Gentle Yoga | Veera Sanjana, M.S., M.S.W

Veera Sanjana approaches her yoga practice with gratitude, reverence and love. Veera is a certified Hatha Yoga teacher and her teaching style is best described as 'meditation in motion'. Veera's unique yoga teaching style stresses a strong fluid practice with emphasis on mind, body and breath connections to direct our attention inwards. She sets a rhythm that allows her students to explore their own inner world.

Veera was born in India and was schooled in the ancient yoga traditions from a very early age. Veera is able to bring alive the essence of ancient wisdom teachings for modern seekers, in a way that allows students to connect deeply with their own authentic power and spirit.

In her classes, she skillfully weaves together the teachings and time tested practices of Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda and Vipassana Meditation to create a dynamic and integrated practice, that help us lead healthy, happy and effective lives. Each class is unique, based on a theme related to body, mind and spirit.

Under the guidance and grace of her teachers, Veera has taught many types of yoga, including gentle yoga, prenatal, postnatal, restorative, yin yoga, yoga for kids, yoga for seniors and therapeutic yoga. Veera's passion and visionary presentations grow out of her extensive experience as an instructor of Yoga, Meditation, Compassionate Touch, Ayurvedic Healing, Eastern Dance Therapy, Herbs and Nutrition. From her home base in California, she enjoys teaching classes, seminars, writing for magazines. She travels often and offers workshops and retreats that integrate meditation, yoga wisdom, ayurveda and spiritual life-skills.

Culinary Experiences at La Cocina Que Canta | Visiting Teacher Chris Prosperi

Christopher Prosperi is chef and co-owner of Metro Bis restaurant in the affluent Hartford suburb of Simsbury, Connecticut which is ranked in the top five restaurants in the state for American food according to the Zagat Survey. The New York Times also declared that “Metro Bis is worth a detour.” Chef Magazine has nominated Chris as one of five national finalists for the Chef of the Year Award. He is a weekly recipe columnist for the Hartford Courant and his work regularly appears across the country via the Tribune wire service. He is an international cooking teacher from California to Italy, a weekly chef on NBC 30, and producer of Prosperi Salad Dressings. Chris is a member of the Society de Philanthropic, the Association of Food Journalists, La Chaine des Rotisseurs, the James Beard Foundation (where he has cooked several dinners), and the International Association of Culinary Professionals where he serves on the committee for cookbook award judging.

Christopher offers three hands-on culinary experiences, 3.5 hours each, on Tuesday at 11 am and 4 pm and Thursday at 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.

Dancing Your Bliss | Rachel Fleischman, LCSW, REAT

Rachel Fleischman, LCSW, helps people move out of their heads and into their bodies to heal. A licensed psychotherapist, inspirational speaker, movement teacher and expressive arts expert, she is the founder of Dance Your Bliss™.

Fleischman has pioneered the combination of psychotherapy with movement, body awareness, expressive arts and spirituality. Dance Your Bliss™ has been featured at the Omega Institute's Being Yoga Conference, Omega's Women & Courage Conference, Naropa's Hakomi Conference, Sueno Azul, Esalen Institute, Rancho La Puerta Spa, and the International Dance Therapy Conference.

She has published writings on mind-body psychotherapy in both academic and popular journals and travels frequently, teaching Dance Your Bliss throughout the US. She currently maintains a private practice in San Francisco. You can visit Rachel on her websites at: dancingyourbliss.com and blisscounseling.com

An Introduction to the Positive Power of Hypnosis | Bee Epstein-Shepherd, Ph.D.

Don't miss this opportunity to use a tool that will give you more control over your daily life. Hypnosis works to get rid of fears and phobias, unwanted habits, and to improve performance and overall health. You will learn how and why it works, and how you can use it to get the results you want in your personal or professional life. This combination lecture and demonstration will help you understand, and if you want to, experience the positive power of hypnosis. It is recommended that you attend this session to get the most out of the rest of the hypnosis programs.

GOLF HYPNOSIS AND THE MENTAL GAME. You will be introduced to some of the basic mental principles by BEE EPSTEIN-SHEPHERD, Ph.D., a pioneer in Golf Hypnosis and author of “Mental Management for Great Golf: How to Control Your Thoughts and Play Out of Your Mind, ” “Mental Mastery for Great Golf, Mind Power Technology,” and “Building Champions: A Guide for Parents of Junior Golfers.” Between 1996 and 2006 Dr. Bee was mental skills coach to some of the world’s best golfers, including Major Champions on all professional tours, and members of both the Ryder and Presidents’ Cup teams.

