The Bar Method | Wendy Higgins

Wendy Higgins was first introduced to The Bar Method after purchasing a class through an auction event. After one class she was hooked and knew from then on, Bar Method would be a part of her life. Having had two children Bar Method was the perfect choice of exercise to help get her back into shape. Wendy believed in the method so much that she jumped at the opportunity to be an instructor in 2010 and has been teaching at both East Bay locations ever since. Most recently she became a part of the East Bay instructor coaching team. Wendy attended California State University, Chico where she earned her degree in Recreation Administration with her focus in Resort and Lodging Management. She spent a few years after college living on Nantucket and Maui putting her new degree to work. Eventually she moved to San Francisco where she worked at Montgomery Asset Management and Wells Capital Management in their IT department doing system support work. In 2004 Wendy and her husband Sam had their first son Taylor and in 2006 their second son Brady.

For more details on the Bar Method please see www.barmethod.com.

Culinary Experiences at La Cocina Que Canta | Visiting Teacher Gary Jenanyan

A California native, Gary Jenanyan has been cooking in the Napa Valley for more than 30 years. A noted designer, restaurant consultant and chef instructor, Mr. Jenanyan has enjoyed the rare privilege of working with the most influential chefs of this era. As Executive Chef of the Great Chefs Program at Robert Mondavi Winery for 26 years before retiring in 2002, he worked with and was mentored by the best of France’s 3-star chefs both here and abroad, including Jean Troisgros, Paul Bocuse, Joel Robuchon, Marc Meneau, Alain Chapel, Georges Blanc and Pierre Gagnaire. He has also worked and taught with many noted American chefs and authors including Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Jan Birnbaum, Thomas Keller, Bradley Ogden and others.

Since 1998, Gary has been Executive Chef to the fleet for Lindblad Expeditions, partnered with National Geographic Expeditions, the internationally acclaimed, environmentally conscious small-ship expedition cruise line. He is responsible for menus and recipes for the food operations on five ships worldwide and co-responsible for the wine lists. He developed and is currently the Project Manager for the OPUS Project on the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. OPUS (Operation to Prevent Unwanted Species) is a system developed to peel, sanitize, vacuum pack, refrigerate and ship fruits and vegetables ready to prepare from Quito on the mainland of Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands without introducing invasive species, the most significant threat to the fragile environment on these unique islands. Incorporating the sensibility and experience of a veteran working chef, his culinary consulting firm, Jenanyan Design, designs restaurants, winery and home kitchens, ship’s galleys, troubleshoots food service operations, develops menus and recipes and provides chef instruction to a variety of clients internationally.

Some of his local kitchen designs include Opus One Winery, Ubuntu Restaurant, EPIC Roasthouse, Azteca Market, Soda Canyon Store, St. Supery Winery and Calistoga Inn, among others. He has designed kitchens in many Napa Valley homes. He was the Executive Chef and chief food stylist for the 13-part PBS television series, “America’s Rising Star Chefs” and authored its companion cookbook. He has served as the Culinary Chair for the Napa Valley Wine Auction in 1996 and 1997, the largest event of its kind in the world, serving 2000 guests. As a chef-instructor, Mr. Jenanyan sits on several advisory boards of California culinary programs. Gary lives in Napa Valley, is a licensed private pilot, an avid reader, world traveler and is relentlessly curious about new ingredients, flavors, textures and wines from around the globe. He works and teaches in English and Spanish and is conversant in French.

Gary offers three hands-on culinary experiences, 3.5 hours each, during which you will enjoy preparing your own meal along with fellow cooks. Hands-on classes are offered on Tuesday at 11 am and 4 pm and Thursday 4 pm, subject to change. Classes take place at La Cocina Que Canta, our new culinary center. You also will have the opportunity to harvest produce you use from our organic garden, Tres Estrellas.

For more information and registration, please click here.

