Dancing Your Bliss | Rachel Fleischman

Rachel Fleischman, LCSW, helps people move out of their heads and into their bodies to heal. Throughout her career, Rachel has pioneered the combination of traditional psychotherapy with movement, body awareness expressive arts and spirituality. Her Dance Your Bliss trainings have been featured internationally, and include Omega's Being Yoga Conference, the Professional Business Women of California Conference, Omega’s Women & Courage Conference, and the International Dance Therapy Conference. She has been featured in Women First magazine. Fleischman maintains a private practice in San Francisco.

You can visit her on her website at: dancingyourbliss.com

Culinary Experiences at La Cocina Que Canta | Visiting Teacher Jill Melton

Jill Melton is editor of Relish, a newspaper-distributed monthly magazine that celebrates America’s love of food. Relish debuted February, 2006. Previously, Jill spent 15 years on the editorial staff of Cooking Light magazine, where she was instrumental in guiding the food style that made Cooking Light the top epicurean magazine in America. As a registered dietitian, chef and author, Jill has shown readers how to create great tasting food that is good for you too. She is a native of Cincinnati, and has a BA degree in nutrition and an MA degree in public health nutrition.

Jill offers three hands-on culinary experiences, 3.5 hours each, on Tuesday at 11 am and 4 pm and Thursdayat 4 pm, during which you will enjoy preparing your own meal along with fellow cooks. Classes take place at La Cocina Que Canta, our new culinary center.

For more information and registration, please click here.

Secrets of the Ranch Recipes | Executive Chef at La Cocina que Canta Denise Roa

Chef Denise teaches recipes from Executive Chef at Rancho La Puerta Gonzalo Mendoza, Sous Chef Mariela Manzano and Viridiana Navarrete

Executive Chef Denise Roa deliciously fuses the culinary and cultural heritages of her own life with the healthful "spa cuisine" pioneered by Rancho La Puerta. Chef Roa began her culinary journey at Johnson & Wales University in Miami. She moved to San Diego and began a successful career working for several of the region's most respected restaurants, including Pacifica Del Mar, Crescent Shores Grille, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, and Hilton Torrey Pines. Her own restaurant La Trattoria was a local favorite for years. She has also been an instructor at Art Institute of San Diego, training over 500 culinary students to date in essential skills.

Sensuality and Sexuality | Beverly Whipple, Ph.D.

Join Beverly Whipple for the following programs:

SENSUALITY AND SEXUALITY: ENHANCING INTIMACY IN RELATIONSHIPS. Beverly Whipple, who has been researching and writing about sexuality for over forty years, presents a program that will help people to learn more about themselves as sensual and sexual beings. They will learn about the variety of ways men and women are capable of having sensual and sexual pleasure and response.

BEYOND THE G-SPOT: Research Concerning Female Sexual Response. Dr. Whipple’s research about female sexuality (the Gspot, imagery orgasm, etc.) male and female multiple orgasms and the enhancement of sexual pleasure will be detailed in this program, which is designed for both a male and female audience.

MALE AND FEMALE MIDLIFE SEXUAL CHANGES. The normal changes that occur in men and women during mid-life will be detailed, showing similarities and differences. Hormonal changes in women and the sexual signs and symptoms produced at mid-life in men, will be presented. Alternative and traditional approaches will be offered.

WOMEN'S HEALTH IN THE 21ST CENTURY. BEVERLY WHIPPLE will speak on the major women's health issues, the emphasis being on feeling good about being a woman and understanding women's health in the 21st century. Men who live with women will find this program helpful to them as well.

