Past Series, Workshops & Retreats
Yoga for Renewal 2020
Six Week Series
Join us for this six week series of Iyengar-based yoga classes, a journey through the Hebrew month of Elul (beginning Aug 21) into the High Holiday season. Each class is infused with Jewish Wisdom teachings to cultivate balance and wholeness.
Class Dates and Themes:
Aug 21: Embodying Etzem (Essence)
Aug 28: Embodying Shevarim (Broken-ness)
Sept 4: Embodying Tshuva (Return)
*Skips Sept 11
Sept 18: Embodying Renewal for Rosh Hashana (New Year)
Sept 25: Embodying Unity for Yom Kippur (Day of At-one-ment)
Oct 2: Embodying Inner Spaciousness for Sukkot (Festival of Temporary-ness)
Offered by Embodied JewishLearning, Shalem, the Jewish Wellness Initiative of the Peninsula JCC, the Addison-Penzak JCC, and the Oshman Family JCC.
Awaken & Return:
A Virtual Jewish Meditation & Yoga Retreat
Saturday, August 29, 8:30 - 10:00 pm
Sunday, August 30, 9 am - 12 pm
The High Holiday season begins with the month of Elul: a call to wake up to our lives and return again to what is essential. We will be guided to experience awakened awareness and the wisdom that renews us through Meditation, Yoga and Qigong infused with Jewish wisdom, as well as text study, periods of silence, and chanting.
Sliding Scale: $18- $72.
No one turned away for lack of funds. Multiple payment levels are offered to make this workshop accessible. If payment is difficult or prohibitive at this time, please contact jewishlife@pjcc.org. Please select your ticket level at check-out. A zoom link will be provided upon registration.
Questions: Contact shalemretreats@gmail.com
Pre-registration is required by Friday, August 21, 2020.
Offered in partnership with Shalem, the Jewish Wellness Initiative of the Peninsula JCC, the Addison Penzak JCC, and Oshman Family JCC.
Shalem was created in 2012 by the Peninsula JCC and Embodied Jewish Learning and is now a collaborative partnership with the Addison-Penzak JCC and the Oshman Family JCC to promote wellness and well-being infused with Jewish wisdom to help support the entire community in times when these tools are greatly needed.
Faculty includes Rabbi Lavey Derby, Julie Emden, Tracey Green, Scott Green, Rabbi Hugh Seid-Valencia, Rabbi Laurie Matzkin and Tova Birnbaum.
QUESTIONS? Contacts shalemretreats@gmail.com
SPRING 2020 | Embodying the Sefirot
Join us each week between Passover and Shavuot as we embody divine attributes (Sefirot) that map onto the body, based upon the Tree of Life.
Each dance and yoga class opens with Jewish wisdom teachings followed by 50 minutes of embodied practice.
Yoga for Balance
April 17: Embodying Hesed (Lovingkindness)
& Gevurah (Inner Strength)
April 24: Embodying Tiferet (Compassion)
May 1: Embodying Netzach (Endurance)
May 8: Embodying Hod (Surrender)
May 15: Embodying Yesod (Foundation)
May 22: Embodying Malchut (Grounding Presence)
Sign up for series or for single classes.
Sliding Scale:Single Class: $0 - $36 | Series: $0 - $216
No one turned away for lack of funds. Multiple payment levels are offered to make this workshop accessible to those for whom payment is difficult or prohibitive at this time. Please select your ticket level at check-out.
Zoom link and password will be provided upon Registration.
Dance for Release
WEDNESDAYS
April 22, 29, May 6, 13, 20, 27 2020
April 22: Embodying Hesed (Lovingkindness) & Gevurah (Inner Strength)
April 29: Embodying Tiferet (Compassion)
May 6: Embodying Netzach (Endurance)
May 13: Embodying Hod (Surrender)
May 20: Embodying Yesod (Foundation)
May 27: Embodying Malchut (Grounding Presence)
Sign up for series or for single classes.
Sliding Scale: Single Class: $0 - $36 | Series: $0 - $216
No-one turned away for lack of funds. Multiple payment levels are offered to make this workshop accessible to those for whom payment is difficult or prohibitive at this time. Please select your ticket level at check-out.
