The Bar Method | Jessica Bowman

Jessica Bowman is a senior teacher and co-owner of The Bar Method Solana Beach in San Diego, CA. After earning her BS degree in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara she moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in pharmaceutical sales. It was there she discovered the bar method and fell head over heels! Jessica moved back to San Diego and has been teaching the bar method since November 2008. She recently opened the new Solana Beach studio this spring.

Jessica has a long history in athletics from competitive dance to field hockey and long distance running including completing 3 marathons. However, it’s the bar method that’s brought the most challenge (both mentally and physically) as well as the most reward into her life. Jessica is excited every day she walks into her studio to pass on the “secret” of the bar method and inspire others to feel empowered about their physical health and well being. Her other interests include snowboarding, hiking, reading and traveling.

Culinary Experiences at La Cocina Que Canta | Visiting Teacher Raghavan Iyer, CCP

Mumbai-native Raghavan Iyer, a Certified Culinary Professional and a member of The International Association of Culinary Professionals, has a degree in Chemistry, Bombay University, and Hotel and Restaurant Management, Michigan State University. He is a cookbook author, culinary educator, spokesperson, and consultant to numerous national and international clients and was named a 2008 Sustainable Seafood Ambassador for Monterey Bay Aquarium. He is currently the culineer for an Indian-themed restaurant in downtown Minneapolis called OM (www.omminneaplis.com). He is the author of "Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking," "The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood," 2003 James Beard Awards Finalist: Best International Cookbook, and "660 Curries," shortlisted among the top cookbooks for 2008 by NPR, the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Food and Wine Magazine (among many others). The book was named 2008 Best Asian Cookbook in the USA by World Gourmand Awards. He received the 2004 International Association of Culinary Professional's Award of Excellence (formerly the Julia Child Awards) for Cooking Teacher of the Year, and was a Finalist for a 2005 James Beard Journalism Award as a contributing writer for EatingWell Magazine. Iyer is co-founder of the Asian Culinary Arts Institutes, Ltd. (www.asianculinaryarts.com).

With over 24 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Iyer is also fluent in more than six languages. He has appeared in numerous radio and television shows across the United States and Canada.

Raghavan 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.

The Joy of Anusara Yoga | Jennifer Fox and Paul Gould

For over 40 combined years, Jennifer and Paul have practiced, studied and taught yoga, movement and meditation. Their focus is on a heartfelt alignment with nature, and experiencing yoga and the meditative journey as a way to transform the body and life. Anusara-inspired™ teachers, they incorporate Anusara’s therapeutic Universal Principles of Alignment™, Restorative Yoga, Yoga Therapy, including extensive background and experience in Iyengar Yoga™, and their work with elite trainer Brad Bartanen. These two spirited teachers love introducing beginners to yoga, and helping experienced students and teachers take their practice and skill to the next level. 

Paul had four professional careers before turning more fully to yoga, and holds degrees in economics and fitness training. He has been teaching mixed yoga programs and classes geared specifically for men for over twelve years and initially helped create the Back Care program at the Ranch.  Jennifer has been associated with the Ranch for over 30 years, is Aunusara-inspired™, was certified in Iyengar Yoga in 1989,and is a graduate of the Iyengar Yoga Institute. She has completed and assists in the Advanced Studies Program in Hakomi, a somatic based method and is a sculptor.  Both are avid students and practitioners of Zen Buddhist and Vipassana meditation and were among the first certified NIA teachers. They own NamaStay Retreat in Santa Cruz County and NamaStay Adventures, offering workshops and retreats worldwide including Tulum, Mexico and Tuscany, Italy.

Writers' Week | Madeleine Blais, Les Standiford and Ellen Sussman

Madeleine Blais, Les Standiford and Ellen Sussman offer four different sessions, for a total of 12 sessions, 45 minutes to an hour each. You can attend all 12 workshops as there is no overlap in content or schedule, and no need to sign up.

All three presenters will offer a lecture in addition to the 12 sessions for a total of 15 hours dedicated to the writing program.

The writing sessions are scheduled in the afternoon allowing you to enjoy your mornings with our fitness programs, hiking, nutrition and art lectures as well.