PERFECT YOUR PUTTING: In this 1/2 hour class you will learn self-hypnosis to eliminate three-putts. (You must attend Golf Hypnosis and the Mental Game to benefit from this class.)

GET RID OF WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF WITH HYPNOSIS
How often have you gone on a diet only to find the lost weight again, and again and again? Now learn the secret to getting rid of weight and keeping it off. Many studies show that adding hypnosis to weight loss programs increased weight loss by an average of 97% and even more importantly increased the effectiveness by over 146% over time. Now you have the opportunity to learn how to improve your results with hypnosis.

HYPNOSIS FOR LESS STRESS AND BETTER SLEEP
You will be amazed at how quickly you can de-stress with hypnosis. In a matter of minutes you can be relaxed, calm and free of muscle tension and stressful thoughts. In this session you will experience total stress relief and some effective techniques for overcoming insomnia. (Stress is the #1 cause of insomnia.

Bee Epstein-Shepherd, Ph.D. has helped people attain personal and professional excellence since 1975. She is now in her "retirement career" as a hypnotherapist practicing performance psychology. Since 1985 she has impacted more than 250.000 people in over 450 cities internationally by teaching self-management and peak performance. She has 10 years experience teaching management and business psychology courses at the college level and consulting for major corporations. She is author of "Stress First Aid for the Working Woman," "How to Create Balance at Work, At Home, In Your Life," "Free Yourself From Diets,” “Mental Management for Great Golf: How to Control Your Thoughts and Play Out of Your Mind” and "Building Champions, A Guide for Parents of Junior Golfers."

Between 1996 and 2006 she was mental skills coach to some of the world’s best golfers. In 2008 she published a CD program Youthing™, a Hypnotic Approach to Anti-Aging, a revolutionary program designed to slow the aging process. She presents customized Youthing workshops and also hypnotizes individuals to reduce stress, improve memory, overcome sleeplessness, conquer fears, control weight and negative behaviors. She is certified by the American Institute of Hypnosis, The National Guild of Hypnotists, The Time Line Therapy Association, and as a Medical Hypnotherapy Specialist. She is listed in several Who's Who publications including Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in the World.

On the Web: www.DrBee.com

Jazz Piano Concerts | Bill Harris

Bill Harris' many performance venues include the Smithsonian, Blues Alley, and the World Bank in Washington, D.C.; the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles; Snug Harbor in New Orleans and numerous jazz festivals. His musical direction for the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History IMAX JAZZ Café helped launch the venue's successful inaugural year. Bill is listed in Washingtonian Magazine’s Best of Jazz in DC and is winner of the Hennessy Cognac Best of DC Jazz Competition.

Bill's CDs "Invitation" "Solo + One," "Encompass Quartet" (Albert "Tootie" Heath is featured) and "Holiday Improvisations" have all received critical acclaim. Originally from Long Island, Bill started piano studies in Acton, MA in 1963 and continued with numerous teachers including local masters John Eaton and Les Karr. He also attended jazz piano master classes in New York City taught by jazz legend Barry Harris. Bill’s other major influences include Bill Evans, Tommy Flanagan, Wynton Kelly, Reuben Brown, Fred Hersch, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Stanley Cowell, Red Garland, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Art Tatum and Keith Jarrett, among others.

On the Web: www.bhjazz.com/

Life Changing Travel | Marybeth Bond

Marybeth Bond will present "National Geographic Author Shares Insights for Life Changing Travel" and "Avoid the Tours - How to do it yourself. And who you'll meet along the way."

Marybeth Bond (a.k.a. GutsyTraveler) is a National Geographic author and blogger who has traveled to over 90 countries. Marybeth, her online magazine www. GutsyTraveler.com and her 12 books have been featured in USA Today, New York Times, and landed her on "The Oprah Winfrey Show". She has appeared on more than 250 television and radio shows. Marybeth ranks #1 in Google searches for Women Travel Expert. She also biked 3,115 miles across the USA with her daughter and raised $52,000 for Osteoporosis in the process.

