Details and registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/yoga-at-alembic-1106959

Soulful flow is a robust vinyasa yoga class that brings balance to the body, mind and spirit. Anne-René has always been drawn to the spiritual side of life and yoga. This influences her movement meditations that are physically challenging and inspiring to the heart. Her class intertwines asana, breath, awareness, attention to transition and experiencing a personal connection to the movement that opens the door for a meditative flow to wake you up. Hand mudras, chanting, inspired readings, and music are incorporated into the class.

Anne-René Petrarca is a dance artist, Alexander Technique teacher and the artistic director of Sculpted Motion. She began her yoga studies back in New York City in the 1990's. In 2008 she received her Vinyasa yoga teaching certification from the White Lotus Foundation. She is inspired and influenced by her many teachers and studios: Ty Landrum, Sara Baird, Erin Dudley, Keith Borden, Cindi Lee's Om Yoga Center, Laughing Lotus Yoga, and the anatomical teachings of Irene Dowd and Leslie Kaminoff. Other influences are Krishnamurti, Ram Das, Kundalini yoga, Gaga, and Gyrotonic.

"I have always expressed myself through movement. I find inspiration in watching the sky, feeling the sun on my skin and the wonderment of the night sky. Trees are amazing, animals are graceful, poetry can bring me to my knees. I find comfort in the resiliency of the human spirit and kind words from my friends. There is a fullness and flow to life that I know exist and I find comfort in knowing that I am a work in progress flowing toward it."

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/waking-up-in-the-middle-of-everything-2416439

The Zen School, as passed down to us from China via Japan, takes a unique view on the possibility of living an exemplary life in the here-and-now that is awake, alive, and completely human, as well as embodying the vows that underlie all Mahayana Buddhist schools. In this ongoing class we will study the practices and the accompanying conceptual frameworks that are, essentially, the mind and body of Zen.

More specifically, we will engage in actual Zen meditative practice, both sitting and walking, with particular attention to the details and the appropriate amount of guidance. In a series of talks, we will also review the classical literature of Zen, including the Song Dynasty koan collections and the writings of Japanese Soto Zen founder Eihei Dogen. There will be plenty of opportunity for dialog, group discussion, and explanation.

Anshi Zachary Smith

Anshi Daigi Zachary Smith has been practicing Zen since 1993. He took jukai (lay ordination) in 1995, was shuso (Head Student) in 2007, ordained as a Zen priest in 2014 and received Dharma Transmission on April 17, 2019, all with former abbot and Senior Dharma Teacher Ryushin Paul Haller. He currently directs North Mountain Zendo, a zazenkai (sitting) group in North Beach and is a regular and frequent teacher at SFZC's City Center.

In addition to his involvement with Zen, Zachary is a husband, a father of four, a (mostly retired) engineer, a musician, a bike fanatic, and an avid but mediocre poet. He may be the only person in the history of Zen in the West to have interrupted a residential practice period to tour with a rock band.

Releasing into Presence: 

Meditation, Mantra & Movement

with Lopön Chandra Easton 

 Open to All

In this class, we’ll experience the benefits meditation, mantra, and movement have to offer our body, mind, and soul. Classes will be relaxing, rejuvenating, and fun, enhanced by community and collective practice. Weaving together mystical stories, meditations, mantra, movement and singing chants, Chandra offers practices that facilitate releasing into presence with ease and comfort.  All are welcome.

Meditation: Experience a richness of techniques for developing shamatha, calm abiding, and vipashyana, insight. These will include mindfulness of breathing, an especially effective approach to soothing the body and calming the discursive mind, and more advanced techniques called “settling the mind in its natural state” and “awareness of awareness.” 

Mantra:  Explore mantra recitation and chanting, both with and without musical accompaniment. Chandra will share a variety of mantras and melodies from the Buddhist and Hindu tradition, including melodies from her 21 Taras Collective project.

Movement: Practice gentle and accessible yoga and/or meditative movement/dance to bring more comfort and ease to your meditation and life. 

Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton is a teacher, writer, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism. She has taught Buddhism and Yoga around the world since 2001 and co-translated Sublime Dharma: A Compilation of Two Texts on the Great Perfection, published in 2012. In 2015, she was given the title of senior lead teacher, Dorje Lopön (Varjāchārya), by Lama Tsultrim Allione and Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche. She is on the Tara Mandala Board of Directors and the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Council, which addresses the under-representation of people from different cultural, racial, sexual orientation, and social backgrounds in the Dharma and at Tara Mandala. She is currently writing a book on the twenty-one Taras in Buddhist Tantra.  She is collaborating with musicians Nina Rao and Genevieve Walker, on the 21 Taras Collective, which aims to bring the 21 Taras alive through mantra, music, and devotion. She lives in Berkeley, CA.

