy shares various “skills” or ways to ease into meditation and busts many myths about it along the way. Thanks to this class, even when I am not “meditating”, I feel more present and at home in the world.” – Cathy C.

“‘Soul Nourishment & Deep Rest’, with Nancy Gaeden brings meditation to each of us with the natural gentleness and sureness of a summer breeze, right and true. With a huge heart, Nancy leads us to ourselves, with knowledge, experience, excitement and joy. I always felt safe receiving her teachings as I would soon feel the safety and warmth of ‘Home’, in my own meditations. What a heart opening, loving and freeing adventure! This series far exceeded my personal goals and intention to know myself better and to gain tools to help quiet my mind. I am so grateful to have been in this series.” – Ruth A

“As someone who has been happily  meditating on and off for nearly 50 years, I couldn’t have imagined how much insight and pleasure I would derive from Nancy’s beautiful approach to meditation.  Her meditation series, inspired by the Radiance Sutras, was truly nourishment for my soul, deeply relaxing, validating, and profoundly liberating. I have fallen in love with my practice all over again! Highly recommended for both new and long time meditators.” ~Katherine T. 

“Having just finished Nancy’s series on meditation & soul nourishment, I would like to share how happy I am that I decided to embark on this ongoing journey. I am new to meditation, & find Nancy’s approach to be very natural, accessible & liberating. It’s not hard, which surprised me. I’m benefitting by finding a deeper connection with myself, & I find that I enjoy the process of reflecting on Sutras & then meditating together. It’s liberating to me to learn to better balance the painful parts of life with the joy. I’m looking forward to continuing meditation, & highly recommend Nancy’s meditation series.” ~Priscilla I.

“I have practiced meditation and sat with many wonderful teachers over the years and have always viewed it as a ‘serious’ matter.  Nancy’s workshop brings a different approach to meditation to make it a relaxed and joyful experience – I came away from each session with a nugget of wisdom to carry throughout the day and into life.  Nancy also brings a deep knowledge of meditation practices and yoga philosophy to the series.  Having an opportunity during the workshop to share our individual experiences with others in the group gave extra depth to each class.  Whether you are new to meditation or have practiced for many years, Nancy’s workshop is extremely valuable to help one look at meditation with different eyes.  Nancy is an excellent teacher, heartfelt and non-judgmental – and with some humor too. Thank you Nancy for introducing me to a fresh, lighter perspective to meditation, I am grateful our paths crossed.” ~Zoe R. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Radiance Through Yoga 2017 Workshop Series

(Concluded)

 Practice, Inquiry, Community

Winter: Saturday, January 28th/ Spring: Saturday, April 8th/ Summer: Saturday, July 8th/ Fall: Saturday, October 28th
9:00am – 12:30pm, Healdsburg, CA.

“Imagine, for this moment, that in all moments, Radiance is our true nature.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Radiance Through Yoga 2016

Friday, November 11th, 2016 9:30am – 12:30pm

(Concluded)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Self-Compassion and the Practice of Yoga

Saturday, February 27th, 2016 2:00-4:30pm (Concluded)

Soften the inner critic and connect with your full self…

In this 2.5 hour workshop, we will explore the science and benefits of Self-Compassion practice, and the connection with our full selves through a gentle and deep yoga practice.

You will learn:

The three components of Self-Compassion practice

Common challenges in being kind to ourselves and ways to work around them

Motivating the self without thinking “I’m not enough”

The 5 Koshas, or “sheaths” of our being, and using yoga to live more fully

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoga for Wellbeing Workshop

Workshop Date: Sunday, December 7th, 2014. 2:00pm – 4:00pm. (Concluded)

In this interactive 2-hour workshop for practitioners of all levels, explore how yoga can be practiced therapeutically to reduce stress and manage chronic pain.