Light & Rest: A Weekend Retreat for Women
Friday November 30 - Sunday December 2, 2018
Westerbeke Ranch, Sonoma CA
With Julie Emden, Mia Zimman and Tracey Green
Treat yourself to a weekend of movement, yoga, dance, song, rest, play and creative expression in a gorgeous natural setting with delicious and nourishing meals as we embody and explore beautiful themes about the light of Hanukkah, the light of creation, and Shabbat according to the Jewish mystical tradition.
Discover your own sensing, moving body as a primary resource for presence, joy and calm while gaining a deeper connection to Torah, the Hebrew Calendar and to yourself.
Registration: (Early by Sept 1/Later after Sept 1)
$695/$825 all-inclusive for one ticket
$1340/$1600 all-inclusive for two tickets ($670/$800 each)
OR
Payment plans are available for early registration by Sept 1:
$225 deposit
$235 2nd payment
$235 3rd payment
Want to be put on the waitlist for these retreats? Contact julie (at) julieemden.com
About your Instructors: Julie Emden is lead faculty, with assistance from special guest faculty Mia Miriam Cohen and Tracey Green.
Julie Emden, RYT-500, is the Founding Director of Embodied Jewish Learning. A graduate of five fellowship and teaching certification programs related to her work as a Jewish educator, Iyengar-based yoga instructor and movement/expressive artist, Julie has two decades of experience guiding others in exploring Jewish wisdom, text and practices via the body in a variety of settings. Her greatest passion is to move and dance and to share that joy with others.
Mia Zimman is a Spiritual Director, Jewish Educator, and facilitator of Lifecycle rituals. She has been a Talmidah Chachamah, student of Jewish Wisdom for more than 18 years. Mia regularly leads retreats, kids & family programs, Shabbat & Holiday services, and Interfaith events. She most recently served the B'nai Israel Jewish Center as the Rabbinic Associate. She lives in Petaluma CA and loves spending time in nature, gardening, making music and spending time with her husband Alejandro.
Tracey Green Tracey has over 1000 hours of Yoga Teachers Training and 20 years experience teaching yoga. Tracey receives great pleasure teaching students how to bring more attention to the presence of their bodies while flowing through yoga poses and attending to the breath. She creates a safe, peaceful space to explore and feel renewed in mind body and spirit. She is a graduate of Embodied Jewish Learning's Yoga and Jewish Wisdom Teacher Training and teaches regularly at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Foster City.
**Because we are a small operation and limited in our capacity to handle the complexity of ticket sales, your purchase is final. If, after purchasing, you are unable to come to the retreat, please let us know. If we have a waiting list, we will be happy to refund your ticket minus a $75 cancellation fee. If we do not have a waiting list, you will be responsible to sell your ticket to someone else.
YOGA FOR HANNUKAH
AT Peninsula Jewish community Center, Foster City, CALIFORNIA
With Julie Emden and Tracey Green
Sunday, December 9, 2018 • 1:30-3:30 PM
$10 Members/ $15 Public
Join us for this gentle and grounding yoga practice rooted in Jewish mystical teachings for the Hanukkah season. No previous experience with Yoga or Judaism is necessary. Pre-registration is required.
CHESHVAN YOGA: YOGA FOR REST
AT CONGREGATION EMANU-EL IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
Friday afternoons 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
October 19, 26; November 2, 9, 16, 2018
Congregation Eman-El in San Francisco
Prepare for Shabbat on all levels of being in this Friday lunchtime weekly series during the month of Cheshvan, the Hebrew month of rest! Integrate mind, body, heart, and spirit and cultivate the quality of rest (menuchah) in a gentle yoga and movement practice rooted in Jewish mystical teachings about Shabbat.
Series: Members of Emanu-El $36; Public $54
Drop-ins are welcome! ($8 per class)
EMBODYING SUKKOT
WITH WILDERNESS TORAH IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
SUNDAY, SEPT 30, 2018
2:15-3:45 PM
Explore different aspects of water – soft rain, flowing stream, rushing river, raging ocean and more! - in this creative, experiential embodied practice for Sukkot. Join for some gentle movement/yoga/dance, drawing, and poetry writing about the qualities of water as we call forth the rains for the coming winter months.
To attend this workshop, register for Wilderness Torah’s Sukkot In-Gathering: Celebrating the Rain Ritual. Make your own lulav, learn songs, create rain dance regalia, or dive into a Sukkot text study—there’s something for everyone. At the end, we will dance, rejoice as a community, and give gratitude to the earth and Spirit for a blessed year and the coming rains.
