With the rebirth of life in Spring, there is hope. Life surges up and blossoms forth with its power to remove obstacles and express its potential. The energy stored and regenerated in Winter can now move freely with the bursting impulse of Spring and with new beginnings. Our physical and psychological processes affect the energy and movement unique to each season. In us, the energy and movement of Spring can be experienced as a time of hope and rebirth, with new choices, positive assertion of being and purposeful action.

Encouraging personal harmony with the movements of the seasons, traditional Chinese acupuncture and Qigong offer a framework for understanding ourselves and give us methods for in-depth self expression to enhance our capacity for wholeness and healing.

This workshop will present and integrated multidimensional approach combining Eastern and Western to explore where our life force, our body and mind, our emotions and spirit meet. Within a safe and healing space, we will penetrate deeper into our being to encourage self growth by using sensation, touch, transformational movements (Continuum based movement and Qigong) as well as imagery, breath, sound and emotions in combination with meditation and awareness.

In this workshop we will:

• Evoke connections with our core self, inner resources and compassionate inner witness.
• Develop skills for more effective expression of our nascent potential.
• Learn methods for enhancing our connection with positive feelings and experiences of hope, rebirth, assertion, serenity and flexibility.
• Balancing emotions, exploring and releasing feelings of anger, rage, tension, obstruction, suppression and adversity.
• Transform thought patterns and behaviors related to issues of life choices, goals, planning and inner criticism.
• Use our energy field to enhance our rootedness and purposeful action.
• Learn transformational movement that enhance the function of body organs.

Summer is the season of abundant energy and warmth, movements that stimulate the functioning of our hearts, providing creative inspiration, compassion, expression of self, passion, intimacy and enhanced capacity for love and joy. Developing our capacity for love and joy is essential for thriving in life.

In the workshop we will:

• Work with our energy field to enhance our connection to our inner resources, deeper self and others.
• Enhance our connection, support and protection to the inner heart, love, joy and inspiration.
• Explore the connection between heart love and genital love to enhance the quality of our sexuality.
• Balance emotions and explore unresolved experiences and heart patterns, such as sadness, isolation, confusion, fears of rejection, over-protection and broken-heartedness.
• Learn methods for working with limiting beliefs, internal blockages and symptoms and their meanings.
• Learn movements for enhancing the function of heart energies.

The energy and movement unique to each season are reflected in our physical and psychological processes. We, like the earth, experience the changing energies and phases of the seasons. Each season offers a corresponding and opportune time for personal development in life themes.

The Seasons in Our Life seminar series incorporates an integrated approach combining Eastern and Western methods of self-transformation to explore where our life force, our body and mind, our emotions and spirit meet. Encouraging personal harmony with the movements of the seasons, traditional Chinese acupuncture and Qigong present a framework for understanding ourselves and give us methods for in-depth self-exploration to enhance our capacity for wholeness and healing.

Late summer is a time when the fruition and abundance of the earth is at its peak; it is also a time of passage and transition before the coming of autumn and winter. The energy and movement unique to each season are reflected in our physical and psychological process. Late summer energies are reflected in the fruition and abundance of our labor and in our capacity to give and to nurture ourselves and others. At points of transition such as during the late summer, a center, around which our experiences revolve, gives out lives security and internal rootedness, and it provides a foundation for healthy boundaries, bonding and grounded thinking. Encouraging personal harmony with the movements of the seasons, traditional Chinese acupuncture and Qigong offer a framework for understanding ourselves and give us methods for in-depth self exploration to enhance our capacity for wholeness and healing.

This workshop will present an integrated approach combining Eastern and Western methods to explore where our life force, our body and mind, our emotions and spirit meet. Within a safe and healing space, we will penetrate deeper into our being to encourage self growth by using sensation, touch transformational movements, (Continuum based movements and Qigong) as well as imagery, sound and emotions in combination with meditation and awareness.

