(As of 8/16/2024, this post is under construction, but still has worthwhile info. So, do please peruse, and come back to see edits!)
MY OWN WEEKLY OFFERINGS
Please see the flyer at my blog post entitled "Week in, week out: Integral Qigong and Tai Chi." It shows what I'm up to in Claremont, Ontario, and Silver Lake (Los Angeles). If you need more detailed information (session content, directions, etc.), please email me at MindBodyLosAngeles@gmail.com.
THE "COUPLEMAN" SCENE (My nickname for The Greater Claremont-Ontario-Upland-LaVerne-Eastvale-Montclair-AltaLoma-Narod Metropolitan District)
My husband and I moved from the Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles 30 miles east to an intentional/retirement community (Pilgrim Place) in Claremont in October, 2023. I'm still exploring and seeking out what kinds of meditation and community-building activities are here, that align with Mind-Body Los Angeles' criterion of accessibility (free or by donation or sliding scale or low fee or by scholarship). Ultimately, the information below will move to a separate post dedicated to this region.
THE SANGHA I JOINED IN OCTOBER
Wednesdays, 8:00-9:15AM. Claremont Zen Meditation Group's weekly sit and discussion. Most of the year (September through May) we meet at the McAlister Center for Religious Activities of the Claremont Colleges. But June through August (when school is not in session), we move to the Claremont Friends Meeting (Quaker), 727 Harrison Ave., Claremont, 91711. It was founded in 1993 by Claremont McKenna College philosophy professor Steve Smith (now retired), who is a Pilgrim Place resident and who still facilitates!
***NEW AS OF AUGUST 23, 2024*** FRIDAYS HERE AT PILGRIM PLACE IN CLAREMONT
I have agreed to start leading Tai Chi here at Pilgrim Place on Fridays, 9:30-10:00AM. Please know that Tai Chi and/or Qigong practices have been happening here at Pilgrim Place for a good 30 years or so, originally taught by missionaries who retired and moved here from China or Japan. The current schedule of Qigong is four gatherings per week for 30 minutes—using routines that were established maybe a decade ago! When I first arrived, I simply joined in. Then participants learned that I taught and expressed interest in exploring some new material. They asked me to lead Qigong on the first Friday of every month. And that's what I have been providing. What is new is that every Friday at 9:30AM (immediately following Qigong), I will lead Tai Chi for half an hour. If you would like to join in, please contact me in advance at MindBodyLosAngeles@gmail.com. I will give you directions in my reply. If you are unfamiliar with this intentional community, it is likely I can give you a little introductory tour at 10.
FIRST SUNDAYS OF THE MONTH IN FROGTOWN (LOS ANGELES)
On the first Sunday of each month, Meditation Coalition's Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Allies Group meets. (I have been a member of this sangha since its inception in January, 2016). Venue: Clockshop, 2806 Clearwater St., Frogtown (Los Angeles, 90039). Meditation Coalition is a group of teachers, facilitators and students dedicated to providing access to meditation and Buddhist teachings for all who are interested. "We belong to the communities we support and serve. We are committed to ethical behavior, social justice, and compassionate action." At the website, you will find opportunities for meditation practice and dharma instruction, such as; daily, virtual half-hour sits; twice-weekly online dharma classes; twice-monthly, online neuro-divergent affinity group meditation; once-monthly Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Allies Sit and Discussion; once-monthly, in-person "Foundations of Mindfulness;" once-monthly, online "Women and Whiteness."
A MONTHLY OFFERING OF MINE
Third Saturdays of the month (next one August 17), 9:00-10:00AM. Silver Lake "Wilderness" Qigong. The wilderness has no address. Please email me at MindBodyLosAngeles@gmail.com for detailed car-or-bike-or-bus + walking directions.
CALENDARIZE THIS!
It's a long way away (December 5), but I'm very happy that I am scheduled to provide a one-off Integral Qigong and Tai Chi session at The Hive—the Rick and Susan Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity—of the Claremont Colleges. "The Hive provides a space to experiment and play and fosters collaboration by bringing people with diverse backgrounds and experiences together." I think it could be the beginning of a very special relationship ...
YOU MIGHT WISH TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING MEDITATIVE EXPERIENCES (online and/or in-person, either in the Claremont or the Los Angeles area: all are either free, by donation, low-cost, based on sliding scale, or have scholarships available).
ONLINE QIGONG
Dr. Kathy Yep: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays; 8:00-8:30AM. Drop-in. Recommended $1-10. "Poems, cards, quotes, and art also welcome." (How I love that!) The Zoom link is at her website.
