Santosha Events
Upcoming Events
Saturday, May 15, 2021: Registration OPEN!
DAY-LONG LIVESTREAMING (ZOOM) WORKSHOP
Yoga and Ayurveda for Healthy Living:
The Ultimate Tools for Well-Being
During the Pandemic
Baxter Bell, MD, C-IAYT &
Melina Meza, 500-ERYT, BS Nutrition, Ayurvedic Health Educator
There is growing consensus among doctors, researchers and those in the fields of Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda that the practices of yoga may provide research-proven immune support to people during the Pandemic. Melina and Baxter have felt for a long time that the evidence is strong for Yoga and Ayurveda being the ultimate tools for health and well-being. Join them for this Day-long Live-Streaming Workshop from the comfort of your own home to learn and experience more! (The first part of each session is a talk on the topic verses the second part, which will be experiential.)
Our program includes the following classes:
- Yoga for Immune and Wellness Support
- Postures and Breathwork for Immune Boosting
- Practical Ayurvedic Tools to Keep Bolster Well-Being
- Practical Ayurvedic Tools to Keep Bolster Well-Being
Morning sessions (Mountain Time Zone):
9-10am: Yoga for Immune and Wellness Support with Baxter
10:15-11:30am: Postures and Breathwork for Immune Boosting with Baxter
Afternoon Sessions (Mountain Time Zone):
1-2pm: Practical Ayurvedic Tools to Keep Bolster Well-Being with Melina
2:15-3:30pm: Gentle Yet Powerful Yoga Practice with Melina
DETAILS & LINK TO REGISTRATION & PAYMENT HERE
OCTOBER 11~13, 2019
YOGA AND AYURVEDA FOR HEALTHY AGING 2.0 ~ with Baxter Bell, MD & Melina Meza
A Weekend Workshop with
Baxter Bell, MD, C-IAYT, eRYT500 and
Melina Meza, Ayurvedic Health Educator, Certified Yoga for Aging Teacher, eRYT500
Join us at Santosha Yoga Center for a weekend with Baxter Bell, MD and Melina Meza, to share with our community their insights on yoga and aging (we are all getting a bit older each day!).
As a yoga teacher, physician and acupuncturist, Baxter has accumulated a vast repertoire of wisdom and will present the scientific background that explains how and why yoga works to foster healthy aging in a way that is fun, accessible and doable for the long run. He leads you through a series of guided practices designed so you can take home what you learn and implement it with ease. Melina, a senior yoga teacher, Ayurvedic educator and nutritionist, weaves in healthy living. With Baxter’s expertise in yoga therapeutics complemented and spiced by Melina’s mastery of holistic nutrition and Ayurveda, you’ll leave knowing what it takes to create a practice for healthy aging.
WEEKEND SESSIONS SCHEDULE:
Friday, 10/11: 6:00pm-8:00pm
Quieting the Mind with Yin and the 5 Elements
Yin Yoga is a powerful practice that deepens the mind-body connection. Through muscle relaxation and release of tension, breath awareness and visualizations, Yin Yoga not only inspires the circulation of life force energy (prana) throughout the body but alsoinstills an attitude that allows you to more fully prepare for meditation. Baxter and Melina will offer Yin and Restorative sequences primed for the autumn season as well as offer their favorite insights into Ayurveda’s 5 Elements to support your well-being throughout the year.
Saturday Morning with Baxter, 10/12: 9:30am-12noon
Strength Practice with Slow Motion Outer Space Yoga
There are newer ideas around building strength from the world of exercise physiology that can be applied easily to our yoga asana practice. Baxter has developed a new technique to do just that! It takes advantage of a kind of muscle contraction called “eccentric” muscle contraction to add to yoga’s benefits of keeping us strong as we age! You will want take this adventure into Slow Motion Outer Space yoga!