Photography Programs – Bring your Camera | Gary Harmatz

Gary Harmatz will offer the following programs:

Three slide shows:

The Big Cats of Africa

Travel Photography for Everyone: Capturing a “Sense of Place”

Turkey: Where East Meets West

A hands-on workshop of actually going out and Photographing the Ranch

PHOTO TIPS AND TRICKS. Gary Harmatz will show you many of the photographic tips and tricks he has learned over the 25 years of photography. He will also evaluate and "show off" some of the images taken this week by the guests of the Ranch.

All week long:

Help Sessions: Individual help session for participants assisting with their photography using Adobe Photoshop.

Gary Harmatz has been a wildlife, nature, travel and underwater photographer for over 25 years. As a wildlife photographer, his pursuit of adventure and those rare moments of capturing that intimate connection between man and animal have taken him around the planet. Whether it is photographing nearly extinct mountain gorillas in Central Africa, orangutans in the rain forests of Borneo or to the frozen north to capture images of polar bears or baby harp seals, he has been able to capture the essence of these animals. He has an extensive library of the major groups of animals from east, central and southern Africa. Gary’s nature and travel photography has taken him throughout Europe, Japan, the Bahamas, North America and Africa. He specializes in unique images from the grand scenic and exotic marketplaces to the fall foliage of New England. Underwater photography has brought Gary to the waters of Belize, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Palau, Truk Lagoon and the Maldives. Gary’s sense of color, light, composition and his ability to tell a story with his photography makes him a unique photographer and lecturer.

Of Art and Nature | Lynda Reeves McIntyre, Ph.D.

Throughout time, artists, shamans, and everyday people have been inspired by the powers and beauty of the natural world and have responded by art making. When the making of art dances between the natural world and the artist, the collaboration often reveals inspired beauty, a sense of power and sometimes insight. Join recognized artist and professor Lynda Reeves McIntyre, Ph.D., in a slide presentation of recent compelling and celebrated works demonstrating this artist/nature/spirit collaboration.

Her workshops:
ART WORKSHOP I. SEEING AND DRAWING
ART WORKSHOP II. SHAPE TAKES FORM
ART WORKSHOP III. GESTURE DRAWING AND MOVING MEDITATION

Lynda Reeves McIntyre trained as a painter and a dancer at the University of Massachusetts, Hunter College and Yale University. Her doctorate is in Aesthetics. She weaves her training in painting, dance, Buddhist study and aesthetics into her teaching. Dr. McIntyre had her first major show in New York at 21. She has since received numerous awards, including those from the NEA, the MacDowell Foundation, the JFK Center, the ICCE, the VCCA and the Getty Foundation. She has been awarded art fellowships abroad to Australia, the former Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Bhutan and Italy where she teaches painting in the summers and, most recently, Cuba, Paris and England. Her work is shown throughout the U.S, Europe and the Pacific Rim, and is in corporate and private collections in the U.S, Europe and Australia. Dr. McIntyre is a studio art professor and former chairman of the University of Vermont's department of Art and Art History.

My Mom's Last Letter | Chrissy Washburn

Chrissy Washburn will share how her book was born, the story about Mom, who filled her end of life with joy and taught her how she wants to do it. Join Chrissy and we'll share stories, ideas, and questions that the book inspires. Reading the book is not required for joining in the session. Bring your curiosity and open mind. You can find a copy of her book at dinner in the dining hall. There will be copies in the library to borrow. If you are a "Kindle" reader, you can download the book from her website, chrissywashburn.com

In the beginning, before children, Chrissy Washburn was a teacher - kindergarten during the year and tennis in the summer. The past 35 years she has worked in the field of helping, supporting, volunteering, and counseling. In 1993 she received her Masters in Pastoral Counseling at Loyola University in Columbia, MD and began practicing personal growth through retreats and reading, and with clients in one on one counseling. She has been dedicated and intimately involved with non profit organizations filling in where needed and creative problem solving. The past ten years her accomplishments have been in Portland, OR with Sisters of the Road, JOIN, street roots, Dignity Village and First Unitarian Church. She has a passion for writing. Her first book, "My Mom's Last Letter," has shifted her life into a new way of sharing her experience and passion for personal exploration and loving connections. Her goal is in the giving.