Gyrokinesis Week | Diane Daniel

Sunday through Friday 11am

Diane Daniel trained as a classical dancer at the Hammond School in the UK. She spent over 15 years as a professional dancer in Israel (The Israel Ballet) and Germany (Ballet Krefeld-Mönchengladbach, Tanztheater Heidelberg, Tanztheater Munster, and Tanztheater Freiburg). She is a certified Pilates, Gyrotonic® and Gyrokinesis® instructor. Diane has worked with Alan Herdman at one of London’s most reputable Pilates studios. She also studied with Juliu Horvath in Germany for her Gyrotonic® certification. She is a pre-trainer in the Gyrotonic® system and continues her education in Seattle with master trainers Karen Mullen and Magali Messac. Diane has her own private studio in Vancouver where she is now based.

Gyrokinesis® is a complete movement system, for all levels and ages, and can be applied to a variety of situations, as one needs very little equipment. It incorporates many key principles from yoga, dance, gymnastics and Tai Chi. The class begins with the practitioner seated on a low stool, utilizing self-massage and simple breathing patterns to awaken the body. He or she mobilizes the spine through a series of arching, curling and spiraling movements. The corresponding breathing patterns in every movement help to stimulate the nervous system and open up energy pathways. The class continues with additional standing and floor exercises.

Dream On: Exploring Your Dream World | Veronica Tonay, Ph.D.

Wednesday 8pm, Thursday 4pm and Friday 1pm

We all dream several times per night, and we remember even more dreams when we travel. Are dreams just meaningless, or do they hold some value? What gifts can they bring? In this program, you'll discover how listening to your dreams can help you to solve problems, develop your creativity, improve your relationships, meet your own wisdom, and visualize new goals.

Veronica Tonay, Ph.D., was one of several experts interviewed for a Discovery Channel series, "Dream Decoders" and has been interviewed as an expert on dream interpretation by major television networks. She earned her doctoral degree in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1993. She is a licensed psychologist and practices psychotherapy in Santa Cruz, California. Veronica specializes in helping those experiencing depression, separation, loss, relationship issues, the effects of sexual abuse, life transitions and/or creative blocks. She also performs psychological testing and evaluations. Veronica has written articles about the hidden meanings of dreams for Redbook, Psychology Today, McCall's and Reader’s Digest. She is the author of “Every Dream Interpreted,” “The Creative Dreamer’s Journal,” and “The Creative Dreamer: Using Your Dreams to Unlock Your Creativity.”

On the Web: www.veronicatonay.com.

The Wisdom of the Kabbalah | Daniel Matt

The Wisdom of the Kabbalah:
Ancient Teachings and Contemporary Spirituality

Sunday 8pm | Additional talks Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 5pm

We will explore the Kabbalah (the Jewish mystical tradition) to discover how it reimagines God and how it can enrich our lives. Themes include: God as Infinity, the feminine half of God, God’s need for the human being, the mystical meaning of the Bible, discovering divine sparks in the material world, and simple techniques of meditation, during five sessions.

We will discuss texts of Kabbalah translated by Daniel Matt, including selections from the Zohar, the masterpiece of Kabbalah. Parallels will be drawn with mystical teachings from Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Daniel Matt is one of the world’s leading authorities on Kabbalah. He has published over ten books, including “The Essential Kabbalah” (translated into seven languages), “Zohar: Annotated and Explained,” and “God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony between Science and Spirituality.” Daniel is currently engaged in an immense project of translating and annotating the Zohar, the masterpiece of Kabbalah. So far, he has completed six volumes of “The Zohar: Pritzker Edition,” which are being published by Stanford University Press, covering approximately half of the Zohar. For this work, Daniel has been honored with a National Jewish Book Award and a Koret Jewish Book Award. The Koret award called his translation “a monumental contribution to the history of Jewish thought.” Dr.Matt has been featured in Time Magazine, and has appeared on National Public Radio and the History Channel. For twenty years, he served as professor at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and has also taught at Stanford University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Daniel lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Hana.

Concert | Martha Aarons, flute, Lev Polyakin, violin, George Lopez, piano

Tuesday 8pm

Enjoy a wonderful performance with Martha Aarons, flute, Lev Poyakin, violin, George Lopez, piano. Their program will feature selections from the classical period to the romantic, including virtuoso showpieces and arrangements of popular and beloved favorites of various genres.

