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Opening Ceremony 9:15 to 9:30AM

First part: Warsi. Recited in order to drive away malevolent spirits and negativity. (Virgil Mayor Apostol)

Second part: Panaganu. A dedication to the ancestor spirits, and to pay homage to the gods of the four directions of the universe. (Marybelle Busto)

Third part: Atang. This is the presentation of a "food offering" while inviting the ancestors from the four directions. (Lane Wilcken)

 

Indigenous Healing Arts of the Philippines & Escrima (Filipino Martial Arts)  9:40-10:40am 

This workshop will cover a brief talk on the indigenous healing arts of the Philippines, followed by simple hands-on movements of Ablon Chirothesia (an ancient, indigenous, spiritually-based form of traditional medicine from the northern region of the Philippines) escrima, and a special introduction on Didya Mudgara warrior club calisthenics.  REGISTER NOW

 

 

 

Instructor: Virgil Mayor Apostol

Virgil Mayor Apostol, BBA, B.MSc, HHP, descends from a maternal and paternal bloodline of indigenous healers, and has also been blessed to receive the teachings of other elder healers. He has dedicated himself to the research, development, and promotion of Philippine indigenous traditions, especially those of his Ilokano ancestral heritage. His background includes: founder of Applied Sciences of Indigenous Healing; author of Way of the Ancient Healer: Sacred Teachings from the Philippine Ancestral Traditions (North Atlantic Books, 2010); co-author of Healing Hands of Hilot (1997); instructor of Didya Mudgara: Warrior Club Calisthenics; educational speaker; and workshop presenter. In March of 2015, Apostol was bestowed the honorary title of “Open Eye Master” from the School of Pyramids, thereby initiated into the International Circle of Masters. He is based in Southern California.

Filipino Tatoos (Batek) and Spirituality 10:45am-11:45am

Tattooing is a very old and spiritually respected art form that has existed in many different cultures around the world. After many centuries of not being practiced in Europe, tattooing was re-introduced to the Western world through the inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean. Beginnning in the 16th century, European explorers came across many people who practiced tattooing as an integral part of their cultures. This is the first serious study of Filipino tattoos, and it considers early accounts from explorers and Spanish-speaking writers. It presents Filipino cultural practices connected with ancestral and spiritual aspects of tattoo markings, and how they relate to the process and tools used to make the marks. In the Philippine Islands, tatoos were applied to men and women for many different reasons. It became a form of clothing. Certain designs recognized manhood and personal accomplishments as well as attractiveness, fertility, and continuity of the family or village. Facial tattoos occurred on the bravest warriors with names that denoted particular honor.  REGISTER NOW

 

Instructor: Lane Wilcken

Lane Wilcken is an author and a cultural practitioner of the ancient arts of the Philippines with emphasis on hand-tap tatoos as a spiritual practice. He is widely recognized by many Filipino Americans as a mambabatek or a traditional tattoo practitioner. His practice of batek (tatoo) is done as a ritual with tools that are handcrafter by him made of wood, horn, bone and thorns. Lane came from a family of healers in the maternal side and has been researching the indigenous part of the Philippines and the Pacific Islands for more than two decades through oral tradition, written history, linguistics, personal experiencxe and cross-cultural accounts with other Austronesian people of the Pacific.  He is the authors of two books, Filipino Tatoos: Ancient to Modern and The Forgotten Children of Maui: Filipino Myths, Tattoos and Rituals of a Demigod.

 

 

Feldenkrais (4:00-5:00pm) Please take note of time change.

Feldenkrais teaches a person to increase his or her kinesthetic and proprioceptive self-awareness of functional movement which could lead to increased function, reduced pain, and greater ease and pleasure of movement. It is used to improve movement patterns rather than to treat specific injuries or illnesses. This holistic focus means that the primary intention is not to treat injuries. However, it can be used as a type of integrative medicine because correcting habitual movement patterns can help heal injury, pain, and physical dysfunction. The goals of this session are: maximize your ease and efficiency of movement,  reduce pain and effort and and make you feel fantastic.

    

Instructor: Andrew Heffernan

Andrew Heffernan is a Guild-Certified Practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method, a gentle form of guided movement which helps restore function, reduce stress and pain, and improve performance. He works with many different populations, from athletes to cancer survivors. Also a fitness coach and writer, Andrew has written or co-written two books on fitness (The Exercise Cure and Your New Prime), as well as dozens of articles for Men's Health and Experience Life magazines. 