YOGA FOR RENEWAL:
3-PART WORKSHOP SERIES
AT URBAN ADAMAH IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
August 21
September 19
October 16
“The vital desire of the soul (nefesh) is to be free in her movement, in her physical and spiritual movement, with a desire for elevation and renewal.” – Rav Avraham Isaac Kook, Orot HaKodesh
Integrate mind, body, heart and spirit via a gentle Iyengar-based yoga and movement practice rooted in Jewish mystical teachings in this workshop series. The High Holy Days are a time of new beginnings and renewed commitment to living in physical and spiritual alignment with our deepest intentions. Join us for an embodied practice infused with beautiful teachings from the Jewish mystics during this significant time on the Hebrew Calendar.
No previous experience with yoga or knowledge about Jewish Holidays is required. Please wear comfortable loosely layered clothing in which you can easily move. Yoga mats and blankets will be provided but bring your own if you desire!
Attend one session or all three! Each class sliding scale $10 – $15 or $15 at the door.
Yoga for Elul: Awareness & Alignment – Aug. 21st
TUESDAY AUGUST 21, 7:30 - 9 PM
As we enter the Hebrew month of Elul, we move into a time of reflection and place our awareness on our deepest desires for living a life in full alignment with our essence on all levels of being. The Hebrew word for essence – etzem– is also the word for bone. Embody and experience the beautiful ways that our skeletal structures support us to return to alignment in each moment, as we begin our journey toward the New Year.
Yoga for Yom Kippur: Rest & Restore – Sept. 19th
WEDNESDAY SEPT 19, 2:30-3:45 PM (held during Yom Kippur afternoon)
In this experiential session we will take the time to breathe, rest, integrate, and deepen into our bodily awareness during the prayerful experience of the High Holy Days. This will be a very gentle restorative yoga and movement practice taking place during the afternoon workshop session from 2:30 – 3:45 pm of the Yom Kippur Day service with Torah of Awakening. To attend this class, we invite you to purchase a Yom Kippur Day ticket here.
Yoga for Cheshvan: Grounding & Growth – Oct. 16th
TUESDAY OCT 16, 7:30 - 9 PM
The High Holiday Season on the Hebrew Calendar is followed by the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, a month of rest, integration and deepened connection to the earth. Experience and embody the ways in which our bodies, adam, mirror and reflect qualities and elements of the earth, adamah, as we emerge from the High Holiday season.
YOGA FOR RENEWAL
Sunday, September 16, 2018 • 2 - 4 PM
4th Street Yoga in Berkeley
Co-Sponsored by 4th Street Yoga, Chochmat HaLev, and Kehilla Community Synagogue
$20 Members of Co-sponsoring Organizations/$25 Public
Integrate mind, body, heart and spirit via a gentle Iyengar-based yoga and movement practice rooted in Jewish mystical teachings. The High Holy Days are a time of new beginnings and renewed commitment to living in physical and spiritual alignment with our deepest intentions. Join us for an embodied practice infused with beautiful teachings from the Jewish mystics during this significant time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur on the Hebrew Calendar.
No previous experience with yoga or knowledge about Jewish Holidays is required. Please wear comfortable loosely layered clothing in which you can easily move.
TORAH YOGA RETREAT: Acquiring Garments of Light
with Diane Bloomfield, Nancy Wolfson, and Julie Emden
Monday July 23- Sunday, July 29, 2018
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
"The soul comes to this world from a very high place but in this world it is clothed in several garments."
—Sfat Emet Parshat VaYera
Through the study of Torah and the practice of yoga, we will seek out the light in our body, mind, heart, soul, and ultimately the world.
Each morning, the teachers will lead a full Iyengar yoga practice that is integrated with a Jewish teaching. In each session, we will focus on a different family of thoughtfully sequenced yoga poses including standing poses, forward bends, baby back bends, and beginning inversions, so that throughout the week we will cover a wide and balanced range of poses. These yoga sessions are suitable for all levels of experience. Trained Torah Yoga assistants will be available to help individual students adapt the poses as needed.
Each afternoon, we will learn the Torah text from that morning’s practice through classical shiurim (teacher-led Torah), group discussions, and traditional Jewish chevruta (study with a partner). Knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary because we will examine original Hebrew texts together with their English translations. At the end of each day, the afternoon Torah study sessions will be integrated back into a series of restorative yoga postures and breath work.