What you will learn:

How yoga can be therapeutic and complimentary to allopathic medicine

Regulating the Nervous System: Going from fight/flight/freeze to rest/digest

3 Breathing techniques for increasing lung capacity and soothing the nervous system

Stretching without straining

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Excellent presentation.  Information was presented in a personable yet thorough way.  It made me want to start a deeper exploration into yoga. ” – Liz

“Very informative class on yoga and wellness! Nancy was a thoughtful instructor and very knowledgeable.” – Holly

“I really enjoyed this workshop and your style of teaching.  Thank you so much.”

“Soothing and relaxing.  So nice to take a break from the daily chaos to BREATHE!” – Lori

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dhyana center pic

I will be teaching 30-minute yoga workshops at the Dhyana Center as part of an Ayurveda education series with DeAnna Batdorff:

 Title:  Body Mapping Series: The Art of Self Assessment

Dates:  Oct 17, Oct 24, Nov 7, Dec 5, Dec 12: Thursdays 5:30pm-8:30pm (Concluded)

Cost: Members $345 / Non-Members $385 (includes dinner).

Yoga and Ayurveda have been sister disciplines in the greater system of Vedic knowledge for thousands of years; Ayurveda was developed to facilitate healing of the body, while Yoga enhances well-being and guides spiritual endeavor.

In the Ayurvedic portion of the workshop you will learn to Track, Understand and Treat the Body’s Symptoms for Self Sustainability. For additional details on the Ayurveda portion of the workshop, please visit: http://dhyanacenter.com/ayurvedic-programs-classes/classes-with-deanna/

In the Yoga portion of the workshop we will cover:

Week 1: Introduction to the 5 Koshas (sheaths of the body) and how yoga helps to integrate and deepen the experience of being.
We will do a brief interactive demonstration leading into a breath-and-movement experience, ending with a couple minutes of quiet sitting.

Week 2: Postures and Prana.
We will explore the concept of nadis/energy channels and how asana practice combined with compassionate awareness facilitates healing. We will warm up with pratapana movements and build a couple postures from the ground up, ending with a brief relaxation to fully receive the energetic benefits of the postures.

Week 3: The Function of Breath.
We will explore the relationship between breath, the quality of the mind, and mood regulation. We will learn 2 yogic breaths, and how to combine them in asana practice. We will close with quiet dirgha breath while in a restorative posture.

Week 4: Finding your Edge, and enhancing the Quality of a Pose.
We will explore the dance between Push vs. Yield and understanding the minimum and maximum edges of a pose. We will experiment with this in seated forward fold, and pigeon pose, being mindful of how a pose is entered, sustained, released, integrated, and transitioned.

Week 5: Meditation-in-Motion, and Savasana.
In the final week we will explore tapping into the body’s innate wisdom for movement, building upon the concepts of yogic movement from the previous weeks, unifying body-mind-spirit in a meditation-in-motion experience, and closing with the deep delicious relaxation of Savasana.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deepen Your Yoga Experience:  “The Quality of the Pose” Workshop  (September 28th, 2013 – Concluded.)

cropped-landscape-vignette-yoga3.jpg

In this interactive 2-hour workshop for practitioners of all levels, explore how to deeply tune into the quality of your personal yoga postures.

We will explore the stages of moving into, and finding the “sweet spot” of the asana, the interplay of breath and mindfulness, integration, and transitioning into the next posture.  The format of the workshop will be split between information and discussion, and a guided practice to explore and integrate what has been learned.  We will finish with a sweet deep relaxation.

What you will learn:

  • Building postures safely from the ground up
  • The qualities of entering, sustaining, releasing, and integrating between postures
  • Knowing your minimum and maximum edge
  • The effect of breathwork in postures

Join us for this informative and powerful workshop designed to upgrade your yoga experience on the mat!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I attended Nancy’s workshop ‘The Quality of the Pose’ and felt amazing at the end.  Not only did she provide a thorough foundation during her informational portion of the workshop, she provided integration of what she shared in the beginning in our practice at the end.  She speaks with knowledge, kindness, and her passion and love for yoga truly come through and is palpable.  I look forward to taking another class or workshop with Nancy.” – Julie C., Sonoma