Here is an overview of upcoming retreats, workshops and musical presentations our community members are offering.
8-week Qigong series of classes on Salt Spring Island
Facilitated by Purna Ma
Time: 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. (1 ½ hours)
Venue: Ganges Yoga Studio, 154 Kings Lane, Salt Spring Island
Cost: $100 for the 8-week series or $15.00 per class
A 15 minute period of sitting meditation will be included at the end of our Qigong practice. The Ganges Yoga Studio has all the zafus, cushions, chairs, etc. that we might need.
Autumn Salt Spring Island Retreat:
The Open Vessel – A Day of Qigong, Reflection, Writing
Facilitated by Purna Ma and Lorraine Gane, poet/writer/teacher/editor (www.lorrainegane.com)
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Cost: Early registration (payment by September 15) is $85 (includes vegetarian lunch);
registration after September 15 is $95
Place: Seven Stars Tai Chi Club, 210 Cedar Lane, Salt Spring Island
During this day-long gathering, we’ll have an opportunity to rest in the fullness of autumn with gentle movement, meditation and breathing practices to still the mind, replenish the body, and open untapped reservoirs of nourishment and creativity. Periods of writing practices interspersed throughout the day will offer us a chance to reflect on what is harvesting in our lives at this turning of the cycle. Our time together will deepen our gratitude, cultivate a space for gracious unfolding, and strengthen our connection to the wellspring within. (No writing or Qigong experience is necessary.)
Qigong – Portal to Awareness
Facilitated by Purna Ma
This is a two Saturday morning workshop series from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is suitable for beginners and for those already involved in a Qigong and/or Tai Chi practice.
Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC
www.royalroads.ca/continuing-studies
Salt Spring is home to a plethora of writers, artists, and crafts people of all kinds who have found the island a sanctuary for deep creativity and healing.
A new program guided by local writers, artists, musicians, and those in the healing arts will make use of the island’s many talents and resources to support off-islanders in personal creative weekend and week-long retreats.
Retreatants stay in a self-contained cottage overlooking St. Mary’s Lake. Mornings might be spent writing, painting or in other artistic pursuits, or meeting with mentors in one-on-one consultations to support a work in progress, the exploration of new creative mediums or deeper creativity (i.e. releasing creative blocks).
Afternoons offer a wide-range of choices, including touring the island’s artists’ studios, visiting local galleries and bookstores, hiking the island’s many trails, and visiting the famous Saturday market for one-of-a-kind crafts, organic breads and vegetables or other locally made products.
In addition to myself (Qigong, Tai Chi and meditation), participating mentors include poet, writer, coach, and editor Lorraine Gane (www.lorrainegane.com), energy healer and craniosacral therapist Cathie Cunningham (www.saltspringcottageresort.com), singer/musician Oona McOuat (www.oonamcouat.com), and painter Lisa Lipsett (www.creativebynature.org).
To book your stay at the Cottage Resort, go to www.saltspringcottageresort.com . Artists/practitioners can be contacted individually for one-on-one sessions or you can contact me and I’ll refer you on.
The Sacred Universe all Around and Within
A Contemplative Retreat that Connects Nature with Our True Nature
Co-Facilitated by Elvira Clare and Maureen Wild
Maureen and Elvira enjoy working together and they offer unique and complementary gifts for a very enriching contemplative retreat. It invites participants to ‘bring the ordinary into sacred awareness.’
More information at: www.paxgaia.ca
Sinai Desert, Egypt – Petra, Jordan
Pilgrimage into Desert Spirituality
The Art of the Journey–Wisdom of the Heart
Co-Guided by Elvira Clare and Regina Roman of Sapira Pilgrimages.
On this unique pilgrimage we will experience Desert Spirituality through the Art of the Journey. Pilgrims will learn the four primary components of pilgrimage as the archetypal journey through life, using St. Anthony of Egypt as a model.
Download the Brochure and Registration Form in Adobe PDF format.
More information at: www.sapira.com
Dimensions of Stillness and Presence
Co-Facilitated by Elvira Clare and MJ Huthmacher
A contemplative weekend retreat that brings together the riches of both Eastern and Western contemplative religious traditions. This retreat will include short presentations, supported by Elvira’s music, and centering periods of silence, meditation and prayer.
Friday 7:00pm to Sunday 2:00pm
Queenswood Centre for Spiritual Growth, Victoria, BC
More information at: www.queenswoodvictoria.ca/retreats