Visit www.chandraeaston.com to learn more. 

Details and Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/somatic-inquiry-with-laura-v-ward-on-zoom-2174219

8:30-9:10am PDT

This 40 minute session will offer a dive into the fluid wisdom of your own body using breath, touch, sound, and sensation as tools to expand awareness and deepen your experience of being human.

You can take this class at any level of movement that feels comfortable to you. You can be in a chair, in bed, on the floor, and you are encouraged to move or not move in accordance with your own inner intelligence.

Laura Victoria Ward is maximalist artist, choreographer, somatic movement educator, Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, teacher, musician, and painter. She is the artistic director of Kingston Contemporary Dance Theatre, a multi-disciplinary, multi-generational, company. She has been teaching, creating dance theater, and performing in New York State, the Hudson Valley, and internationally for over 25 years.

Participating equally in both experiential and performative practices; movement, awareness, and expression lay the foundation for Laura's work which includes creativity, play, inquiry, and the general wonder of existing in a human body. An expansive knowledge of diverse movement practices, hands-on bodywork, anatomy, and kinesiology underpins Laura’s playful investigation including Continuum Movement, classical ballet training, physical theater, and nondual awareness meditation (with Michael Taft). She has been meditating for over 30 years.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/yoga-at-alembic-1106959

This lunchtime vinyasa flow features a dynamic yoga practice that calms the mind and cultivates presence by connecting movement with breath. This 45 + 15 minutes class will start and end on time and includes sun salutations, standing poses, and dynamic stretching focusing on hips, shoulders and the neck. The last 15 minutes of class will include pranayama (breath work) and Shavasana, optional for those needing to return to their afternoon obligations. This class is a great way to break up your day, release tension and stress, let go of your morning, and prepare for the rest of your day feeling energized and ready to tackle any afternoon challenges! Appropriate for the beginner with a few yoga classes under their belt to the intermediate yogi!

About the teacher:

Hi my name is Emily Fesler-Young!

Yoga found me in the fall of 2011, when I attended my first hot yoga class at the studio I would later go on to complete a 200 hr YTT certification, Yoga State in Lansing, Michigan. My teacher training was rooted in Hot Vinyasa and incorporated Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Tantric methodologies. In 2014, I began teaching in-studio classes. I continuously draw on Hatha and Yin styles in my teaching, as well as incorporating other elements of the 8-limbs of yoga to shape my class philosophy. As I have traveled and grown with teachers and students all over the world, my appreciation for practices centered on devotion, acceptance, and love has grown. Apart from teaching, I co-own a wellness-based business with my Husband and Brother-in-law centered on sharing mindful events and products to the SF Bay Area, and beyond. I am a seasoned traveler with a love for nature, people, and culture.

Details & Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/build-a-personal-meditation-practice-2517859

Shamatha meditation is an essential and time-honored technique used to cultivate a mixture of serenity and concentration. This state of “calm abiding” also serves as the base for many different types of meditation practices. This short course will help you develop your own personal shamatha practice, which you can tailor to your own meditation goals.

While drop-ins are allowed, your participation in all four classes is strongly encouraged, since each class will build directly on techniques introduced in prior classes. Moreover, you will get the most out of this class if you commit to at least 15 minutes (25 - 30 is even better) of home practice each day while the course is in session.

This class is suitable for complete beginners, those who have been practicing with an app, and experienced meditators looking to brush up on their shamatha or recharge their practice.

This course is offered in-person only and will not be recorded or streamed.

Class 1 (August 30th): Setting the Mode of Attention

Class 2 (Sept 6th): Introducing Flexibility

Class 3 (Sept 13th): Dropping the Ball

Class 4 (Sept 20th): Designing Your Daily Practice

Each class will begin with an introduction for our practice that week, followed by about 20 minutes of guided meditation, and time at the end of class for questions.

Kati Devaney, PhD is a neuroscientist and dedicated meditation practitioner, with over twenty years of meditation experience. Kati has sat retreats across the US, Europe, and India and she has collected behavioral and neuroimaging data from meditators across several retreats, events, and laboratories.