LUNCH on Your Own ~ 12noon-2:30pm
Saturday Afternoon with Melina, 10/12: 2:30pm-5:00pm
Yoga and Ayurveda for Healthy Aging
If you learn to manage your prana (life essence) on a daily basis with thoughtful consideration, you’ll hopefully begin to notice a stronger, healthier and stable you! This session will cover the foundation material for understanding the heart of Yoga and Ayurveda for Healthy Aging. Melina will share her favorite asana modifications, and lifestyle routines to synchronize with the Pitta (householder) and Vata (retirement) seasons of one’s life.
Sunday Morning, 10/13: 9:00am-11:00am
Posture and Balance, Balance and Posture
It seems every day we hear about friends and family members struggling with poor balance and usually poor posture 2. They are often related, and yoga has the tools to improve both in fun, creative and engaging ways. Good posture allows us to see more of the world around us, and good balance keeps us off the ground from falls, an essential skill for successful aging.
CLICK HERE FOR DOWNLOADABLE REGISTRATION FORM!
Fees for 2019 Workshop:
All Sessions: $175.00
Friday Evening: $60.00
Saturday only ~ 2 sessions (all day): $100.00
Saturday ~ 1 session: $60.00
Sunday Morning: $60.00
Contacts: Teddy (307)-763-0017 Steve (510)-219-1125
BIOS:
Baxter Bell, MD, C-IAYT, eRYT 500 (baxterbell.com)
Baxter Bell, MD, has been actively deepening his understanding of the power of yoga since making the stress-reducing move from a career as a busy family doctor to that of a yoga teacher and medical acupuncturist. He is a graduate of the Piedmont Yoga Studio’s 18-month Advanced Studies Program, and served as Director of PYS’s Deep Yoga Program for many years, teaching Experiential Anatomy, Yoga Technique, and Yoga Methodology portions of that training. He is on faculty for several Teacher Training programs around the country. Baxter is a certified Yoga Therapist, at a level of training denoted by C-IAYT. He is involved in the integration of therapeutic applications of yoga with Western medicine, and presently serves on the board of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Many gifted teachers he has studied with over the years, including Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, and Erich Schiffmann, TKV Desikachar and Donald Moyer, have influenced Baxter’s teaching style. He is a featured presenter and provides therapeutic yoga classes on the website Yoga U Online, and has written articles for Yoga Journal and the International Journal of Yoga Therapy. He co-founded the blog “Yoga for Healthy Aging” with Nina Zolotow, and they recently co-authored a new book, based on the writings on their blog page.
Baxter teaches public and specialty workshops and retreats around the US and internationally. He focuses on a nurturing style of Hatha yoga that balances desire for action with need to quiet the mind, while emphasizing qualities of curiosity and the value of meditative moments. His students say they appreciate his clarity of instruction and playful sense of humor.
Melina Meza, BS Nutrition, Ayurvedic Health Educator, Certified Yoga for Aging Teacher, eRYT500 (http://melinameza.com/)
Melina Meza has been sharing her knowledge of Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda, and whole foods nutrition with yogis around the world for over 20 years. She pioneered Seasonal Vinyasa, an innovative multi-disciplined approach to well-being, and is the author of the Art of Sequencing books and the creator of the Yoga for the Seasons – Fall Vinyasa DVD.
Since 1997, Melina has been teaching at 8 Limbs Yoga Centers in Seattle, Washington, where she also is Co-Director of their 200- and 500-Hour Teachers’ Training Program. Melina facilitates year-round yoga and Ayurveda workshops and leads retreats in extraordinary sanctuaries around the world. Her continual growth as a teacher and practitioner has been influenced by studying with numerous instructors, including Dr. Robert Svoboda, Scott Blossom, Jin Sung, Sarah Powers, Gary Kraftsow, Kathleen Hunt, and Baxter Bell, MD. Retreats and sabbaticals are vital to Melina’s personal practice and bring her deeper reflection and inspiration.