After 25 years with the Cleveland Orchestra, Martha Aarons embarked on a freelance career that has taken her to many major orchestras around the country. Most notably, she is a regular guest with the Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom she has toured to Asia as well as in the U.S. Other guest appearances have been with the Metropolitan Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival, the Orchestra for World Peace, and the orchestras of Minnesota, Milwaukee, San Diego and Baltimore. She also taught and performed at the Aspen Music Festival for 19 years. Her CD, History of the Tango, is a collaboration with pianist Frances Renzi and guitarist Jason Vieaux.

At age 21 Lev Polyakin was appointed co-concertmaster of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. In that position he was regularly featured as soloist, with many of his performances recorded by Melodia. In the U.S. he served as assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as concertmaster of the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen Music Festival. In 1984 Lev won several prizes in two international violin competitions, Carl Flesch in London and Romanini in Brescia, Italy. In addition to his solo performances with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Polyakin has appeared as soloist with the London Mozart Players, Royal Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra. Recording credits include Melodia, BBC, National Public Radio, and Decca. He is prominently featured on a CD of the chamber music of Paul Schoenfield, which was nominated for a Grammy. Mr. Polyakin has a special interest in jazz and has recorded three CDs with his group "Russian Blue.” The albums are entitled Russian Blue, The Other Side of the Road, and Christmas Kaleidoscope.

George Lopez, piano, Artist-in-Residence, Bowdoin College. George has been featured across the globe as recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and is considered one of the best chamber musicians of his generation. A laureate of several international competitions, Mr. Lopez received critical acclaim for his interpretation of Bach's Goldberg Variations at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and is now preparing the complete cycle of Beethoven Piano Concertos for his upcoming concert seasons. He was invited by the Holland Music Sessions, now one of the top performing arenas for up-and-coming musicians in Europe, to go on a world tour for which he performed in Paris, London, Cologne, New York's Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and in Los Angeles where he was hailed by the L.A. Times for his "...musical perspective, continuity, and kaleidoscopic colors." Most recently he performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue to a capacity crowd with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra.

Dream it, Dare it, Do it… To Timbuktu in a 182 | Robert Gannon

Saturday 8pm

Robert Gannon's presentation is about his flying adventure around the world in a light aircraft - a Cessna 182. It began back in 1992 when he took off two days after passing his instrument check ride (three months after his first lesson) from San Diego headed to Paris, France for a Harvard Business Class reunion. Four months later he crashed in Kenya, totaled the airplane but walked away unhurt. He talked about finishing that trip for the next eight years and in 2000 he decided to quit talking and get at it. He bought another airplane, Lucky Lady Too, and left California for Hawaii (an 18 hour flight) and for the next ten years went west around the world in the southern hemisphere, then east around the world in the northern hemisphere. When he returned to San Diego 10 1/2 years later, he had landed in 1,200 places in 155 countries on all the continents, been down to Antartica, over the North Pole, and even took medical supplies into Iraq during the war. He was able to see over half the 950 Unesco World Heritage sites. This entertaining presentation is full of maps, videos and photos from all over the world and can get us thinking about our own dream.

Bob Gannon grew up on a farm in Iowa with 13 brothers and sisters. He volunteered to be a combat medic in Viet Nam. His adult business life includes founding and growing a construction company, trading commodities on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and he is a Name at Lloyds of London. But his real passion is to explore the world with a small airplane. He learned to fly in 1992 and four months later crashed his single engine airplane, Lucky Lady, in Kenya. Eight years passed before he departed again in another single engine airplane, this time, Lucky Lady Too. Over the course of a decade they circumnavigated the globe twice, once in each direction, landing in 1200 places in 155 countries on all the continents. He followed his curiosity as he gallivanted around the globe.

Deborah Szekely at 91 Discusses her Legacy

Monday 8pm

Wonderful memories and wisdom gained from 73 years of helping healthy guests become healthier--and take delight in watching themselves grow younger year by year!

 

Bingo is a Blast with Barry!

Thursday 8pm