BrancheS: Short courses

 

July 17- September 11- Ayurveda Workshop Series w/John Joseph Immel. 
Fridays 6pm-9pm, $25 each, or $200 for entire series
Discover the healing and nourishing power of Ayurveda, a 5000 year old yoga-related art and science from India, rooted in the simple joy of tasty, healthy food.

Fri. July 17- From Food to Consciousness; food, diet, and medicine Join teacher Joseph Immel for an introduction to the healing and nourishing power of ayurveda, a 5000 year old yoga-related art and science from India rooted in the simple joy of tasty, healthy food. Topics will include cooking for your constitution, the digestion of food into consciousness, and a foundation for eight healing qualities of food. Then we'll explore food cravings and beautiful recipes that will bring a holistic perspective to your own creativity in the kitchen.

July 18- Celtic Herbal Medicine w/ Terry Cochran. 10am-2pm, $40. Celtic herbal medicine was one of the first European treatments brought to America. Many of the British herbs are now naturalized throughout the wilds of the USA today. These blended among the native plants as their uses were shared with shamans and medicine women and men. Learn some of the folklore, magic, and charms that came along with the Celts and Brits.

July 19- Appalachian herbs in Native Medicine Tradition w/ Terry Cochran. 10am-2pm, $30.Terry is descended from the Snowbird Cherokees near Robbinsville, NC, and this class is taught from that perspective. Learn how Cherokees use plants for food and medicine, how teas, poultices, incenses and smokes are made, and receive instructions on the intentional gathering of wild plants. Make your own medicinal tea to keep on hand as “first aid”. Hear the Cherokee language spoken and understand the concepts that drive the “People” to attempt to live in harmony with their environment.

Mon, July 22-Introduction to Flower Essences w/ Kelly Avena Bowers. 6:30-9pm, $25-35 sliding scale Achieve an enhanced sense of well-being through the gentle, yet transformative power of Flower Essences.  An ally in affecting positive change, flower essences can gently guide you to emotional and spiritual breakthroughs to help actualize your dreams.  Whether you’d like more confidence, a brighter outlook, or the emotional strength to balance life’s many demands, Flower Essences are a safe, effective means in bringing about positive life change.

Fri. July 24- Ayurvedic Anatomy 101; the relationship between organs Ayurvedic anatomy describes patterns of organs within the body rather than the actual physical organs themselves. Starting from the top down we’ll discuss the interaction between dosha, digestion, tissues and the management channels of the body. The body is a tree – our lungs are the leaves, our roots are the GI tract. Disease is any change in homeostasis. From these basic perspectives we’ll create a therapeutic model for holistic healing using tridosha theory and discuss why this requires a dramatic paradigm shift in our current state of thinking.

Fri. July 31- Introduction to Vata Dosha; dispersion of prana Vata is negative space, dispersion of energy, and leads to deficiency. From forgetting our true nature to organ deficiency all disease begins and ends in vata. We’ll present vata sites in body, the basic causes and pathogenisis of vata imbalance, and treatment for bringing vata back into balance, By the end of the session you will be able to recognize most vata disorders, where vata accumulates in the body, the basic causes and pathogenesis of vata disorders, and treatments for bringing vata back into balance.

Fri. August 7- Introduction to Pitta Dosha; seeds of inflammation High pitta is an imbalance of fire caused by infection, heat, dryness, blood stagnation or other factors.  Most often, pitta imbalance arises from some deeper imbalance in either vata or kapha. Due to it’s volatile nature, pitta imbalance must be treated seriously. We’ll present pitta sites in body, the basic causes and pathogenisis of pitta imbalance, and treatment for bringing pitta back into balance, By the end of the session you will be able to recognize most pitta disorders, where pitta accumulates in the body, the basic causes and pathogenesis of pitta disorders, and treatments for bringing pitta back into balance.

Fri. August 14- Introduction to Kapha Dosha; blood stagnation and density Most kapha disorder results from excess oil, cold or heavy quality. Dense viscous blood leads to poor circulation of prana, water retention, and buildup of metabolic byproducts in the lymphatic system. We’ll present kapha sites in body, the basic causes and pathogenisis of kapha imbalance, and treatment for bringing kapha back into balance, By the end of the session you will be able to recognize most kapha disorders, where kapha accumulates in the body, the basic causes and pathogenesis of kapha disorders, and treatments for bringing kapha back into balance.

Fri. August 21- Ayurveda and the Gunas; therapeutic perspectives for balance Ayurveda uses twenty simple qualities to assess and treat imbalance (heavy, light, sharp dull, etc). Although immediately and directly practical for everyday use, a lifetime of study will continue to unfold new knowledge. Gunas have relationships with each other. For example, dryness causes stress, heat causes oil, and cold quality causes heaviness. A baffling array of symptoms often comes from an imbalance of one or two gunas. By the end of the class you will have new tools to simplify symptoms down to root causes.

Fri. August 28- Ayurvedic Perspectives on Cleansing and Detoxification Ayurvedic perspectives on detox sometimes mirror a sponge: soak and squeeze with warm water. First we soak the body with internal and externally applied oil, then squeeze with sweat and massage therapy. We introduce dramatic pancha karma elimination therapies that detox the body at the very core. We’ll also discuss slower, less dramatic methods for long term detox using diet, exercise and spices.

Fri. Sept 4- Ayurveda and the Yoga of Plants Ayurveda offers experiential approaches for holistic self-healing and growth. We will discuss three mystery plants and discover, without any help from textbooks, its medicinal uses and doshic signature. With this knowledge, you can use any herb ayurvedically and heal yourself in any grocery store and even at a fast food restaurant! Ayurveda is a way of relating to the environment around us; it is profoundly simpler than we imagine and offers everyone the chance to be their own healer.

Fri. Sept 11 Ayurvedic Psychology; anatomy of ego and consciousness Where do thoughts come from? Ayurveda believes the mind is the entire body. How do we experience our own mind? By stepping back from the mind we can have a conscious experience of its inner workings. This heals our relationship with ourselves and frees us from the mind’s entanglements. Through techniques such as witness consciousness, five sense therapy, movement of kundalini and simple balancing of doshas, we build a highly practical framework for treating psychological disorders, emotional trauma, and spiritual illness.

Fri-Sun, Oct 9-11- Contemplative Aromatherapy w/ Guest Speaker David Crow of Florocopeia. Introduction October 9, 7-10pm; Weekend Retreat October 10, 11, 9-6 pm “Contemplative Aromatherapy” is an experiential approach to studying essential oils and their effects on body and mind using a combination of classical Buddhist meditation methods and Ayurvedic medical philosophy. There are two basic ways to use essential oils with meditation practice. The first is to use oils to enhance meditative states, and the second is to use meditation to study the oils. In this program we use both these approaches, both separately and together. Cost: This special retreat is offered on a donation basis in accordance with Buddhist tradition. A wide variety of Floracopeia essential oils and products will be available for sale

Sat. Oct 24 - Fertility Awareness for Natural Birth Control or Pregnancy Achievement w/ Corinna Wood of Red Moon Herbs. 10am-4pm, sliding scale $75-$95. This is not about counting the number of days from your period until you're "safe"! Come learn why the Rhythm Method doesn't work, and why Fertility Awareness does. Fertility Awareness is a scientifically validated day-to-day method of determining when in a woman’s cycle she is fertile. This information can be used to plan or prevent a pregnancy, or simply to learn more about your body’s cycles. You can learn to observe and interpret the primary fertility signs--cervical fluid and waking temperature--in just a few minutes a day. This method is appropriate for women of all ages and for women with irregular cycles.

More Fertility Awareness Info