Kati is currently the Executive Director of The Alembic, the CSO of Jhourney, and a researcher at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Previously, Kati designed and taught her course ‘Meditation and the Brain’ at Stanford, taught cognitive psychology at Boston University, and has given invited lectures at MIT, Harvard University, IIT Delhi, and elsewhere.

Kati is authorized to teach meditation by Michael Taft.

Details and registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/yoga-at-alembic-1106959

Soulful flow is a robust vinyasa yoga class that brings balance to the body, mind and spirit. Anne-René has always been drawn to the spiritual side of life and yoga. This influences her movement meditations that are physically challenging and inspiring to the heart. Her class intertwines asana, breath, awareness, attention to transition and experiencing a personal connection to the movement that opens the door for a meditative flow to wake you up. Hand mudras, chanting, inspired readings, and music are incorporated into the class.

Anne-René Petrarca is a dance artist, Alexander Technique teacher and the artistic director of Sculpted Motion. She began her yoga studies back in New York City in the 1990's. In 2008 she received her Vinyasa yoga teaching certification from the White Lotus Foundation. She is inspired and influenced by her many teachers and studios: Ty Landrum, Sara Baird, Erin Dudley, Keith Borden, Cindi Lee's Om Yoga Center, Laughing Lotus Yoga, and the anatomical teachings of Irene Dowd and Leslie Kaminoff. Other influences are Krishnamurti, Ram Das, Kundalini yoga, Gaga, and Gyrotonic.

"I have always expressed myself through movement. I find inspiration in watching the sky, feeling the sun on my skin and the wonderment of the night sky. Trees are amazing, animals are graceful, poetry can bring me to my knees. I find comfort in the resiliency of the human spirit and kind words from my friends. There is a fullness and flow to life that I know exist and I find comfort in knowing that I am a work in progress flowing toward it."

Details & Registration: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/700323655907

There are many good reasons why our hearts close. Experiencing suffering, as we all do, can cause us to constrict, to shorten our breath, to tighten our ribcage, to protect our hearts. Most of this happens inside of us involuntarily in the face of life’s heartbreaks. And if all this weren’t enough, the demands of modern life can keep us moving so quickly that we forget that we carry within us the luminous heart of enlightenment, what the Tibetan Buddhist tradition calls the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel.

So what do we do? The Buddha taught that the path to meeting and transforming our suffering begins with cultivating an open heart. He also pointed out a way to do this—through practicing the Four Immeasurables, also known as the Four Boundless Qualities of Loving Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity.

These four states of being—kindness, compassion, open-hearted joy, and stable calm—are just as relevant today as they were 2500 years ago, and deeply needed. Because the heart won’t simply open on command, we develop a spiritual practice that helps us nurture and cultivate its immense power and beautiful qualities. In time, little by little, we come to feel and know that closing our hearts is not the only option available to us. Instead, we feel the strength and joy that comes in awakening the full depths of our hearts for the benefit of all beings, including ourselves. This is the Heart of Enlightenment.

Join us for this four-session series in which we will explore and work experientially with each of the Four Immeasurables through Tibetan Buddhist meditation, breathwork, community discussion, personal reflection, and deep rest. All are welcome, new and experienced practitioners alike, especially those who are new to meditation or Buddhism. The group will be committing to a daily meditation practice for our month together as well as a willingness to be in community with this work.

The Alembic offers all meditation-based classes on a donation basis, with the aim of keeping the dharma accessible. Suggested donation is $30 per class and $100 for the full course. Sliding scale options and scholarships available upon request. No one turned away for lack of funds. Classes will be held at the Alembic with the option of streaming them from home. Participants must register for the link to the live class stream.

Jenny Terbell is a Vajrayana Buddhist practitioner, apprentice teacher for Tara Mandala, and founder of Meditate Like A Mother.

She began studying Tibetan Buddhism fourteen years ago with her teacher Lama Tsultrim Allione and is a Kapala 5 graduate of Magyu: The Mother Lineage. She is a certified Feeding Your Demons facilitator, Kundalini yoga instructor, breathwork teacher, and trauma-informed somatic practitioner. She offers individual and group sessions that incorporate a variety of disciplines which lead to deeper embodiment and trust in the healing power and innate wisdom of the sacred feminine.

Jenny holds a BA in English Literature from Stanford University and an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU. Before becoming a mother, she taught writing for ten years at New York University. She lives with her partner and her two children on the unceded Ohlone land of San Francisco. 

