Past the Poses: Studio Sessions

Yoga studios abound all through town and the Santa Barbara environs. But not all of them offer events and classes that aren’t about asanas. Yoga Soup’s been one of the big players ever since Founder Eddie Ellner opened the space as a hybrid yoga studio, bookstore, and community gathering space 25 years ago. Indeed, the calendar there is crowded with multiple offerings, as many as 10 in a given week, from men’s and women’s circles to meditation, breathwork, ecstatic dances, cacao ceremonies, myriad sound bath healing sessions, ragas and kirtans, and even conversations about death and “A Course in Miracles.” 

Some upcoming special events include “From Sustainable Compassion to Unbounded Awareness” from Radhule Weininger, PhD, the clinical psychologist and founder of the nonprofit organization Mindful Heart Programs who also leads weekly free meditations on Monday evenings at Yoga Soup. The half-day retreat on Saturday, July 18, will include practices in both compassion meditation and from the Mahamudra tradition that leads participants from full-body concentration to subtle-body awareness to a non-dual ocean-and-wave experience.

Forrest Leichtberg, MBA, the former CEO of The Freedom to Choose Project and executive director of Unity of Santa Barbara, is offering “Creating Abundance: Integrative Money Workshop” on Wednesday, July 22, which he describes as a holistic experience designed to bring clarity, reduce stress, and support a more conscious and aligned relationship with money. The experiential workshop blends practical financial strategy with inner exploration, aiming toward helping participants clarify their life direction and create a financial plan that reflects who they truly are through guided reflection, simple frameworks, and grounded financial education. 

At the other end of the longevity spectrum – and the other side of the greater Santa Barbara area – lies Flow Yoga & Wellness, which won’t celebrate its fourth anniversary until October. But there are a number of offerings on a regular basis, including a monthly Community Meditation Gathering led by Sarah McLean, who co-founded and conducted sessions at the Montecito Meditation Center by the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge before the site was swallowed up to create The Post Montecito shopping and dining space. Held on the first Sunday (August 2), the event is a 75-minute gathering for participants to pause, nourish your body and mind, and experience meditating in community. Open to all levels of experience, the sessions offer practical insights and simple contemplative tools along with a guided meditation, covering a rotating variety of techniques inspired by both ancient wisdom traditions and modern mindfulness practices. McLean has taught meditation for more than 30 years, served as program director for Deepak Chopra’s Ayurveda wellness center, and directed The School for Byron Katie’s The Work. McLean is also the author of Soul-Centered: Transform Your Life in 8 Weeks with Meditation and The Power of Attention: Awaken to Love and its Unlimited Potential with Meditation.

McLean is also offering a weekly Meditation Salon on Mondays beginning July 20 that is open to experienced practitioners from any reflection, with the one-hour sessions opening with a brief reflection on a contemplative theme followed by a 25-minute silent meditation. 

On tap this weekend are “Angelic Vibrations, a Journey into Sound with Paula Taylor & Andrew Simon, (aka Didgeriidrew),” featuring vocal toning, light language, metal and crystal singing bowls, didgeridoo, and guitar, on Friday, July 17; “Listening to your Inner Guidance,” a friendly, spiritual conversation on Saturday, July 18, about your inner guidance and how tuning in can benefit you in bringing more awareness to your daily life, led by Catherine Dougher, a retired psychologist now serving as a cleric for Eckankar, an integration of Eastern and Western spiritual practices.

Santa Barbara Flow Yoga & Wellness is located at 4441 Hollister Ave. in Goleta.

Visit www.sbflowyoga.com. 

Moving in Nature to Make the World a Better Place 

Sacred Garden Wellness is bringing back its Yogalates sessions blending Yoga, Pilates and Meditation to La Mesa Park for a three-event series where participants can transform their practice beyond the mat and support good causes toward the mission of cultivating positive change in our community – one step, one breath at a time. The sessions, slated for 3 pm on Sundays July 19, July 26, and August 2, have a suggested donation of $20, but also have a “pay as you can” policy. One hundred percent of proceeds benefit nonprofits Kind Mind Santa Barbara, Wilderness Youth Project, and the Sierra Club, and Sacred Garden’s founder Laura Caulfield-Lewis will match up to $1,500. 

Visit www.sacredgardenwellness.com

Infinity Loop Beckons

Krista Vorse leads one of her ongoing Infinity Loop Santa Barbara workshops called “Communication & Leadership Beyond the Ego” on Saturday, July 18. The three-hour experiential session is aimed at exploring how Connection, Awareness, and Inquiry transform the way we engage with others and can foster deeper connection and dialogue. Through guided dialogue and exercises, participants learn to recognize automatic thinking patterns and develop more conscious, impactful communication. The process involves transitioning from a judgmental, separate self to a receptive, unified awareness – an extension of our spiritual practice.

Get details and more at www.kristavorse.com

Online Opportunity 

Karmic Warrior Founder Lisa Witter’s annual summit is a free three-day online only workshop aimed at helping serious spiritual practitioners stay grounded, clear, and connected in the midst of the markedly increased challenges of our time. “Tantra for Turbulent Times: Finding the Sacred in the Storm” runs July 25-27, with each day including teachings, practices, and conversations designed to guide participants in meeting the moment through the wisdom of classical non-dual Tantra. 

The three main tracks during the summit feature tantric teachings and tantric practices followed by “Discernment and Devotion in Turbulent Times,” the latter focusing on how to recognize teachers and communities that are truly trustworthy, trauma-aware, and aligned with non-dual values.

Visit www.tantricartscollective.com for details and registration