Yoga and Meditation | Michele Hebert and Mehrad Nazari

Let this dynamic husband and wife team guide you through the Raja Yoga method as developed by Walt Baptiste. This well-grounded practice for the purposeful evolution of consciousness strengthens and purifies both body and mind. Pranayama breathing heightens energy levels, Chakra techniques promote balance, and meditation connects you with your sacred self.

Mehrad Nazari, Ph.D. has been a senior teacher of the Walt Baptiste method of Raja yoga for over15 years. He is a continuing education specialist in yoga for the American Council on Exercise, and has led yoga and health retreats internationally.

He was personally trained by yoga master Walt Baptiste, and studied with Zen master Kyozan Joshu Roshi and others, including Swami Veda and HH. Dalai Lama. Dr. Nazari is an adjunct professor of international business negotiation, which he taught for ten years at United States International University in San Diego. He advocates the application of yoga principles in our daily and corporate lives.

Michele Hebert, a regular Rancho La Puerta and Golden Door instructor since 1987, is a visionary in women's mind, body, health and spirituality. A yoga and meditation teacher, fitness expert and author, she pioneered the first meditation-based stress management program at the renowned Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, CA, and developed Introduction to Meditation at UC San Diego. She leads yoga and meditation programs at premier spas and retreat centers internationally. As a senior teacher in the Walt Baptiste method of Raja yoga, her work has been transformational in the lives of thousands, over a 30-year period. Michele's approach blends yoga, meditation, fitness and nutrition. Additional information: http://www.spaspirit.com.

My Life So Far | Jane Fonda

Having enjoyed tremendous success as a stage and screen actress, Jane Fonda now focuses much of her time on activism and social change – with much of her work devoted to the program she founded in 1995, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP). Jane Fonda chairs this statewide effort to reduce the high rates of adolescent pregnancy in Georgia through community, youth and family development, sustainable economic development, and legislative advocacy.

Jane Fonda has long been known for activism and advocacy on environmental issues, human rights, and the empowerment of women and girls. Among the scores of community projects she has spearheaded is the Laurel Springs Children’s Camp. This summer program ran for 15 years at her ranch in Santa Barbara, CA, using performing arts to build self-esteem and cooperation among children of all races and socio-economic backgrounds.

In 1994, Jane Fonda was named Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund. In 2000, she traveled to Nigeria and produced a film, in collaboration with the International Women's Health Coalition, entitled "Generation 2000: Changing Girls' Realities." Jane Fonda is a member of the Women & Foreign Policy Advisory Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations; the board of Women’s Media Center, which she helped found in 2004; GreenStone Media, the women-owned, women-run national women’s talk radio network which launched in fall of 2006; the Advisory Board of the Native American Rights Fund; and she sits on the V-Counsel of V-Day: Until The Violence Stops.

At the Emory School of Medicine, Jane Fonda established the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health which engages in research, education and training activities that have the potential for creating needed social change, as well as enhancing service delivery to children, youth and families, including adolescent reproductive health. In addition, Jane Fonda's gift has endowed a faculty chair in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Emory University School of Medicine named the Marion Howard Chair in Adolescent Reproductive Health.

Jane Fonda was born in New York City in 1937, the daughter of Henry Fonda and Frances Seymour Fonda. She attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, and Vassar College. In her late teens, Jane Fonda studied with renowned acting coach Lee Strasberg and became a member of the Actors Studio in New York. Her subsequent work on stage and screen earned numerous nominations and awards, including Oscars (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home) and an Emmy for her performance in The Dollmaker. Along with starring roles in dozens of highly acclaimed productions, Jane Fonda also took on responsibilities as a film and television producer. Her credits include Coming Home, The China Syndrome, Nine to Five, Rollover, On Golden Pond, The Morning After and The Dollmaker.

Jane Fonda revolutionized the fitness industry with the release of Jane Fonda’s Workout in 1982. She followed with the production of 23 home exercise videos, 13 audio recordings, and five books – selling 16 million copies all together. The original Jane Fonda’s Workout video remains the top grossing home video of all time.

In May 2005, Random House published Jane Fonda’s memoirs, “My Life So Far,” which immediately went to #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list. That same spring Monster-in-Law, her first film in 15 years, also became the #1 box office hit making Jane Fonda the first person to simultaneously have a #1 book and #1 movie.

Jane Fonda is an avid reader, hiker, fly fisherwoman and yoga enthusiast. She lives in Atlanta, along with her daughter Vanessa Vadim, and her two grandchildren. Her son, actor Troy Garity, lives in Los Angeles. For the Ranch, Jane Fonda will present "a talk about what I’ve learned about relationships, self-image, parenting and intimacy over my 70 years."

The Vast Landscape of American Food | Joan Nathan

Called the “doyenne of Jewish American food,” Joan Nathan is the author of ten cookbooks and a regular contributor to the New York Times. Her much-acclaimed "Jewish Cooking in America" won both the James Beard award and the Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award. Her other books include "Foods of Israel Today," "Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Kitchen," "The Jewish Holiday Baker," "The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen," "The Jewish Holiday Kitchen," and "The Flavor of Jerusalem." Her most recent book, which also won the prestigious James Beard award, is "The New American Cooking."

Joan Nathan’s PBS television series, Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan, was nominated in 2000 for the James Beard Award for Best National Television Food Show. She was also senior producer of Passover: Traditions of Freedom, an award-winning public television documentary. She has appeared as a guest on numerous radio and television programs, including The Today Show, Good Morning, America, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, and National Public Radio.

She holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Harvard. For three years she lived in Israel, where she worked for the mayor of Jerusalem. Joan Nathan later co-founded New York City's Ninth Avenue Food Festival. The mother of three grown children, she lives in Washington, D.C. and Martha’s Vineyard with her husband, Allan Gerson.

Joan Nathan will present: The Vast Landscape of American Food: How did a variety of cultures transform American food? And How to make family life revolve around the table.

Culinary Experiences at La Cocina Que Canta | Creative Chef Jes�s Gonz�lez

La Cocina Que Canta’s Creative Chef Jesús González teaches classes on a weekly basis, as well as representing Rancho La Puerta’s culinary center at culinary events far and wide. An at the Golden Door for 14 years, working side by side with famed spa chef Michel Stroot. A native of Mexico City, Jesús joined the culinary team at Rancho La Puerta as Creative Chef in 2004 where, along with co-founder Deborah Szekely, he completely revised the spa menu. He is known for the resort's organic, modified-vegetarian menu (which also features fresh seafood), and he regularly receives accolades from guests and food writers alike. An experienced culinary teacher, his hands-on classes offer a fun experience, delicious food and new cooking techniques.

Chef Jesús offers hands-on cooking classes during which you will enjoy preparing your own meal along with fellow cooks, and a demonstration class with tastings included. Classes take place at La Cocina Que Canta. You also will have the opportunity to harvest produce you use from our organic garden, Tres Estrellas. Transportation will be provided.

For more information and registration, please click here. information. "

Current Trends in Foreign Policy | Phyllis Oakley

Phyllis Oakley is an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (the graduate school of international relations of the Johns Hopkins University). Before her retirement as a career foreign service officer with the State Department, she served as assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, and for Population, Refugees and Migration. She and her husband, retired ambassador Robert Oakley, have two children and five grandchildren in the Washington area. Phyllis will share insightful observations on foreign policy trends.

Current Events | Linda Wertheimer

As National Public Radio's senior national correspondent, Linda Wertheimer travels the country and the globe for NPR News, bringing her unique insights and wealth of experience to bear on the day's top news stories. A respected leader in US media and a beloved figure to listeners who have followed her three-decade-long NPR career, Wertheimer provides clear-eyed analysis and thoughtful reporting on all NPR News programs. Before taking the senior national correspondent post, Wertheimer spent 13 years as a host of NPR's flagship news magazine, All Things Considered. Her numerous journalism awards include those from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for her anchoring of "The Iran-Contra Affair: A Special Report" (a series of 41 half-hour programs on the Iran-Contra congressional hearings); from American Women in Radio/TV for her story "Illegal Abortion;" and from the American Legion for NPR's coverage of the Panama Treaty debates. She was named one of the top 50 journalists in Washington by Washingtonian Magazine, and one of America's 200 most influential women by Vanity Fair.

The Four Rules to a Simple Life | David Baum

David Baum, an expert on change, has been described as a "personal travel agent", helping clients figure out where they want to go and how to get there faster. David teaches, consults and writes on the subject. His work has included conflict mediation in Northern Ireland, President Clinton's Summit for America's Future, women’s post-conflict entrepreneurship in Bosnia-Herzegovina and helping launch the “older adult civic engagement movement”. Diverse clients include Fortune 50 companies, foundations, non-profits and Nobel Prize winning organizations.

David has a doctorate in organizational psychology from Temple University and a second doctorate in divinity from Naropa University. He has been featured in Fortune, Business Week, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The London Times. Previously, he worked his way through graduate school as a clown with Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey circus. Thus, David is one of the few people to teach at three of the top ten business schools in the world with a background in fire eating, juggling, and magic.

He lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire with his wife, two children and unusually relaxed Jack Russell terrier. He is on the board of The MacDowell Art Colony.

David Baum presents this week:

The Four Rules to a Simple Life
Do you ever find yourself running like crazy just to catch up, and thinking, "There must be a simpler way"? We live in challenging times, and the resulting lack of balance extracts a constant price on our physical and mental health. This dynamic talk reflects on the process of personal change, and what we need to deepen our spirits through simplicity. Inspired by David’s emergency quintuple bypass open heart surgery at 42 (while in Peru no less) and with stories and a model for understanding "right" living, we explore the clear path through complexity. Participants learn ways to enhance the quality of their lives—and how to return to a simpler way, including:

* Four rules to a simple life
* Cross-cultural views of balanced living
* Increasing our capacity for well-being and inner peace
* Connecting with passion

The Only Person Who Likes Change Is A Wet Baby
Whether a desire to lose weight, exercise more or get a new relationship, the way we respond effects our happiness. This fast-paced and humorous program focuses on what one must do to make deep and lasting change. Participants will learn about the stages of emotional commitment, recognizing and minimizing inner resistance, and overcoming emotional barriers. Finally everyone will make a change plan and learn the #1 guaranteed strategy for change success.

Capturing Place: Writing | Grace Dane Mazur, MFA, Ph.D.

Grace Dane Mazur is a novelist, essayist, and short story writer. She is on the faculty of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, and she often teaches the Advanced Fiction Workshop at Harvard Extension School. For ten years she was Fiction Editor of the literary journal Harvard Review. Her books include the story collection, Silk, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and the novel, Trespass.

Join Grace Dane Mazur Sunday through Friday for CAPTURING PLACE: WRITING, a series of progressive workshops to explore various ways of looking at life and the world through writing. Each day’s workshop is different and may be attended separately. The workshops will include readings, in-class exercises, and discussion of questions such as:

How do we start?
Who do we write for?
How do we transform real life into fiction?
How does writing capture place?
How does writing stop time?
What about paying attention?
What do the senses have to do with it?
Which comes first: writing or thinking?
What about those self-censoring voices?