Melina holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University, where she deepened her interest in the world of whole foods nutrition. She received certification as an Ayurvedic Health Educator from California College of Ayurveda. While attending Bastyr, she found what her body, mind, and spirit had been waiting for—yoga. From her very first class in 1993, she never stopped exploring physical, mental, and spiritual practices passed down from ancient sages. Yoga has been the “launching pad”—as her teacher Gary Kraftsow describes it—that has rocketed her into a life journey of cultivating the disciplines necessary to gain insight and wisdom integral to being healthy, compassionate, and radiant, as well as how to share those gifts with others.
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April 27-29, 2018
PLAYING BETWEEN THE OPPOSITES: Yin and Yang with Baxter Bell, MD & Melina Meza
A Weekend Workshop with
Baxter Bell, MD, C-IAYT, eRYT500 and
Melina Meza, Ayurvedic Health Educator, Certified Yoga for Aging Teacher, eRYT500
Join Baxter Bell and Melina Meza at Santosha for a playful and grounding spring workshop celebrating the play between opposites like: yin and yang, form and no-form, goals and no goals. You can expect unique workshops and practices that blend Hatha Yoga to build strength, balance and agility. Yin Yoga classes will help you increase your flexibility, enhance your circulation in the body and quiet your mind with longer held accessible postures to prepare for meditation.
Workshop Sessions:
Friday Evening Session (6:30~8:30pm) – Yin/Yang with Baxter & Melina
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? And does it ultimately matter? In this first practice we will play with the opposites of yoga styles (Yang and Yin) and as well as a few key ideas that may or may not be opposites. It’s the perfect way to end the week or start the weekend (or both!).
Saturday Morning Session (9:30am~12Noon) – Yang Yoga with Baxter
Yang Yoga has many modern forms from many traditions, whether you love a strong Iyengar-style practice, a powerful vinyasa flow class, or even a challenging set of mini-vinyasa in the style of Krishnamacharya. And even if that is all Greek to you, this practice will focus on strength, balance, agility, with a side serving of Equanimity.
Saturday Afternoon Session (2:00~4:30pm) – Yin Yoga and Meditation with Melina
Yin Yoga is a powerful practice that deepens the mind-body connection. Through muscle relaxation and release of tension, breath awareness and visualizations, Yin Yoga not only inspires the circulation of life force energy (prana) throughout the body but also instills an attitude that allows you to more fully prepare for meditation. It’s a wonderful companion to the active, fitness-focused forms of yoga celebrated in the West today.
Sunday Morning Session (9:30am~12Noon) – Equanimity: The Tool to Bridge the Pairs of Opposites with Melina & Baxter
The underlining quality of equanimity is a calm and peaceful mind. We’ll be exploring yogic tools and texts to cultivate equanimity in our asanas, pranayama and meditation practices. We hope to leave you with new ways of viewing your practice both on the mat and in the world.
BIOS:
Baxter Bell, MD, C-IAYT, eRYT 500 (baxterbell.com)
Baxter Bell, MD, has been actively deepening his understanding of the power of yoga since making the stress-reducing move from a career as a busy family doctor to that of a yoga teacher and medical acupuncturist. He is a graduate of the Piedmont Yoga Studio’s 18-month Advanced Studies Program, and served as Director of PYS’s Deep Yoga Program for many years, teaching Experiential Anatomy, Yoga Technique, and Yoga Methodology portions of that training. He is on faculty for several Teacher Training programs around the country. Baxter is a certified Yoga Therapist, at a level of training denoted by C-IAYT. He is involved in the integration of therapeutic applications of yoga with Western medicine, and presently serves on the board of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Many gifted teachers he has studied with over the years, including Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, and Erich Schiffmann, TKV Desikachar and Donald Moyer, have influenced Baxter’s teaching style. He is a featured presenter and provides therapeutic yoga classes on the website Yoga U Online, and has written articles for Yoga Journal and the International Journal of Yoga Therapy. He co-founded the blog “Yoga for Healthy Aging” with Nina Zolotow, and they recently co-authored a new book, based on the writings on their blog page.