In this workshop we will:

• Enhance our connection with our core self and inner resources.
• Work with our energy field to enhance centering and evoke our compassionate inner witness.
• Connect with positive feelings of security, equilibrium and sympathy.
• Balance emotions and explore and release feelings of abandonment, insecurity, self-pity and guilt.
• Work with underdeveloped aspects of ourselves related to issues of mothering, and accepting and forgiving our self and others.
• Learn methods for connecting with inner blockages and for discovering their meanings.
• Develop healthier boundaries.
• Enhance our ability to bond and to give to and receive from others.
• Transform limiting thought patterns and behaviors, such as worry, that disempower us.
• Learn transformational movements that enhance the function of our body organs.
• Expand our awareness of our needs and nourish and replenish ourselves.

Autumn is a time of gathering and harvesting summer’s bounties then storing them for use throughout the more barren days of winter. It is also a time for letting go, a time when we are more acutely aware of the passing of years as the trees let go of their foliage, dropping their leaves back to the earth to provide for the next year’s growth. The energy and movement unique to each season are reflected in our physical and psychological processes. Autumn energies in us are experienced in our ability to give and to let go of the past, dismissing those things in our lives which are non-essential. The letting go allows us to renew ourselves and to take in that which is of value. Finding the splendor and beauty of Autumn ourselves increases our capacity to radiate our richness and value as unique human beings. Encouraging this personal harmony with the movements of the seasons, traditional Chinese acupuncture and Qigong offer a framework for understanding ourselves and give us methods for in-depth exploration to enhance our capacity for wholeness and healing.

This workshop will provide an integrated approach combining Eastern and Western to explore where our body and mind, and our emotions and spirit meet. Within a safe and healing space, we will penetrate deeper into our being to encourage self growth by using sensation, touch transformational movements, (Continuum based movements and Qigong) as well as imagery, sound and emotions in combination with meditation and awareness.

In this workshop we will:

• Evoke connections with our core self, inner resources and compassionate inner witness.
• Use our energy field to enhance our inner bounders and our ability to individuate.
• Connect with positive feelings of worth, beauty, inspiration and inner authority./li>
• Balance emotions, exploring and releasing grief, sadness, worthlessness, loss and shame.
• Work with underdeveloped aspects of ourselves related to letting go of non-essentials.
• Learn methods of connecting with inner blockages and discovering their meanings.
• Heal unresolved childhood issues related fathering and relationships with men.
• Transform thought patterns and behaviors, such as perfectionism, that disempower us.
• Enhance the quality of our life by developing our ability to take in what is of value.
• Learn transformational movements that enhance the function of body organs.
• Renew and replenish ourselves.

Winter is a time of hibernation, of preserving life’s energy. All of nature draws inside as protection from the harshness of winter. Even as plants store energy in their core, there is, within this stillness, the hidden activity of gestation which will bring renewal in Spring. Our physical and psychological processes reflect the energy and movement unique to each season. Winter energies in us are experienced in our capacity to adapt and preserve ourselves from over-activity and unwanted danger. Wisdom is knowing our limits and adhering to the flow of life that moves us.

By treasuring our resources, we enhance the potency of future action and provide a firm foundation for our will, thereby preventing ourselves from engaging in unnecessary struggle, from becoming overwhelmed and eventually burned out. Encouraging personal harmony with the movements of the season, traditional acupuncture and Qigong offer a framework for understanding ourselves and give us methods for in-depth exploration to enhance our capacity for healing and wholeness.

This workshop will present an integrated approach combining Eastern and Western methods to explore where our life force, our body and mind, our emotions and spirit meet. Within a safe and healing space, we will penetrate deeper into our being to encourage self growth by using sensation, touch transformational movements, (Continuum based movements and Qigong) as well as imagery, sound and emotions in combination with meditation and awareness.

In this workshop we will:

• Evoke connections with our core self, inner resources and compassionate inner witness.
• Develop skills for more effective coping and adapting to avoid burn out and to learn the boundaries of our limits.
• Connect with positive feelings of safety, courage flow and potency.
• Balance emotions, exploring and releasing feelings of fear, impotence, being overwhelmed, and of trauma and stress.
• Learn methods of enhancing our connection to experiences of faith and grace, awe and reverence, will and clarity.
• Transform thought patterns and behavior related to issues of power, aggression, struggle and survival.
• Use our energy field to enhance our reserves of energy and to harness sexual energy for growth.
• Learn transformational movements that enhance the function of body organs.
• Warm and replenish ourselves.