Register on Eventbrite

Welcome to a bi-monthly drop-in relational meditation practice with Brian and Josh. We will practice a process of group communication that weaves in meditation with a focus on presence in connection, honest authentic communication, and an exploration of social reality as it unfolds in the moment. This practice leads to deeper connection in relationships, and a greater embrace of what is. (Even embracing the non-embrace of what is).

We are discovering what it's like when we relate with more truth and more love.

Parking is free.

Doors close at 6:50 sharp. This event usually sells out — please register to reserve your spot! 

Tickets are sliding scale, $10-$25, suggested donation is $15

About your facilitators: 

Brian is an Uruguayan-Israeli ex-software engineer that has dedicated his life to growth, learning and exploration of what-is. He fell in love with Relatefulness (then called Circling) in 2018 and has done thousands of hours, countless trainings, and has practiced Relatefulness all around the world. He is constantly amazed by the power of this simple practice to teach him new things, surprise him, and often kick his ass. Other passions of his are volunteering as an EMT for festivals and burns, exploring consciousness in all its forms, ecstatic dance, immersing himself in bodies of water from bath tubs to oceans, and long conversations about the heart of things.

Brian holds a BSc in Computer Science. He does Presence-based Coaching and facilitates Relatefulness at Relateful.com

Josh Kelly is an attachment repair coach and psychology student at CIIS. He has hundreds of hours of Circling experience, including two SAS Circling facilitator trainings in Austin, TX. His non-Circling meditation experience includes retreats with teachers in the Spirit Rock lineage, the Burmese lineage of U. Pandita Sayadaw, and a 2-month silent retreat at Dharma Treasure in Arizona. He now practices Tibetan Dzogchen as a student of Dustin DiPerna in the lineage of Daniel P. Brown. Professionally, Josh is interested in practices that increase well-being, remove blocks to prosocial collaborative behaviors, and cultivate wisdom.

Details & Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/feeding-your-demons-with-lopon-chandra-easton-tickets-710290998497?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton is a teacher, writer, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism. She has taught Buddhism and Yoga around the world since 2001 and co-translated Sublime Dharma: A Compilation of Two Texts on the Great Perfection, published in 2012. In 2015, she was given the title of senior lead teacher, Dorje Lopön (Varjāchārya), by Lama Tsultrim Allione and Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche. She is on the Tara Mandala Board of Directors and the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Council, which addresses the under-representation of people from different cultural, racial, sexual orientation, and social backgrounds in the Dharma and at Tara Mandala. She is currently writing a book on the twenty-one Taras in Buddhist Tantra.  She is collaborating with musicians Nina Rao and Genevieve Walker, on the 21 Taras Collective, which aims to bring the 21 Taras alive through mantra, music, and devotion. She lives in Berkeley, CA.

Visit www.chandraeaston.com to learn more. 

Details and Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/somatic-inquiry-with-laura-v-ward-on-zoom-2174219

8:30-9:10am PDT

This 40 minute session will offer a dive into the fluid wisdom of your own body using breath, touch, sound, and sensation as tools to expand awareness and deepen your experience of being human.

You can take this class at any level of movement that feels comfortable to you. You can be in a chair, in bed, on the floor, and you are encouraged to move or not move in accordance with your own inner intelligence.

Laura Victoria Ward is maximalist artist, choreographer, somatic movement educator, Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, teacher, musician, and painter. She is the artistic director of Kingston Contemporary Dance Theatre, a multi-disciplinary, multi-generational, company. She has been teaching, creating dance theater, and performing in New York State, the Hudson Valley, and internationally for over 25 years.

Participating equally in both experiential and performative practices; movement, awareness, and expression lay the foundation for Laura's work which includes creativity, play, inquiry, and the general wonder of existing in a human body. An expansive knowledge of diverse movement practices, hands-on bodywork, anatomy, and kinesiology underpins Laura’s playful investigation including Continuum Movement, classical ballet training, physical theater, and nondual awareness meditation (with Michael Taft). She has been meditating for over 30 years.

Details & Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/rhythm-motion-fusion-with-rena-marie-guidry-1834599

Rhythm & Motion FUSION is our original high-energy, fast-paced class format. It blends popular and global music and dance styles for a fun and addictive dance workout experience.

All Rhythm & Motion classes incorporate a dynamic mix of movement and music styles. The choreography is firmly rooted in dance fundamentals, and is inspired by popular music from around the world, including Latin, hip hop, African, alternative, and R&B.

