Suggested donation: $15-$40, nobody turned away for lack of funds.
A gentle 1.5 hour offering of movement, breath, music, and connection for the Eastern European community and friends. Produced in collaboration with Glacial Milk Arts.
We will move through a guided meditation and a live harp sound bath followed by hot herbal tea. All humans welcome, no prior experience necessary. The language of the workshop will be English, with support in Russian available at all times (both instructors are fully bilingual.) If you would like to attend but the pricing is prohibitive for any reason, you can request a free ticket by contacting me.
ABOUT THE GARDEN
As we enter the month of December, Winter brings its own shadows -- shorter days, and long, cold nights. The events of the past year have challenged all of us to remain hopeful and strong, even in moments of great darkness.
What if…there was a magical blooming garden inside a Winter fairytale where we could remember the sweet, warm glow of our own hearts?
Where we could step away from the stress and worries of our day-to-day lives to slow down, breathe in beauty, and unwind in community with others?
Nothing to fix, nothing to solve.
Simply a space to slow down and reconnect with our own inner light.
This blooming winter garden is our dream - and our December gift to you.
Our evening will begin with a gentle guided meditation followed by an immersive harp sound bath designed to help you enter a space of deep relaxation and rejuvenation. We will open and close with a small community circle and an offering of hot herbal tea at the end for those wishing to stay and chat. No prior experience with meditation of sound baths is necessary. We recommend dressing as comfortably as possible (loose clothing, soft material, warm socks.)
Yoga mats and some blankets and bolsters will be provided - please bring additional blankets to keep yourself comfortable. You are welcome to bring your favorite props and/or a journal, if you wish. This evening is an offering of love and tenderness for the Slavic community, and any family, friends, and others who want to show their support. The language of the workshop will be English, with support in Russian available at all times (both instructors are fully bilingual.) This is an LGBTQIA+ inclusive event.
We are very grateful to Seagrape Apothecary for their generous offering of the Sweet Magic event space, and invite everybody to explore the Seagrape event calendar for upcoming workshops and more.
COVID PRECATIONS
Masks are optional. We will be providing hand sanitizer and masks to all individuals who wish to use them. We also advise anybody who feels ill to stay at home and not participate in group activities to help keep everybody safe.
ABOUT SOUND BATHS
A sound bath is a sonic offering using different instruments and sounds to create a relaxing and rejuvenating experience for the body and mind. For thousands of years, music and sound have been used for medicinal, healing and calming purposes all over the world. Dasha’s approach draws on her experience as a professional musician, as well as a therapeutic harpist and vocalist to combine amplified harp instrumentation, ethereal loops, gentle field recordings, and sound wave dynamic. The benefits of a sound bath include: calming the nervous system, alleviating symptoms associated with anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD.
ABOUT GUIDED MEDITATION
A guided meditation is a spoken story that invites you into a deeper state of physical and mental relaxation through visualization and physical cues. Because it is lead by an instructor, it can be a great introduction for those who are new to meditation, and can also be supportive for those who wish to deepen an existing meditation practice. Natalya’s approach to meditation is informed by her training as a somatic movement artist, as well as professional experience in trauma resilience and a deep love of Eastern European fairytales. Meditation has been clinically proven to reduce stress, alleviate anxiety, improve sleep, and increase emotional resilience.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTORS
Natalya Kolosowsky (she/her) is a bilingual trauma-informed MFA coach, facilitator, and teacher of creative processes. She was born in Novosibirsk, Russia and grew up in the American Southwest. Natalya is the founder of Shadow Tender - an interdisciplinary teaching methodology that trains individuals and organizations to expand emotional intelligence, transmute fear, and empower connection through movement, and creative expression. Natalya’s teaching approach is informed by over three decades of experience in dance and somatic practices; two decades of yoga practice; and formal training in expressive arts and the psychology and neuroscience of trauma resilience. She holds a BS in Psychology and a BFA in Visual Communication from the University of Arizona, as well as a MFA in Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon. Her work has been presented in universities, conferences, museums, and theaters around the world. You can learn more by visiting www.shadowtender.com or follow her on Instagram @natalya_chaos
Dasha Shleyeva (she/they) is a sustainable movement educator, therapeutic musician and visual artist. Her training includes 500 hours of physical therapy-based Yoga, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Technique, and 5 years of therapeutic harp sound bath work—all utilizing an approach through a trauma-informed lens. Dasha’s sound baths are an amalgamation of slightly amplified harp instrumentation, ethereal loops, gentle field recordings, sound wave dynamics, and relaxing vocals. Dasha is currently enrolled in a Clinical Musicianship Certification Program called Harp for Healing, training to to play therapeutic harp in clinical settings for those working through chronic pain, longterm illness, and hospice settings to name a few. Follow her on instagram @dashenkasounds or visit her website www.glacialmilkarts.com