Beverly Whipple, PhD, RN, FAAN is a certified sex educator, sex counselor and sex researcher. She is the co-author of the international best seller, "The G Spot and Other Discoveries about Human Sexuality," which has been translated into 19 languages and was re-published as a Classic 23 years later in 2005. Her other books are "Safe Encounters: How Women Can Say Yes to Pleasure and No to Unsafe Sex," "Smart Women, Strong Bones," "Outwitting Osteoporosis," "The Science of Orgasm, and "The Orgasm Answer Guide." Beverly Whipple has appeared on more than 350 radio and TV programs and has been featured in many magazines. She has delivered over 800 talks and keynote speeches and published over 170 research articles and book chapters. She is a Professor Emerita at Rutgers University of NJ. Her degrees include a BS in Nursing from Wagner College, and from Rutgers: a Masters in Counseling, a Masters in Nursing, and a Ph.D. in Psychobiology, with a major in Neurophysiology. She served as President of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, the Vice President of the World Association for Sexology, Secretary General/Treasurer of the World Association for Sexual Health, and President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. She has received over 100 awards including the Gold Medal from the World Association for Sexual Health, the highest honor in sexual health. In addition, Beverly was named by the New Scientist as one of the 50 Most Influential Scientists of the World.

Mindfulness Practice | Sylvia Boorstein and Emily Boorstein-Wikman

Sylvia Boorstein is a co-founding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, and a Senior Teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. She lectures nationally on Buddhism and mindfulness; she teaches mindfulness and metta meditation. A practicing psychotherapist since 1967, Boorstein has a Ph.D. in psychology, and is often a keynote speaker at Buddhist, interfaith, and meditation conferences.

Sylvia emphasizes seeing daily life as practice and has a special ability to illustrate how we can be mindful standing in a grocery store checkout line as well as sitting on a meditation cushion. 
She is the author of five books on Buddhism and meditation practice, including Pay Attention, For Goodness’ Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness and Happiness is an Inside Job. 

Sylvia and her husband Seymour, who is a psychiatrist, have two sons, two daughters, and seven grandchildren. They live in Sonoma County, California. On the Web: www.sylviaboorstein.com

Emily Boorstein Wikman is a Certified Personal Life Coach, CPCC, with a private practice based in Northern California. She received her BA in Psychology, at UC Berkeley, and continued her studies to become a Certified Life Coach.  Emily is the daughter of a Psychiatrist, Dr. Seymour Boorstein, and the widely known and loved Psychologist /Buddhist meditation teacher, Sylvia Boorstein.  Emily describes herself as having grown up “swimming in the waters” of self-improvement, spirituality and personal growth, and felt destined to follow similar footsteps. Her style of coaching can be described as accelerated transformation and awakening from the “Inside-Out”.  She combines the great wisdom and spiritual traditions of the world with the most current scientific and psychological knowledge, to create tangible techniques and practices for healing, awakening, and living your “sweetest” life.

As a former fitness instructor, Emily incorporates the importance of physical fitness and health into her coaching practice as well.  “When loved and cared for, your physical body will provide a healthy home for your true essence to flourish.” 

Emily and her husband Johan live in Marin County, California.  They are new “empty nester” parents of two fabulous sons. On the Web:  www.coachemily.com

The Healing Power of Our Stories | Joel ben Izzy

Each of us is a treasure trove of stories. Yet many of our richest tales remain untold. This lecture will help you discover and tell tales that can guide you on your path toward wisdom, wholeness and healing. Sharing stories gathered over a career spent traveling the globe, Joel will recount the true tale that began when he awoke from a surgical procedure to discover he could no longer speak. At first doctors thought his loss was temporary, but later decided it was permanent. So he found himself living inside a tale as strange as any he had ever told, a journey of loss, unexpected gifts and, ultimately, healing. The lessons he found will lead us to stories in our own lives, tales of how curses can turn into blessings.

Workshop –Mining Our Lives for Stories

The stories we have inside need time and space to breathe, and Rancho La Puerta offers both. Meeting several times over the course of the week, we will sift through our lives to find treasures we may have overlooked, tales that help us find healing and wholeness. These may be memories of places we have been, people we have known and lessons we have learned. Our focus will not be on performing these stories, but rather sharing them in a comfortable way with others who come to the workshop. Inevitably, the stories we tell will trigger memories of stories in others, weaving a web of tales over the course of the week. Participants will return home with stories to share with friends and family.