New to Rhythm & Motion? We realize that trying something new can be intimidating, and we want you to feel as comfortable as possible. We believe Anyone Can Dance!"

Rena Marie Guidry has been an actor, dancer, and choreographer for over 30 years, in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, salsa, liturgical, and samba. She has done commercials, films, has performed in self-produced dance theater productions, and been a guest performer for several Latin dance companies. Rena Marie has led high-energy, packed classes with Rhythm & Motion since 2011, and teaches Hip Hop Jazz technique classes. She also brings her love of dance to people outside of the studio, leading retreats both locally and globally. Rena Marie is a trained Drama Therapist, with a Masters degree in counseling psychology and she has mindfulness leadership training. Rena Marie believes the arts are inherently therapeutic and can be used to bring about healing and wellness.

https://www.renamarieguidry.com/

Details & Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/build-a-personal-meditation-practice-2517859

Shamatha meditation is an essential and time-honored technique used to cultivate a mixture of serenity and concentration. This state of “calm abiding” also serves as the base for many different types of meditation practices. This short course will help you develop your own personal shamatha practice, which you can tailor to your own meditation goals.

While drop-ins are allowed, your participation in all four classes is strongly encouraged, since each class will build directly on techniques introduced in prior classes. Moreover, you will get the most out of this class if you commit to at least 15 minutes (25 - 30 is even better) of home practice each day while the course is in session.

This class is suitable for complete beginners, those who have been practicing with an app, and experienced meditators looking to brush up on their shamatha or recharge their practice.

This course is offered in-person only and will not be recorded or streamed.

Class 1 (August 30th): Setting the Mode of Attention

Class 2 (Sept 6th): Introducing Flexibility

Class 3 (Sept 13th): Dropping the Ball

Class 4 (Sept 20th): Designing Your Daily Practice

Each class will begin with an introduction for our practice that week, followed by about 20 minutes of guided meditation, and time at the end of class for questions.

Kati Devaney, PhD is a neuroscientist and dedicated meditation practitioner, with over twenty years of meditation experience. Kati has sat retreats across the US, Europe, and India and she has collected behavioral and neuroimaging data from meditators across several retreats, events, and laboratories.

Kati is currently the Executive Director of The Alembic, the CSO of Jhourney, and a researcher at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Previously, Kati designed and taught her course ‘Meditation and the Brain’ at Stanford, taught cognitive psychology at Boston University, and has given invited lectures at MIT, Harvard University, IIT Delhi, and elsewhere.

Kati is authorized to teach meditation by Michael Taft.

Details and registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/yoga-at-alembic-1106959

Soulful flow is a robust vinyasa yoga class that brings balance to the body, mind and spirit. Anne-René has always been drawn to the spiritual side of life and yoga. This influences her movement meditations that are physically challenging and inspiring to the heart. Her class intertwines asana, breath, awareness, attention to transition and experiencing a personal connection to the movement that opens the door for a meditative flow to wake you up. Hand mudras, chanting, inspired readings, and music are incorporated into the class.

Anne-René Petrarca is a dance artist, Alexander Technique teacher and the artistic director of Sculpted Motion. She began her yoga studies back in New York City in the 1990's. In 2008 she received her Vinyasa yoga teaching certification from the White Lotus Foundation. She is inspired and influenced by her many teachers and studios: Ty Landrum, Sara Baird, Erin Dudley, Keith Borden, Cindi Lee's Om Yoga Center, Laughing Lotus Yoga, and the anatomical teachings of Irene Dowd and Leslie Kaminoff. Other influences are Krishnamurti, Ram Das, Kundalini yoga, Gaga, and Gyrotonic.

"I have always expressed myself through movement. I find inspiration in watching the sky, feeling the sun on my skin and the wonderment of the night sky. Trees are amazing, animals are graceful, poetry can bring me to my knees. I find comfort in the resiliency of the human spirit and kind words from my friends. There is a fullness and flow to life that I know exist and I find comfort in knowing that I am a work in progress flowing toward it."

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/yoga-at-alembic-1106959

This lunchtime vinyasa flow features a dynamic yoga practice that calms the mind and cultivates presence by connecting movement with breath. This 45 + 15 minutes class will start and end on time and includes sun salutations, standing poses, and dynamic stretching focusing on hips, shoulders and the neck. The last 15 minutes of class will include pranayama (breath work) and Shavasana, optional for those needing to return to their afternoon obligations. This class is a great way to break up your day, release tension and stress, let go of your morning, and prepare for the rest of your day feeling energized and ready to tackle any afternoon challenges! Appropriate for the beginner with a few yoga classes under their belt to the intermediate yogi!