Baxter teaches public and specialty workshops and retreats around the US and internationally. He focuses on a nurturing style of Hatha yoga that balances desire for action with need to quiet the mind, while emphasizing qualities of curiosity and the value of meditative moments. His students say they appreciate his clarity of instruction and playful sense of humor.
Melina Meza, BS Nutrition, Ayurvedic Health Educator, Certified Yoga for Aging Teacher, eRYT500 (melinameza.com)
Melina Meza has been sharing her knowledge of Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda, and whole foods nutrition with yogis around the world for over 20 years. She pioneered Seasonal Vinyasa, an innovative multi-disciplined approach to well-being, and is the author of the Art of Sequencing books and the creator of the Yoga for the Seasons – Fall Vinyasa DVD.
Since 1997, Melina has been teaching at 8 Limbs Yoga Centers in Seattle, Washington, where she also is Co-Director of their 200- and 500-Hour Teachers’ Training Program. Melina facilitates year-round yoga and Ayurveda workshops and leads retreats in extraordinary sanctuaries around the world. Her continual growth as a teacher and practitioner has been influenced by studying with numerous instructors, including Dr. Robert Svoboda, Scott Blossom, Jin Sung, Sarah Powers, Gary Kraftsow, Kathleen Hunt, and Baxter Bell, MD. Retreats and sabbaticals are vital to Melina’s personal practice and bring her deeper reflection and inspiration.
Melina holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University, where she deepened her interest in the world of whole foods nutrition. She received certification as an Ayurvedic Health Educator from California College of Ayurveda. While attending Bastyr, she found what her body, mind, and spirit had been waiting for—yoga. From her very first class in 1993, she never stopped exploring physical, mental, and spiritual practices passed down from ancient sages. Yoga has been the “launching pad”—as her teacher Gary Kraftsow describes it—that has rocketed her into a life journey of cultivating the disciplines necessary to gain insight and wisdom integral to being healthy, compassionate, and radiant, as well as how to share those gifts with others.
Click here for DOWNLOADABLE Registration Form
Fees for PLAYING BETWEEN THE OPPOSITES Workshop:
All Sessions: $175.00
Friday Evening: $60.00
Saturday only ~ 2 sessions (all day): $100.00
Saturday ~ 1 session: $60.00
Sunday Morning: $60.00
Contacts: Teddy (307)-763-0017 Steve (510)-219-1125
Sign up and pay here!
*Note: If you have a PayPal account you can log in and pay. If you’d like to pay without using a PayPal account just click the button that says “Pay with Debit or Credit Card” – no log in required!
April 21 ~ 23, 2017
OPTIMAL LIVING: HOW YOGA AND AYURVEDA KEEP YOUR BRAIN HEALTHY
A Weekend Workshop with
Baxter Bell, MD, ERYT500 and
Melina Meza, Ayurvedic Health Educator, ERYT500
Like the rest of our body, the brain changes in numerous ways as we get older. What happens to the brain during healthy aging? Are yoga and Ayurveda ideal tools to maintain and improve brain health as we age?
Join us this weekend as Baxter and Melina share what is currently known about the changes in the brain as we age, and what is known about yoga, nutrition and Ayurvedic techniques that are useful for slowing or preventing common cognitive changes.
Schedule of Sessions:
Friday Evening Session (6:30~8:30pm): Stress, Sleep and Your Brain with Baxter and Melina
In this session, we will look at the connection between stress management and good brain health, and how sleep works to maintain a healthy nervous system. The practice will highlight yoga tools to improve stress management and relaxation routines to improve your sleep.
Saturday Morning, Session 1 (9:30am~12noon): Yoga as Brain Exercise with Baxter
In this session, we will learn about some of the basic parts of the brain and how important exercise is in maintaining good brain health. The practice will utilize new learning to engage and enhance our big brains!
Saturday Afternoon, Session 2 (2:00pm~4:30pm): Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: Yoga & Ayurveda with Melina
Within the art and science of Ayurveda and Nutrition, there are endless ways to rediscover the body’s innate wisdom and as unique beings we all have different hopes, fears, conditioning, expectations, and agendas around our health. Melina will focus on the role that yoga, Ayurveda and nutrition have in promoting a healthy body and mind.
