Events
BECOME A WELLNESS INSIDER
Community, events, and the latest from Wellness Connects members. Make sure you never miss an update and subscribe now!
Breath Centered Yoga: Weekly Class
SoulDance
Move Your Body. Dance Your Dance.
Thursday, March 21, 6:30-8pm at Cedar Sanctuary (Repeats 3rd-Thursdays)
Investment: $20 (limited to 10 participants and pre-registration required)
Contact Brenda Loukes to save-your-spot: bloukesb@gmail.com or 425.435.9498
We were born to move, and SoulDance is a safe and creative space to dance your dance ‘like nobody’s watching”. Dancing with no judgment of ‘right’ ways to move, this is a place for you to be you. To dance your soul with a freestyle movement experience that will light up your body, your smile, and your life. Come as you are.
“In a society that worships love, freedom, and beauty, dance is sacred. It is a prayer for the future, a remembrance of the past and a joyful exclamation of thanks for the present.”
-Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
(Co-ed. No fitness or dance experience is necessary. Dance barefoot or wearing socks.)
Brenda Loukes-Johnson creates a juicy free-flowing journey for each SoulDance session using voice and soul-stirring music, while drawing on her experiences as a dance instructor, Kahuna transformational bodyworker, and holding space for creative Soulpainting programs.
REMEMBERING ME: An Introduction to Expressing Life’s Magic Through Story
Saturday, April 13, 10am-1pm at Cedar Sanctuary
Barbara Krauss of The Centre for Organic Yesipes
Investment: $75 (includes supplies)
Save-your-spot here
Everyone has a story… what is yours?
• When was the last time you stopped to take stock of your awesomeness? To pause and celebrate yourself and your journey?
• How often do you acknowledge yourself and the gifts that you have shared with others in the milestones of your life: the highs, the lows, and all points in between?
Imagine what it would feel like to grant yourself permission to rest, reflect and express yourself creatively. REMEMBERING ME is a three-hour experiential workshop when you get to dedicate an afternoon to remembering how remarkable you really are.
During our time together, you’ll have an opportunity to:
• Connect with a community of like-minded women, listening and deeply sharing from the heart.
• Experience meaningful insight through guided meditation, journaling, and potent conversations.
• Easily create a piece of art to express your story – no previous art experience needed.
• Express yourself in writing with effortlessness, ease, and joy…whether you’re a seasoned writer, or this is your first time writing a story about your life.
Create this time for yourself. Give yourself the gift of exploring the stories of your life and connecting the dots in your experiences and gifts!
Barbara Krauss is a STORYOGRAPHER. Her work is an organic blend of creating and writing stories, gathering stories of others, and giving them a voice. Combining her expertise in coaching/mentoring, inspirational teaching, motivational speaking and facilitating workshops, she powerfully holds space where creative engagement thrives. She is most alive when enraptured by the organic flow and freedom of immersion in creative expression, and invites others to join her in this realm.
More info: www.barbarakrauss.weebly.com / barbara@barbarakrauss.com
CELEBRATE EARTH DAY
with Kundalini Yoga & Meditation
Yoga Nidra
What to bring: Please dress comfortably and bring a yoga mat, blanket, pillow, and water for hydration while lying in Savasana.
The ancient practice of yoga nidra is a guided meditative inquiry into the states of being, and that which is beyond these states. Yoga Nidra pioneer, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, refers to it as “reaching the border between waking and sleeping states.”
In this class you will first be prepared for yoga nidra through gentle movement, an optional head massage, and breath awareness. While in a comfortable resting position, you will become aware of your breath as Sonia provides guided instruction through the yoga nidra process of deep relaxation through an exploration of body-mind, energy, and awareness and into that which is beyond all of these changing states of being. You will leave feeling more attuned to yourself and that which is beyond the self…
MELT Away Migraines
Sunday, Apr 28, 1-4pm at Cedar Sanctuary (Sammamish, WA)
Investment: $100. Early-bird pricing through April 14: Use code MAM when you checkout to save $20!
Save-your-spot here
Expand your migraine relief toolbox with two powerful weapons against key migraine triggers – the tension we carry in our neck and shoulders, hormonal imbalances and excess inflammation. You’ll walk away from this hands-on workshop with a new blend of soothing essential oils in a handy rollerball applicator (plus instructions and recipes to make 4 more at home), your own personalized Migraine Relief Checklist as well as training in an effective way to release physical tension in just minutes.
MELT Hand and Foot Techniques using small balls of varying densities are designed to restore hydration and lengthen the facial/connective tissue system, release tension, decompress joints, and help us to feel great! (Equipment provided for class use and available for optional purchase by cash or check.)
Workshop Schedule:
12:45-1:00 Arrive and get comfy with a cup of herbal tea and meet your instructors
1:00-1:20 Learn the Migraine Freedom Checklist Method
1:20-2:00 Explore essential oils that are uniquely supportive before, during and after a migraine and where and when to apply them for maximum results
2:00-2:30 Build your own soothing roller ball bottle to take home with doTERRA essential oils
15min break
2:45-4:00 Learn a simple way to release tension from your neck, shoulders and whole body that you can use at the office, the airport, anywhere! (MELT Hand and Foot Techniques)
Erin Knight: www.EngineeringRadiance.com / Erin@engineeringradiance.com
Susan Creighton: www.Subundance.com / www.CedarSanctuary.net / WellnessConnects@outlook.com
Move&Groove Community Dance: Celebrating Welcoming America Week
Saturday, September 21, 6:30-8pm at the Bellevue Family Y
Bellevue Family Y: 14230 Bel Red Road
International Dances • Family friendly • Free to all • Dance with us!