About the teacher:

Hi my name is Emily Fesler-Young!

Yoga found me in the fall of 2011, when I attended my first hot yoga class at the studio I would later go on to complete a 200 hr YTT certification, Yoga State in Lansing, Michigan. My teacher training was rooted in Hot Vinyasa and incorporated Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Tantric methodologies. In 2014, I began teaching in-studio classes. I continuously draw on Hatha and Yin styles in my teaching, as well as incorporating other elements of the 8-limbs of yoga to shape my class philosophy. As I have traveled and grown with teachers and students all over the world, my appreciation for practices centered on devotion, acceptance, and love has grown. Apart from teaching, I co-own a wellness-based business with my Husband and Brother-in-law centered on sharing mindful events and products to the SF Bay Area, and beyond. I am a seasoned traveler with a love for nature, people, and culture.

Details & Registration: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/700323655907

There are many good reasons why our hearts close. Experiencing suffering, as we all do, can cause us to constrict, to shorten our breath, to tighten our ribcage, to protect our hearts. Most of this happens inside of us involuntarily in the face of life’s heartbreaks. And if all this weren’t enough, the demands of modern life can keep us moving so quickly that we forget that we carry within us the luminous heart of enlightenment, what the Tibetan Buddhist tradition calls the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel.

So what do we do? The Buddha taught that the path to meeting and transforming our suffering begins with cultivating an open heart. He also pointed out a way to do this—through practicing the Four Immeasurables, also known as the Four Boundless Qualities of Loving Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity.

These four states of being—kindness, compassion, open-hearted joy, and stable calm—are just as relevant today as they were 2500 years ago, and deeply needed. Because the heart won’t simply open on command, we develop a spiritual practice that helps us nurture and cultivate its immense power and beautiful qualities. In time, little by little, we come to feel and know that closing our hearts is not the only option available to us. Instead, we feel the strength and joy that comes in awakening the full depths of our hearts for the benefit of all beings, including ourselves. This is the Heart of Enlightenment.

Join us for this four-session series in which we will explore and work experientially with each of the Four Immeasurables through Tibetan Buddhist meditation, breathwork, community discussion, personal reflection, and deep rest. All are welcome, new and experienced practitioners alike, especially those who are new to meditation or Buddhism. The group will be committing to a daily meditation practice for our month together as well as a willingness to be in community with this work.

The Alembic offers all meditation-based classes on a donation basis, with the aim of keeping the dharma accessible. Suggested donation is $30 per class and $100 for the full course. Sliding scale options and scholarships available upon request. No one turned away for lack of funds. Classes will be held at the Alembic with the option of streaming them from home. Participants must register for the link to the live class stream.

Jenny Terbell is a Vajrayana Buddhist practitioner, apprentice teacher for Tara Mandala, and founder of Meditate Like A Mother.

She began studying Tibetan Buddhism fourteen years ago with her teacher Lama Tsultrim Allione and is a Kapala 5 graduate of Magyu: The Mother Lineage. She is a certified Feeding Your Demons facilitator, Kundalini yoga instructor, breathwork teacher, and trauma-informed somatic practitioner. She offers individual and group sessions that incorporate a variety of disciplines which lead to deeper embodiment and trust in the healing power and innate wisdom of the sacred feminine.

Jenny holds a BA in English Literature from Stanford University and an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU. Before becoming a mother, she taught writing for ten years at New York University. She lives with her partner and her two children on the unceded Ohlone land of San Francisco. 

Register on Eventbrite

Welcome to a bi-monthly drop-in relational meditation practice with Brian and Josh. We will practice a process of group communication that weaves in meditation with a focus on presence in connection, honest authentic communication, and an exploration of social reality as it unfolds in the moment. This practice leads to deeper connection in relationships, and a greater embrace of what is. (Even embracing the non-embrace of what is).

We are discovering what it's like when we relate with more truth and more love.

Parking is free.

Doors close at 6:50 sharp. This event usually sells out — please register to reserve your spot! 