Sunday Morning (9:30am~12noon): A Healthy Heart is a Good Start with Baxter and Melina
Keeping the cardiovascular system healthy as we age is a great first step in keeping the brain healthy, too! We will look at the interconnectedness of these 2 systems and do a heart healthy practice to end the weekend and start our journey into our brains!
DOWNLOADABLE FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM HERE.
September 30 ~ October 2, 2016
YOGA FOR YOUR BACK, NECK, KNEES & MORE!
A Weekend Workshop with
JJ Gormley, eRYT500, Yoga Therapist & Educator
Learn more about Yoga Therapy and how it helps with body issues such as low back, neck, shoulder, knee, sciatica, hip pain … and more! Work with JJ Gormley, eRYT500, internationally renowned Yoga Therapist and Educator. Learn how we can apply practical principles of Yoga Therapy for healing our aching joints.
We are excited to offer this special weekend with JJ Gormley, who has been practicing Yoga since 1979, teaching since 1989 and certifying teachers since 1994. As the Director of Surya Chandra Healing Yoga School, JJ offers Yoga Teacher & Yoga Therapy trainings across the country.
(Please visit her website for more info: www.SuryaChandraHealingYoga.com )
Click here for a downloadable flyer/registration form for “Yoga for Your Back, Neck, Knees & More!”
Click here for JJ’s “slick magazine-style” workshop flyer – downloadable & ready to display!
April 15 ~ 17, 2016
“Two Yogis are Better than One!”~ Smart, Supple, Spry Yoga
A Weekend Yoga Workshop with
Baxter Bell, MD, eRYT 500 &
Melina Meza, Ayurvedic Health Educator, eRYT 500
Please join us as we welcome back our dynamic duo of Baxter and Melina for another “2 Yogis are Better than One” Workshop. We will look at how yoga is good for brain health, staying agile and spry and keeping those arms and legs strong and supple. If you are ready to dive deeper into personal practice this season and want to have some fun with new asanas and sequencing, please join us for this exciting workshop dedicated to exploring the art of Hatha Yoga!
Click here for a down able flyer and registration form for “Smart, Supple, Spry Yoga” workshop.
September 11 ~ 13, 2015
ADDED to our Weekend – 1-hour Private Sessions with Baxter or Melina
Friday, September 11 ~ 1-hour session = $90.00
Only a few sessions during the day before class starts are still available. Please contact Teddy (email through this website or call 307-763-0017) ~ for further information!!!
FALL SERIES~”Two Yogis are Better than One!”~
Fall Yoga & Ayurveda Tune-Up
A Weekend Yoga Workshop with
Baxter Bell, MD, eRYT 500 &
Melina Meza, Ayurvedic Health Educator, eRYT 500
Please join us as we welcome back the dynamic duo of Baxter and Melina, who will share yoga, Ayurveda and nutrition tips for bolstering your immune system as we head into Fall. Fall is a transitional season during which we are more susceptible to colds, flus, and other immune system issues. Learn more about your immune system and how yoga and Ayurveda can help keep you healthy and strong as we move toward the end of the year.
In addition…Baxter and Melina will be offering 1-hour private sessions ($90.00) on Friday, September 11 at the following times: 9am, 10am, 11am, 1:30pm & 2:30pm. They will consecutively provide these 1-on-1 Yoga Therapy/Nutrition sessions, using both our upstairs Santosha Yoga space and BLHWC, LLC downstairs office space (#101). Reserve your time to work 1-on-1 with some of the most respected and highly qualified experts in our field by contacting Teddy! (Contact drop down)
April 24 ~ 26, 2015
SPRING SERIES ~ “Two Yogis are Better than One!”