Joyful Boogie (2:00-3:00pm)

Joyful Boogie is a simple boogie class for elders that engages body, mind and spirit. It is fun. It is simple. Anybody can do it. You can't do it wrong. All you need is to like to move to music. Let your body do the rest.

 

There are three tenants on which this program is based:
1) We use music that the participants resonate with, from the 1950's, 1960' and 1970's. This supports recent studies on how music affects the brain.
2) The choreography is very simple, repetitive moves that anybody can do, whether seated or standing. Participants are encouraged to do the simple move their own way, to uniquely express themselves.
3) The structure of the class is based on the seven major Chakras. We dance to seven songs, each corresponding to a specific statement: I am safe, I am creative, I am strong, I am loved, I am expressive, I am connected and I am divine.

 

Instructor: Lynn Jordan

Lynn Jordan created this program to bring fun, play and movement into the lives of people middle aged and older. She is a certified Hatha Yoga instructor, Kripalu Let Your Yoga Dance instructor, Kripalu Let Your Yoga Dance for Special Populations instructor and a World GROOVE Movement facilitator.
 

Write Like a Writer (3:00-4:00pm)

Best-selling author Michael Konik explains the habits and techniques of professional writers in a fast-moving one-hour clinic. Konik will lead an impromptu writing exercise and take questions from students. This workshop is open to all ages and aptitudes, but it's designed for writers who are serious about becoming writers.  REGISTER NOW

 

Instructor: Michael Konik

Michael Konik is the multi-awarded author of nine books of fiction and non-fiction. His provocative 'Thought of the Day' essay has appeared daily for more than 10 years on his site, MichaelKonik.com.

 

 

Resistance/Meridian Flexibility Workshop (1:00-2:00pm) (Please take note of time change)

Resistance Flexibility was discovered by Bob Cooley as he found a way to heal himself from a serious car accident. It is a revolutionary way to stretch in which the muscles being stretched needs to contract and resist while lengthening. The focus of the stretch is to lengthen or get rid of dense fascia that accumulates in the body through physical, emotional and spiritual trauma. By lengthening or getting rid of the fascia, depending on the muscles activating it correlates with the meridians in the Traditional Chinese Medicine. This means the stretch is able to turn on correlating meridians of the body. On this workshop, the participants will be taught to self-stretch some of the major muscle groups of the body and correlating meridians will be identified. Participants are asked to wear comfortable clothing in which one can comfortably stretch, a yoga mat and a bath towel for your knees.  REGISTER NOW

 

Instructor: Charmaine Clamor                 

Charmaine has been a physical therapist for 15 years and has experience in acute, ICU, inpatient, neurology, rehab, outpatient, aquatic, women's health, pediatrics and home health. She was the supervisor of an outpatient facility in downtown Los Angeles for 7 years before transitioning to focus on women's health particularly pelvic floor rehabilitation.  Charmaine takes pride in her holistic approach and is a strong advocate for absent or minimal invasive treatments such as surgery and prescription medications and instead encourages the body to heal organically. She is a trained manual therapist by the North American Institute of Orthopedic Manual Therapy, a practitioner of movement system impairment as created by Shirley Sahrmann, incorporates principles of propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), yoga, mindfulness meditation, Alexander Technique  & Feldenkrais and recently completed Level 1 of Resistance Flexibilty/Meridian Flexibility course.

 

 

Stephen Schilling is an educator, actor, writer, martial artist/movement specialist and graphic novelist.  Procuring an MFA from U of F, he went immediately into teaching and has taught at Duke University, New Mexico State University, Cypress College, as well as privately. For the last 15 years he has taught martial arts, yoga, and staged combat, as well as Shakespeare and acting, to people from age 2.5 all the way up to their 60s.

 

He holds 2 blacks-belts and practices Wing Chun, Bujinkan, Tai Chi and even a little Aikido. He is an exceptional stunt fighter and choreographer, having experience with many weapons, Western and Eastern. He is a certified Yoga Instructor with a focus on therapeutics. In addition to western healing arts he has studied Chinese and native american healing energy systems.

 

 

Assistant Instructor: Stephen Schilling

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