THE STORIES WE TELL: The Art of Memoir. Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Madeleine Blais reads excerpts from her work-in-progress and talks about memoir and essay and her work as guest columnist for The Boston Globe.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE IN AN IMPERSONAL WORLD: Finding the Story in Your Experience. MADELEINE BLAIS offers a 4-day writing workshop geared to those considering writing a manuscript either for themselves or the larger world based on their lives and want to learn how to find their voice and identify their audience.

Madeleine Blais is a journalist, author and professor in the University of Massachusetts Amherst's journalism department. As a reporter for the The Miami Herald, Blais earned the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1980 for "Zepp's Last Stand,” a story about a self-declared pacifist and subsequently dishonorably discharged World War I veteran. Blais has worked at The Boston Globe (1971–1972), The Trenton Times (1974–1976) and The Miami Herald (1979–1987). She has also published articles in The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Northeast Magazine in the Hartford Courant, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsday, Nieman Reports, the Detroit Free Press and the San Jose Mercury News.

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A NOVELIST INVADES THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT

Les Standiford talks about his transition from fiction writer (ten suspense novels) to popular historian (eight books, including the NYT best-seller Bringing Adam Home), with discussion of the distinctions and the commonalities between the forms, and particular emphasis on Last Train to Paradise, the story of the building of the ill-fated 156-mile-long railroad across the ocean from Miami to Key West (a book now in its 20th printing).

"The Writer and the Mythic Journey" Les Standiford, Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University in Miami since 1985, discusses the nature of myth (including the theories of Jung and Campbell) and guides participants through methods of incorporating such thinking in service of contemporary stories and memoir.

Les Standiford is Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University and the author of 15 books, his most recent book is "Bringing Adam Home" (Ecco, March 2011), the true story of Det. Sgt. Joe Matthews’ 27-year quest to solve the 1981 kidnapping and murder of Adam Walsh. He has received the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, the Frank O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. A native Ohioan, he is a graduate of Muskingum College and holds the M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Utah. He is Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University in Miami,

Please visit Les’s website at www.les-standiford.com & his blog:  www.grandstandifordstation.blogspot.com.

 

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A NIGHT IN PARIS

Ellen Sussman's New York Times bestselling novel, "French Lessons," is a work of fiction and yet Ellen infused it with her experiences of five years of living in Paris. She'll talk about the tricky terrain of mixing fiction and real life experience. And she'll share the story of the genesis for the novel. Ellen will read from French Lessons and discuss the creative process of the writer.

FICTION WORKSHOP

Writer and teacher Ellen Sussman will teach the elements of craft for writing fiction. In this interactive workshop, you’ll have a chance to explore dramatic writing, character development, voice, and plot. Ellen brings energy and humor to her classes – you’ll discover the fun of writing as well as learning a few new tricks of the trade. Four sessions.

Ellen Sussman is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel, “French Lessons,” published by Ballantine in 2011. Her first novel, “On a Night Like This,” was a San Francisco Chronicle Best-Seller. It has been translated into six languages. She is also the editor of two anthologies, “Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia Of Sex” and “Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave,” which was a New York Times Editors Choice and a San Francisco Chronicle Best-Seller. She teaches through Stanford Continuing Studies and in private classes.

On the Web: www.ellensussman.com

Details to come… | Carolyn Stern

A highly successful entrepreneur, published author and experienced university instructor, Carolyn blends her passion for marketing and leadership development, and her gift for connecting and motivating into inspiring, interactive presentations that show your audience how they can easily utilize proven marketing and leadership tools to achieve more. At the same time, Carolyn works to revitalize her listeners’ belief in themselves, leaving the audience feeling re-energized and motivated to reach for their goals.

Built around top marketing, leadership, and emotional intelligence concepts, each of Carolyn’s presentations is designed to target one of two audience groups; businesses seeking easy-to-implement marketing and leadership strategies that will boost their bottom line, or individuals seeking personal betterment and a renewed sense of purpose. Either way, Carolyn’s seminars deliver, as she enthusiastically shares her “tricks of the trade” and knowledge gained through almost two decades of remarkable marketing and leadership development success. Spanning a wide range of “business-boosting” and “personal development” topics, these seminars share one key goal: providing people with the information, inspiration and motivation they need to better sell themselves and/or their business.

Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Marketing, a Bachelor of Education, Business Education and a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Primary Education from the University of British Columbia. She has also earned a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in International Business from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and has completed a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.

In addition, Carolyn is also a Certified Trainer/Facilitator in the area of Emotional Intelligence with MHS Inc.