LOPEZ URBAN FARM in Pomona aims "to sow the seeds of a sustainable and just future. We achieve this by ensuring access to locally grown food, fostering education and community engagement, and cultivating green spaces open to all." Their weekly schedule of activities includes Bilingual Family Yoga (English/español), Sundays, 10:00-11:00AM. On the last Sunday of the month, they host a sound bath and potluck, 3:00-5:00PM.
SCRIBBLE in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles "is a non-profit 501(c)(3) counseling center offering sliding-scale therapy in the state of California," located at 5541 York Blvd., 90042. Their space also serves as a venue for Twelve Step meetings, a weekly HÃœMNKIND Meditation Club, special meditative events (sound baths, etc.), and opportunities for community engagement (see below). Walk through the Therapy, Classes, Groups, and Events tabs at their website.
RECOVERY DHARMA "offers a trauma-informed, empowered approach to recovery based on Buddhist principles" with world-wide meetings online and in-person. There are several weekly in-person meetings (Twelve Step, too!) in Los Angeles (Silver Lake neighborhood) at the AT Center, an LGBTQ wellness community that is open to everyone at 1773 Griffith Park Blvd., 90026.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS MEDICINE
My original Integral Qigong and Tai Chi teacher Roger Jahnke, OMD, used to declare, "Socialization is part of the medicine!" As such, I never hasten to begin my sessions in such as way as to interrupt the delight that participants take in greeting each other and catching up a bit. Also, I love seeing the way folks linger afterward, loath to leave the supportive circle. One of my great joys is to facilitate connection and to encourage the development of community. In addition to my next post with its list of upcoming meditative practices, I'm providing below a list of communities activities in "The Greater Claremont Metropolitan District" (ha!) and in the L.A. area that I myself know and appreciate or am intrigued by! Please let me know, if you explore something that proves to be enriching.
Tuesdays with Metabolic Studio
2:30-4:00PM (on zoom or in-person). Learning and Mending: The Modern Science Machine. "We will be investigating the contours and strictures of Science’s epistemic lens. In other words, ways in which scientific knowledge is produced and maintained." Through August 27. Free ticket here.
5:00-6:30PM Volunteer Opportunity "in tending the land; weeding, composting, working with seeds, mycelium and more." Followed at 6:30PM by a light dinner that they provide. Go here to select a date to be sent information on the activity and location details.
Wednesdays, 6:30-9:00PM. Semillas Community Dinner (following 4:00-6:30PM Food Cycle Collective's volunteer workday), 810 S. White Ave., Pomona. "Join us for a weekly community dinner at Semillas Community Farm featuring local produce grown without chemicals from local community gardens and farms. Nutritious organic foods, grass fed meats, and sprouted grains. No need to bring anything."
Thursdays, 3:00-7:00PM. Metabolic Studio at Los Angeles River Farmers Market, 1245 N. Spring St., Los Angeles State Historic Park. "A new project using wild clay harvested from our site at Metabolic Studio. This clay has been used to make ollas, seed vessels, earthenware dishes and even ceremonial flutes! ... We will be showing you how to make handmade clay beads, unique offerings that will become part of a large community art piece." Saturdays, 12:00-1:00PM. Community Peace Choir at Scribble, 5541 York Blvd., Los Angeles (Highland Park), 90042.
Saturdays or Sundays, 10:30AM-1:00PM. Twice-monthly Los Angeles Eco-Village tours. "The Los Angeles Eco-Village Intentional Community consists of approximately 40 folks who have moved to the neighborhood to live more ecologically and more cooperatively. Most of us are demonstrating the processes—ecologically, economically, and socially —that manifest an ecovillage. We are raising the quality of community life while lowering our environmental impacts, and expanding public awareness about more sustainable urban living." Founder Lois Arkin gives two tours monthly. The schedule is here. The fee is $15 to $25 (self-selected sliding scale). Lois also accepts Time Bank "time dollars." Mind-Body Los Angeles (an organization member of the Arroyo S.E.C.O. Network of Time Banks) will gladly "pay" your fee (in "time dollars"). Email your request to MindBodyLosAngeles@gmail.com.
IN CLOSING: MY UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
I'm still awaiting word for our fall Wagner Ensemble concert in Sherman Oaks. Sometime in November, I expect. Watch here for updates.
Longer away still is Sunday, January 5, 2025. What can I say? I'm thrilled that I have already been engaged to appear in Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors with the Southland Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Hard to believe, but it will be my fourth year in a row to perform the role of King Kaspar under the baton of SSO founder and conductor Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann. Please put the date on your calendar, too!
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