A Weekend Yoga Workshop with Dr. Baxter Bell, eRYT 500 & Melina Meza, eRYT 500
Please join us for this new and exciting collaboration with master teachers Baxter Bell and Melina Meza. Both are experienced and dedicated yoga practitioners and teachers and will be offering their own expertise and unique style of teaching this weekend.
- Baxter will share his personal wisdom of yoga and the scientific evidence that shows how the yogic lifestyle supports healthy aging, as well as offering nurturing and playful Hatha yoga classes for the young and young at heart.
- Melina’s unique workshops in Yoga and Ayurveda will emphasize the importance of sequencing for Spring and adapting dietary approaches, cleansing techniques, daily rituals and lifestyle routines to synchronize with the seasonal changes. Students will learn relevant philosophy applicable to today’s lifestyle and asanas to strengthen the body’s inherent tendencies toward seasonal imbalances.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
FREE DAY of SANTOSHA YOGA / MEDITATION
Donate & VOTE for the local non-profit of your choice (We will collect donations & votes all day ~ ALL donations go to the winning non-profit!)
Download FREE DAY Schedule HERE!
September 12 ~ 14, 2014
FALL SERIES ~ “CORE INTEGRITY & BALANCE”
A Weekend Yoga Workshop with Dr. Baxter Bell, eRYT 500
Join us this weekend as Baxter Bell, MD, returns for a workshop focused on developing “Core Integrity and Balance” using the physical postures of yoga, the breath and the focused mind to reach your goals. Core integrity not only refers to strengthening the complex group of muscles and structures in our mid-section, but also strengthening our will power to achieve the most important goals in life. Balance on the physical level is so important in maintaining our health over time, but cultivating a balance in our work and social life can be equally important. Our sessions together this weekend will help you develop the skills to address all these vital aspects of your life!
SPECIAL BONUS!! Visiting Ayurvedic educator and yoga teacher extraordinaire Melina Meza will give an introduction to Ayurveda talk as part of our Saturday afternoon class. Ayurveda is the sister discipline to Yoga that stresses the importance of keeping the body and mind healthy through lifestyle and diet choices.
Click here for downloadable Flyer and Registration Form for CORE INTEGRITY & BALANCE workshop.
Past Events
September 2 ~ 8, 2014
FREE WEEK of SANTOSHA YOGA / MEDITATION
AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO:
1) Choose 1 FREE class that fits your schedule! Click here for downloadable Fall/Winter Class Schedule.
2) Receive Discount Prices for Fall Sessions! (Offer good ~ 9/2-9/8 only)
3) Enter our DAILY Drawing for $25.00 in Chamber Bucks!!
4) Donate & VOTE for the local non-profit of your choice (We will collect donations & votes all week ~~ Votes for winner counted on 9/8 at day’s end)
August 8 ~ 10, 2014
ENERGY OF YOGA
A Weekend Yoga Workshop with JJ Gormley-Etchells, eRYT 500
We are excited to bring JJ back for her first summer workshop with us! She will introduce the energy systems of yoga and teach us how they are used in yoga therapy. We will practice together, learning hands-on application of alignment techniques at the various chakra centers in our yoga postures. JJ has been a student of yoga since 1979 and a teacher since 1989. Her yoga education is well-rounded; she has studied many traditions including Ashtanga, Iyengar, Kundalini, Anusara & Viniyoga. In her teaching and therapeutic work, JJ draws from each tradition that she loves.
Click here for the downloadable flyer and registration form for “ENERGY OF YOGA”.
April 25 – 27, 2014
Yoga for Heart Health
A Weekend Yoga Workshop with Baxter Bell, MD, eRYT 500
September 27 – 29, 2013
Yoga for Healthy Aging
A Weekend Yoga Workshop with Baxter Bell, MD, eRYT 500
October 18-20, 2013
Yoga Therapy with JJ Gormley-Etchells
Yoga Therapy Overview – Friday 6 – 8 pm
Back care – Saturday 9:30 am – 12 pm
Shoulder & Neck Care – Saturday 2 – 4 pm
Hip & Knee Care – Sunday 9:30 am – 12 pm