In this workshop we will dive deeply into unwinding tensions of all kinds, allowing you to rest in the stillness and regeneration of Winter.  Self-Unwinding is a corrective approach for unraveling habitual tension patterns that cause distress, pain and loss of energy. By listening to your body’s wisdom and relaxing into positions of stillness and comfort, you can regain well being, energy, and a stronger connection to your core self. This approach can also be helpful in understanding the meaning of symptoms and other signals from your body.

This class offers an integrated approach for exploring where your life energy, body, mind, spirit and emotions meet. Within a safe and healing space, your Self-Unwinding will be evoked by utilizing medical and spiritual Qigong, wave motion, fascial stretching, yoga, core toning, sensation, breathing, sound, touch, imagery and mindfulness.

This Winter season workshop can bring healing and rejuvenation to your lower back and lower abdomen, kidneys, hormones, bones and brain. These areas are the focus of our exploration along with whatever arises for you.

Carlos Durana, Ph.D, M.Ac. practices complementary medicine.  He is licensed as an acupuncturist and clinical psychologist; he has a background in body therapies, Qigong, meditation, Chinese herbalism, exercise and nutrition.  Dr. Durana is the developer of the Seasons in Our Life seminars for self-development, healing, and relationship enhancement.

In this workshop we will dive deeply into unwinding tensions of all kinds, allowing you to rest in the stillness and regeneration of Winter.  Self-Unwinding is a corrective approach for unraveling habitual tension patterns that cause distress, pain and loss of energy. By listening to your body’s wisdom and relaxing into positions of stillness and comfort, you can regain well being, energy, and a stronger connection to your core self. This approach can also be helpful in understanding the meaning of symptoms and other signals from your body.

This class offers an integrated approach for exploring where your life energy, body, mind, spirit and emotions meet. Within a safe and healing space, your Self-Unwinding will be evoked by utilizing medical and spiritual Qigong, wave motion, fascial stretching, yoga, core toning, sensation, breathing, sound, touch, imagery and mindfulness.

This Winter season workshop can bring healing and rejuvenation to your lower back and lower abdomen, kidneys, hormones, bones and brain. These areas are the focus of our exploration along with whatever arises for you.

Carlos Durana, Ph.D, M.Ac. practices complementary medicine.  He is licensed as an acupuncturist and clinical psychologist; he has a background in body therapies, Qigong, meditation, Chinese herbalism, exercise and nutrition.  Dr. Durana is the developer of the Seasons in Our Life seminars for self-development, healing, and relationship enhancement.

In this workshop, we will experience a psycho-educational approach that teaches principles and qualities of being as well as skills while developing deep empathy, understanding of self and other. In a safe and caring group context, we will explore those emotions, assumptions, decisions and relationship patterns that sabotage the ability to love, to trust and to realize our own creative potential.

Resolving maladaptive patterns and unmet needs while clarifying wishes, expectations and projections can make way for compassion, empathy, forgiveness, courage and genuine interdependence—the basis of a truly close, fulfilling and open relationship. This deeper authentic connection with self and other allows the emergence of true joy.

These workshops present an integrated, experiential and skill based approach combining Eastern and Western methods. Within a safe and healing space where we honor our self and can face personal obstacles, we will penetrate deeper into our being to encourage personal unfoldment by using meditation, awareness breath, emotion, thought, touch, movement, partner exercises and group process.

In this workshop we will work with accessing and harnessing the self-empowering aspects of our emotions and their links to beliefs, behaviors and virtuous action, learning the role our emotions play in our health, our growth and the healing of unresolved emotional events enhances our ability to protect ourselves in healthy ways, to be open and confident. We will also discover our preferred style of emotional coping and how to use this strength for our own healing and growth.