Tickets are sliding scale, $10-$25, suggested donation is $15

About your facilitators: 

Brian is an Uruguayan-Israeli ex-software engineer that has dedicated his life to growth, learning and exploration of what-is. He fell in love with Relatefulness (then called Circling) in 2018 and has done thousands of hours, countless trainings, and has practiced Relatefulness all around the world. He is constantly amazed by the power of this simple practice to teach him new things, surprise him, and often kick his ass. Other passions of his are volunteering as an EMT for festivals and burns, exploring consciousness in all its forms, ecstatic dance, immersing himself in bodies of water from bath tubs to oceans, and long conversations about the heart of things.

Brian holds a BSc in Computer Science. He does Presence-based Coaching and facilitates Relatefulness at Relateful.com

Josh Kelly is an attachment repair coach and psychology student at CIIS. He has hundreds of hours of Circling experience, including two SAS Circling facilitator trainings in Austin, TX. His non-Circling meditation experience includes retreats with teachers in the Spirit Rock lineage, the Burmese lineage of U. Pandita Sayadaw, and a 2-month silent retreat at Dharma Treasure in Arizona. He now practices Tibetan Dzogchen as a student of Dustin DiPerna in the lineage of Daniel P. Brown. Professionally, Josh is interested in practices that increase well-being, remove blocks to prosocial collaborative behaviors, and cultivate wisdom.

Details & Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/releasing-into-presence-with-lopon-chandra-easton-1089849

Releasing into Presence: 

Meditation, Mantra & Movement

with Lopön Chandra Easton 

 Open to All

In this class, we’ll experience the benefits meditation, mantra, and movement have to offer our body, mind, and soul. Classes will be relaxing, rejuvenating, and fun, enhanced by community and collective practice. Weaving together mystical stories, meditations, mantra, movement and singing chants, Chandra offers practices that facilitate releasing into presence with ease and comfort.  All are welcome.

Meditation: Experience a richness of techniques for developing shamatha, calm abiding, and vipashyana, insight. These will include mindfulness of breathing, an especially effective approach to soothing the body and calming the discursive mind, and more advanced techniques called “settling the mind in its natural state” and “awareness of awareness.” 

Mantra:  Explore mantra recitation and chanting, both with and without musical accompaniment. Chandra will share a variety of mantras and melodies from the Buddhist and Hindu tradition, including melodies from her 21 Taras Collective project.

Movement: Practice gentle and accessible yoga and/or meditative movement/dance to bring more comfort and ease to your meditation and life. 

Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton is a teacher, writer, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism. She has taught Buddhism and Yoga around the world since 2001 and co-translated Sublime Dharma: A Compilation of Two Texts on the Great Perfection, published in 2012. In 2015, she was given the title of senior lead teacher, Dorje Lopön (Varjāchārya), by Lama Tsultrim Allione and Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche. She is on the Tara Mandala Board of Directors and the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Council, which addresses the under-representation of people from different cultural, racial, sexual orientation, and social backgrounds in the Dharma and at Tara Mandala. She is currently writing a book on the twenty-one Taras in Buddhist Tantra.  She is collaborating with musicians Nina Rao and Genevieve Walker, on the 21 Taras Collective, which aims to bring the 21 Taras alive through mantra, music, and devotion. She lives in Berkeley, CA.

Visit www.chandraeaston.com to learn more. 

Details and Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/somatic-inquiry-with-laura-v-ward-on-zoom-2174219

8:30-9:10am PDT

This 40 minute session will offer a dive into the fluid wisdom of your own body using breath, touch, sound, and sensation as tools to expand awareness and deepen your experience of being human.

You can take this class at any level of movement that feels comfortable to you. You can be in a chair, in bed, on the floor, and you are encouraged to move or not move in accordance with your own inner intelligence.

Laura Victoria Ward is maximalist artist, choreographer, somatic movement educator, Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, teacher, musician, and painter. She is the artistic director of Kingston Contemporary Dance Theatre, a multi-disciplinary, multi-generational, company. She has been teaching, creating dance theater, and performing in New York State, the Hudson Valley, and internationally for over 25 years.