In the words of Hans Christian Andersen, “Where words fail, music speaks.”
Sponsored by Wellness Connects and the Bellevue Y, Move&Groove Community Dances are an opportunity for awesome people of all cultures, races, faiths, ages, and gender identities to come together, support community wellness, and have a great time together.
This program will be part of annual Welcoming America Week efforts to connect new and long-time residents in a spirit of unity.
Through the universal languages of music and movement, we build connections, strengthen a sense of belonging for everyone, and celebrate our richly diverse community. Your dance. Our dance.
Questions? Contact Susan Creighton: WellnessConnects@outlook.com
May 2018: We celebrated community connecting and multiculturalism through a variety of superfun cultural dances, including an impromptu participatory Persian dance!
January 2018: Included 14 cultural performances and participatory dances from around the world and was attended by over 140 people. (Pics/videos on Facebook at Wellness Connects.
Sept 2017: To celebrate and support Welcoming America Week, the Wellness Professionals Network and Bellevue Y sponsored a free community dance to support community diversity, bridge communities, and connect new and long-time residents in a spirit of unity. Through the universal languages of music and movement, 100+ dancers strengthened connections and a sense of belonging, celebrated our richly diverse community, and had a great time dancing together!
April 28, 2017: We danced and raised over $1500 to support ERIC (Eastside Refugee and Immigrant Coalition) programs to support welcoming, inclusive, and equitable communities for people of all backgrounds and abilities.
Relax & Renew Mini-Retreat
A mixed-modalities afternoon of necessary indulgences and modalities. Our most recent program included Aromatherapy, MELT Method, Gyrotonic, and a Gong Sound Bath. Heavenly! Schedule your own Relax & Renew Mini-Retreat.
⇒ Join our mailing list for updates or contact Susan Creighton to schedule your own event.
COMMUNITY MATTERS: Kindness Rocks
February 2018: Do you believe that kindness rocks? This Community Matters program was a crafternoon of community connecting through art.
Kindness Rocks is a fun project that’s spreading all over the country. Here’s the idea: you paint rocks with positive and encouraging images or messages; then inspire others by dropping the rocks in random places for them to find them and play it forward.
We connected as a group, included a meditation to inspire creativity and inspiration, created uplifting treasures to share in our neighborhoods, and had a great time together!
This program was sponsored by Wellness Connects Providers Susie Hindle Kher, Susan Creighton, and the Redmond Library to support community connections, wellness, and a sense of belonging for everyone.
⇒ Join our mailing list for program updates or contact Susan Creighton to schedule your own event.
COMMUNITY MATTERS
What We Have In Common: 3 Faith Traditions
November 2017: This Community Matters panel discussion was sponsored by Wellness Connects Providers Debbie Lacy and Susan Creighton, Eastside Refugee and Immigrant Coalition, and the Redmond Library to support community wellness by building connections and bridges, and creating a sense of belonging for everyone.
Interfaith Leaders:
Aneelah Afzali, Interfaith Leader, Director at Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS)
Rev. Ellie VerGowe, Pastor at First Covenant Church
Rabbi Ruth A. Zlotnick, Senior Rabbi at Temple Beth Am
A supportive community is vital to a healthy society. Community Matters gatherings are opportunities for people of all cultures, races, faiths, and gender identities to connect and converse about wellness and everything that entails; personal wellness, family wellness, and wellness in the world.
COMMUNITY MATTERS: You Belong
The Redmond Library hosted this free program in Sept, 2017.
You belong. Whether you’ve lived somewhere your whole life or just recently arrived in your new home, a sense of belonging can be hard to come by. This sense of belonging isn’t just good for personal health and happiness; it’s critical for community health as well. How can we create a stronger sense of belonging for ourselves and others?
During this evening of conversation we explored how to overcome challenges that can keep us isolated and even divided from one another, and:
· Brought people together who may not normally get a chance to know each other
· Engaged in meaningful conversation that honors our diverse perspectives
· Inspired small, but powerful actions that strengthen our sense of belonging and the health of our community
Event sponsored by the Eastside Refugee and Immigrant Coalition (ERIC), Wellness Connects providers Debbie Lacy and Susan Creighton, and the Redmond Library as part of Welcoming Week, a national celebration that brings together U.S. born residents, established immigrants, and newcomers to increase awareness and to build stronger unity across differences.
SoulCollage for Community Wellness
SoulCollage is an opportunity to foster community wellness with a creative, fun and meaningful art activity. Meet new people and learn an art form you’ll be able to easily do on your own whenever you feel the urge to create.
We’ll gather together to identify internal resources to build the kind of community we want to live in. You’ll then leave with a visual representation and reminder of your gifts – gifts you can consciously draw upon to strengthen community and your connections with others.
Making SoulCollage® cards is a creative and intuitive practice. Using found images from magazines and an easy cut and paste process, you’ll create a unique collage card that supports your goals and desires. No prior experience necessary. (Note: We won’t be teaching the pure SoulCollage method originally created by Seena B. Frost, but we’ll use SoulCollage techniques.To learn more about Seena’s method and to view a sampling of SoulCollage images, visit www.soulcollage.com)
Facilitators:
Debbie Lacy is a certified life coach, community facilitator, and Director of the Eastside Refugee and Immigrant Coalition. Debbie learned about SoulCollage from Noelle Remington, a certified SoulCollage facilitator, and has been incorporating SoulCollage techniques in her workshops for 15 years.
Susan Creighton is the Chief Inspiration Officer for our event sponsor, Wellness Connects. WC practitioners provides a network of support services from a wide range of wellness modalities. Members focus on creating, restoring and maintaining wellness through professional service and tools, cross-referrals to complementary practitioners, and public programs for education, outreach, and community connection.