This workshop presents an integrated, experiential and skill based approach combining Eastern and Western methods. Within a safe and healing space where we honor ourselves and can face personal obstacles, we will penetrate deeper into our being to encourage personal unfoldment by using meditation, awareness, breath, emotion, thought, healing postures, visualization, touch, movement (Qigong, yoga and intrinsic motion) and group process.

What is Microcosmic Orbit?

This term refers to a pathway that travels through the spine to the brain and down the front of the body, along with adjacent pathways. Improving the energy in this pathway helps regulate the flow into other pathways, to integrate body, mind, emotion and spirit and to enhance core strength and the function of the central nervous system. In addition, it helps balance sexual energy to the rest of the body thereby reducing sexual compulsions and inhibitions.

In the workshop we will also work with enhancing the flexibility of the spine and will explore its roll in our physical process.

In this yin/yang approach to fitness you will:

• Foster stamina and fat loss, functional strength, flexibility, inner balance, aliveness and well-being.
• Gain nutritional knowledge for your body type.
• Connect with core motivations for attaining your fitness goals,
• Develop a comprehensive and holistic program combining exercise, diet and life style habits.
• Use inner focus to work with your body’s “energetics” in order to deepen the emotional and spiritual power of your workout.
• Learn to use conscious fitness as a path to personal growth.
• Enhance the enjoyment and power of your workout.

The program will employ a variety of methods and techniques both Western and Eastern. Practices will include the use of dumbbells, kettlebells, your body weight, stretching, aerobics, qigong, kickboxing, yoga, visualization, meditation, self-message, breathing techniques, postural awareness and self exploration for enhancing motivation.

This workshop is intended for dedicated individuals at all levels of experience who are willing to expand beyond their comfort zone.

Carlos Durana is a traditional acupunctural and clinical psychologist. He is an instructor of medical-spiritual Qigong and T’ai Chi Chuan with a background in meditation, exercise and stress-management. He is the developer of the Seasons in Our Life seminar series.

Shawn Phillips is a personal trainer, life coach, public speaker, fitness model and a TV spokesperson specializing in weight loss, nutrition, diet, strength training and cardio. Shawn is certified with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and trains at Power House gym in West Los Angeles . He has been featured on KCAL 9 News in Los Angeles several times.

The chakras reflect the degree of health, inner love, worthiness, creativity and patterns of personal development. Blockages in these centers are associated with ill health and unresolved patterns of emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Self-assessment and removal of these blockages can lead to inner balance, strength, well-being, health and personal unfoldment.

The source of happiness and wellness is the connection to our deeper self, life and others. Separation creates suffering. A time proven method in Eastern cultures for enhancing connection, self unfoldment s the cultivation of awareness of our energy body and the enhancement of the flow of this life force. Our energy body has a structure, and the microcosmic pathways and the Chakras are two essential aspects of that organization where body, mind, emotions and spirit meet. Going deeper within our energy system leads us to higher states of awareness and to resources of renewal, love, inner strength, vitality, creativity and freedom as well as facilitating the prevention of illness and the dissolution of limiting patterns of emotions, thoughts and behaviors.

This workshop presents and integrated, experiential and skill based approach combining Eastern and Western methods. Within a safe and healing space where we honor ourselves and can face personal obstacles, we will penetrate deeper into our being to encourage personal unfoldment by using meditation, awareness, breath, emotion, thought, healing postures, visualization, touch, movement (Qigong, yoga and intrinsic motion) and group process.

In understanding and changing ourselves, it is helpful to use a working model that honors our uniqueness and at the same time helps us recognize our personality orientation with its strengths and limitations. The Five Phase (Element) Model of Chinese Medicine represents a way of understanding the world, ourselves and others, a theory of personality and a description of the evolution of our being. Traditional metaphors such as fire, earth, metal, water and wood describe aspects of our being including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual functions as well as principles and qualities of being.

In a supportive environment, this in-depth self-exploratory workshop will offer the opportunity to work with aspects of our being. For self-development it is vital to understand our strengths and limitations in each of the five phases as well as our predisposition towards our preferred personality orientation.