Participating equally in both experiential and performative practices; movement, awareness, and expression lay the foundation for Laura's work which includes creativity, play, inquiry, and the general wonder of existing in a human body. An expansive knowledge of diverse movement practices, hands-on bodywork, anatomy, and kinesiology underpins Laura’s playful investigation including Continuum Movement, classical ballet training, physical theater, and nondual awareness meditation (with Michael Taft). She has been meditating for over 30 years.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/yoga-at-alembic-1106959

This lunchtime vinyasa flow features a dynamic yoga practice that calms the mind and cultivates presence by connecting movement with breath. This 45 + 15 minutes class will start and end on time and includes sun salutations, standing poses, and dynamic stretching focusing on hips, shoulders and the neck. The last 15 minutes of class will include pranayama (breath work) and Shavasana, optional for those needing to return to their afternoon obligations. This class is a great way to break up your day, release tension and stress, let go of your morning, and prepare for the rest of your day feeling energized and ready to tackle any afternoon challenges! Appropriate for the beginner with a few yoga classes under their belt to the intermediate yogi!

About the teacher:

Hi my name is Emily Fesler-Young!

Yoga found me in the fall of 2011, when I attended my first hot yoga class at the studio I would later go on to complete a 200 hr YTT certification, Yoga State in Lansing, Michigan. My teacher training was rooted in Hot Vinyasa and incorporated Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Tantric methodologies. In 2014, I began teaching in-studio classes. I continuously draw on Hatha and Yin styles in my teaching, as well as incorporating other elements of the 8-limbs of yoga to shape my class philosophy. As I have traveled and grown with teachers and students all over the world, my appreciation for practices centered on devotion, acceptance, and love has grown. Apart from teaching, I co-own a wellness-based business with my Husband and Brother-in-law centered on sharing mindful events and products to the SF Bay Area, and beyond. I am a seasoned traveler with a love for nature, people, and culture.

Details & Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/rhythm-motion-fusion-with-rena-marie-guidry-1834599

Rhythm & Motion FUSION is our original high-energy, fast-paced class format. It blends popular and global music and dance styles for a fun and addictive dance workout experience.

All Rhythm & Motion classes incorporate a dynamic mix of movement and music styles. The choreography is firmly rooted in dance fundamentals, and is inspired by popular music from around the world, including Latin, hip hop, African, alternative, and R&B.

New to Rhythm & Motion? We realize that trying something new can be intimidating, and we want you to feel as comfortable as possible. We believe Anyone Can Dance!"

Rena Marie Guidry has been an actor, dancer, and choreographer for over 30 years, in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, salsa, liturgical, and samba. She has done commercials, films, has performed in self-produced dance theater productions, and been a guest performer for several Latin dance companies. Rena Marie has led high-energy, packed classes with Rhythm & Motion since 2011, and teaches Hip Hop Jazz technique classes. She also brings her love of dance to people outside of the studio, leading retreats both locally and globally. Rena Marie is a trained Drama Therapist, with a Masters degree in counseling psychology and she has mindfulness leadership training. Rena Marie believes the arts are inherently therapeutic and can be used to bring about healing and wellness.

https://www.renamarieguidry.com/

Details & Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/build-a-personal-meditation-practice-2517859

Shamatha meditation is an essential and time-honored technique used to cultivate a mixture of serenity and concentration. This state of “calm abiding” also serves as the base for many different types of meditation practices. This short course will help you develop your own personal shamatha practice, which you can tailor to your own meditation goals.

While drop-ins are allowed, your participation in all four classes is strongly encouraged, since each class will build directly on techniques introduced in prior classes. Moreover, you will get the most out of this class if you commit to at least 15 minutes (25 - 30 is even better) of home practice each day while the course is in session.

This class is suitable for complete beginners, those who have been practicing with an app, and experienced meditators looking to brush up on their shamatha or recharge their practice.

This course is offered in-person only and will not be recorded or streamed.

Class 1 (August 30th): Setting the Mode of Attention

Class 2 (Sept 6th): Introducing Flexibility

Class 3 (Sept 13th): Dropping the Ball

Class 4 (Sept 20th): Designing Your Daily Practice

Each class will begin with an introduction for our practice that week, followed by about 20 minutes of guided meditation, and time at the end of class for questions.

Kati Devaney, PhD is a neuroscientist and dedicated meditation practitioner, with over twenty years of meditation experience. Kati has sat retreats across the US, Europe, and India and she has collected behavioral and neuroimaging data from meditators across several retreats, events, and laboratories.

Kati is currently the Executive Director of The Alembic, the CSO of Jhourney, and a researcher at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Previously, Kati designed and taught her course ‘Meditation and the Brain’ at Stanford, taught cognitive psychology at Boston University, and has given invited lectures at MIT, Harvard University, IIT Delhi, and elsewhere.

Kati is authorized to teach meditation by Michael Taft.