A Wonderful History of gatherings at WYDHA
Winter Solstice Celebration
Meditation, Sound Healing, and Despacho Ceremony
Wednesday, Dec. 20th 7-9PM
Come together to honor the longest night of the year and the return of the Light, tonight we call the community in for a group meditation with an orchestra of crystal bowls and other sound healing blessings from Michele Newman, and an Andean Despacho ceremony facilitated by Lorraine Stern to put our prayers up. Optional 5:30PM Yoga class with Beth Nelson prior. Gather for ceremony at 7:15 together in Luna. Bring your intentions, willingness and compassion!
Yoga class + ceremony: $30
Community event 7-9PM only: $20
Past Events
INTRO TO BROOM MAKING with Bethany Ridenour
SUNDAY, November 5th from 2:30-6:30PM
Brooms are used around the world for daily and ritual cleansing of spaces. A broom is an important part of making a safe and sacred space. In this industrial modern world handcrafts of all kinds are being replaced by machine made goods. The broom is no exception. Handcrafted brooms are on the brink of extinction. In this four-hour class you will learn the basics or Broom Craft. We will each make a broom to take home and use in our daily cleaning rituals.
Fee: $80. Materials are included in the cost of the workshop.
Space is limited, please register here online or call us to sign up!
Saturday, January 28
African Dance with Ousseynou Kouyate and Pan Dulce Dance Party! Craft beer tasting by Midnight Gazebo
$30 / full event 5 - 9:30PM
$18 Dance workshop 5 - 6:30PM
$12 Pan Dulce show 7 - 9:30PM
Ousseynou Kouyate is from Senegal, and is from a long line of "Griot" or storytellers who represent the arts and cultural traditions of his people. He lives in Oakland and teaches packed classes every week for adults and children. He is a master dance teacher whose classes make the strength, joy and freedom of African dance reachable by all in his presence. He has tremendous dignity and a great sense of humor, and teaches about his culture through story and song as well as dance.
Following the class, we are opening up our studio for a special community dance party hosted by Pan Dulce! Local artists whose style is bohemian, ska/punk, layered vintage grooves, they are of Watsonville roots with high-reaching branches of talent. We will also host Midnight Gazebo, local Watsonville brewers serving their fine craft beer in our atrium. Paul DeWorken of Monterey Bay Murals will be vending his awesome clothing, hats, and an assortment of "the Ville" merchandise for adults and kids. Food will also be available for purchase. Come join the fun and get your groove on. Join us for a precious opportunity to dance and learn songs with Ousseynou at our Saturday evening event preceding the Pan Dulce dance party! Workshop only: $18, full event $30.
Visit Ousseynou's website
Visit Pan Dulce's website
Visit Midnight Gazebo Brewing Project's website
Come out, build community, and get a lift off of Pan Dulce's unique musical mojo on our big floor!
register:
https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/LoginLaunch?studioid=320548
Tibetan Yoga Workshop
Saturday, 1/14 2 - 4:30pm
Yoga on your feet: Practicing gentleness and
fearlessness in difficult times
Lama Brian Hilliard has been living and breathing mindfulness meditation for 35 years. He has studied under great Tibetan Masters, including Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and has completed the traditional 3-year retreat. This workshop is dedicated to acknowledging difficult times and meeting them with gentle fearlessness as potential yogis and yoginis.
Tibetan Yoga consists of 20 exercises designed to easily be practiced anywhere, on your feet, without special equipment or clothing. The series was originally introduced to western students beginning in the 1990’s and has been taught extensively until the present day. The original teacher is Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, a Tibetan master trained in old Tibet. Tibetan Yoga is designed to meet the challenges of living in the 21st century. The yoga is designed to develop strength, flexibility, mindfulness and awareness, overcome laziness and sickness, and works with the subtle body. The emphasis is on simplicity and the joy of movement and meditation in movement. This workshop provides a basis from which you can practice using an on-line video after the workshop has been completed. We will sing the song called the 18 Kinds of Yogic Joy, composed over 1,000 years ago by the Yogi Milarepa.
$35/advance, $40 at the door
To register online, please visit
https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/LoginLaunch?studioid=320548
or call the front desk at (831) 228-1177
Winter Solstice Gathering
Saturday, Dec. 17th 4 - 9PM
The Solstice is a time for rebalancing, creating equanimity and unity within ourselves and with each other. We address the possibility of growing what we love into the year through embracing the purity and darkness of this season, planting seeds that will mature with the growing light. Tonight we offer mini sessions with our talented healing arts staff and a community ritual led by Marilu Shinn and Lorraine Stern. Later into the evening we have ecstatic dance DJ'ed by our own Jennifer Root, staff acupuncturist! The cost is $20 at the door and includes a session with our staff and all of the events of the evening, $12 for the ceremony and dance party only. Please save the date for a very special and powerful night together!
Healing Arts Clinic Open House,
Saturday Nov. 5, 4 - 7PM
Community, please come and meet local healers practicing at Watsonville Yoga, Dance and Healing Arts. You can explore the mind-body holistic health relationship this afternoon and evening with free mini-sessions in Acupuncture, massage and craniosacral therapy, Ayurveda, Shamanic Energy Medicine, and Bowen Bodywork. Sign-up at the door for a 25 minute session in our lovely healing arts space and Luna Yoga room. Light refreshments and tea are offered.
Grand OPENING!
Friday, Sept. 23rd, 5-9PM
Watsonville Yoga, Dance and Healing Arts bids you big welcome as we open our doors! On our Grand Opening you can come tour the studio, meet teachers and practitioners from the healing arts clinic, and find out more about our classes.
5PM Ribbon-cutting ceremony with Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Felipe Hernandez
6PM - 7PM Yoga class with Jackie Powell
7 - 7:30PM White Hawk Aztec Dancers' blessing
7:30 - 8PM Performance with Mohamed Bangoura, African drum and dance artist
8 - 9PM Salsa with Alex Fregoso
We are very excited to have our community inside, so please bring your families and join in the creative and meditative arts we have worked to bring to our town's first Yoga studio!
Pajaro Valley Certified Farmer's Market
Fridays at the Watsonville Civic Plaza
FREE CLASSES! 5:30pm on the Plaza lawn. Bring a friend!
Yoga mats are provided for a 45-minute practice, along with dance demos and mini-classes. Bilingual instruction.
July 15 Yoga and Bellydance
July 22 Yoga, Capoeira and Worldanz
July 29 Yoga and Salsa
August 12 African Dance and Yoga
August 26 African Dance
Keep an eye out for event updates and photos from our events on our FB page!
courtesy of Jackie Powell
Wilfredo Prudencio / DJ Willi Entertainment
Janelle Rodriguez, Artistic Director
Ruby Vasquez, Artistic Director
courtesy of Jackie Powell