Joel ben Izzy graduated from Stanford in 1983 with a self-designed degree in storytelling. He has since told stories and led storytelling workshops in twenty-eight countries throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East as well as North and South America. He has produced six award- winning recordings of his work and written the highly-acclaimed memoir, “The Beggar King and The Secret of Happiness.” In addition to his performances, teaching and writing, Joel ben Izzy is also a top story consultant with a client list that includes Hewlett-Packard, The Federal Reserve Bank and Pixar Animation Studios. He lives with his family in Berkeley, California.

For more info see www.storypage.com

Walking the War Zones of Pakistan, One Woman's Journey into the Shadow of the Taliban | Ruth Anne Kocour

Walking the War Zones of Pakistan, One Woman's Journey into the Shadow of the Taliban: Ruth Anne Kocour takes us on her journeys to K2 and Pakistan’s tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, Kashmir, Tajikistan, and China, which are the subject of her new book, “Walking the War Zones of Pakistan.” During this PowerPoint slide presentation, you’ll see topography that has led to isolation--physical and cultural--of people who for centuries have been kept in the dark by natural barriers, lack of infrastructure, lack of communication, and illiteracy. This simple tale of travel and adversity lends a face to news we hear every day and a glimpse into what we all have in common—our humanity.

Ruth Anne Kocour--Author, Speaker, Photographer, Adventurer

She took us through disaster to the summit of Alaska's Mount McKinley in her book, “Facing the Extreme.” In her newest book, “Walking the War Zones of Pakistan,” Ruth Anne Kocour takes us to K2 and Pakistan’s tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, Kashmir, and China. Kocour's adventures have been featured on CNN’s International Hour and the Discovery Channel. Her photos and stories have appeared in People, Harper’s Bazaar, Health, Sunset, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle. Ruth Anne has summited the highest peaks on four continents. She has climbed and trekked throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Her background in art, science, and photography enables Kocour to bring to life battlegrounds of nature and cultures for her readers and speaking audiences.

Facing the Extreme: The subject of her book by the same title, this PowerPoint slide presentation details triumph and tragedy on Alaska’s Mt. McKinley (Denali). Hit unexpectedly by the so called Storm of the Century, her team was pinned down on an ice shelf for ten days in 110 mph winds, minus 47 degree air temperatures, and wind chills that exceeded 150 degrees below zero. While avalanches crashed down and other climbers died, her team went on to be the first group summit McKinley after surviving a storm that took 11 lives in as many days.

Mantra Concert | Karl Anthony

Experience Mantra in Brilliant Laser Lights with Songwriter Karl Anthony's Vibrant Acoustic Kirtan Music

Sanskrit and English chants will rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit while you are surrounded in an atmosphere of warm laser light illumination.

Music and Light are powerful healers and whether you choose to sing or just rest in the vibration, you will be nourished deep within every cell of your being. Pause your mind and open your heart to an evening of Karl Anthony's Mantra and explore the beauty of your soul being showered in light.

"The Mantra becomes one's staff of life and carries one through every ordeal. Each repetition has a new meaning, carrying you nearer and nearer to God." Mahatma Gandhi

Singer/Songwriter/Producer Karl Anthony's social action work has been highlighted nationally for over 20 years. It includes receiving the 2007 Gandhi/King Season for Nonviolence Peace Hero Award for his creative approach in teaching peace. Karl Anthony led the first Russian/American Teen Summit in Moscow and performed in the Kremlin for President Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife Raisa. He continued the Teen Summits in Moscow for 6 years. Another one of his many adventures was the time when he was nearly arrested in Beijing, China for an unscheduled human rights performance on Tiananmen Square. You must hear that story! One of Karl's favorite things to do is being part of Children's Hospital's Healing Arts Department where he sings for kids at their bedside and does what he can to assist kids recovery using music and laughter. Karl does not take the traditional entertainment industry path. He uses his talents as a vehicle to connect people to their own humanity.