In the early mornings and late afternoons, there will be Torah Yoga classes offered to the whole community by alumni of the Torah Yoga program. There will also be the opportunity to join the Davenen Leadership Training Institute community for prayer services.
In the evenings, we will be treated to experiential learning sessions connected to our theme led also by alumni of the Torah Yoga Program.
MORE INFO HERE
SHABBAT SHALOM YOGA RETREAT
with Julie Emden & Aviva Shanti
Friday, May 25 - Sunday May 27, 2018
Portland, Oregon
$72 subsidized tuition made possible by funds from Moishe House
Cultivate deep relaxation and rest in our lives by drawing from the spiritual traditions of Yoga and Judaism. Open to people from all backgrounds and experiences. You don't have to be able to touch your toes or have a background in Judaism to be a part of this beautiful retreat!
Experience the power of nature, Shabbat, movement, and develop mental and physical tools for cultivating and celebrating rest surrounded by a supportive community- only a half hour from downtown Portland, Oregon.
Email avivashanti@gmail.com with further questions
TIKKUN LEYL SHAVUOT
Saturday, May 19, 2018 • 7 pm til dawn
JCC East Bay, Berkeley
Embodying the Desert Yoga Session at 7 pm
Embodying the Sacred Sefirot with Wilderness Torah at 11 pm
MORE INFO HERE
YOGA FOR EQUANIMITY
with Julie Emden & Tracey Green
Sunday, May 6, 2018 • 1:30-3:30 pm
Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Foster City
$25 Public/ $18 Members of PJCC
Awaken and open the body to cultivate equanimity (Menuchat Ha'Nefesh) in your life with this Iyengar-based yoga practice focused on balancing postures and twists. The practice will be infused with teachings from the Jewish mystical tradition.
YOGA & THE SACRED SEFIROT
with Julie Emden
3 Tuesdays: April 24, May 1, May 8 • 7 - 9 pm
Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco
$36 for the series for members of Emanu-El/$54 Public
Enrich your life with this gentle Iyengar-based yoga and movement class infused with Jewish wisdom. Explore and embody mystical teachings about the Sefirot, divine attributes for balance and harmony in your life.
Class One: Hesed (Lovingkindness) and Gevurah (Strength)
Class Two: Netzach (Perseverance) and Hod (Humility)
Class Three: Yesod (Foundation) and Malchut (King/Queenship)
CELEBRATING LOVINGKINDNESS
A MINDFULNESS AND YOGA RETREAT
with Julie Emden, Rabbi Lavey Derby, Rabbi Hugh Seid-Valencia, Tracey Green and Rabbi Laurie Matzkin
Fri. April 13 - Sun. April 15, 2018
Soquel, California
Offered in partnership with the Peninsula Jewish Community Center and the Addison-Penzak JCC and held at the Land of the Medicine Buddha in Soquel, California.
Experience the power of nature, Shabbat, periods of silence, and develop mental and physical tools for cultivating and celebrating lovingkindness surrounded by a supportive community-- all in the beautiful, rural foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Registration fee includes optional bus transportation to the site, room and board for two nights, and a $200 tuition fee. Need based scholarships are available for APJCC and PJCC members.
DRAFT RETREAT SCHEDULE HERE
EMBODYING GEVURAH
with Julie Emden
Tuesday April 10 • 7 - 9 pm
Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley
One in a series of Tuesday night programs offered by different teachers in the Chochmat HaLev community. Class schedule here. TUESDAY nights: April 3, 10, 17, 24, and May 1, 8 and 15.
Enrich your life with this gentle Iyengar-based yoga and movement class infused with mystical teachings about the quality of Gevurah –often translated as strength or boundaries. Gevurah be associated with structures, setting limits, and creating discipline in our lives as we reflect upon and purify this quality during the counting of the Omer. We’ll open the evening with some teachings about Gevurah, and a bit of personal reflection and writing. Then the bulk of our time will be spent in an embodied practice, with time for more reflection and sharing after exploring the essence of this quality in our beings.
No previous yoga experience or knowledge about the Sefirot is necessary. Yoga props will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own yoga mat if you have one.
Childcare Provided with Advance Registration
YOGA FOR PASSOVER
with Julie Emden
Sunday, March 18, 2018 • 2 - 4 PM
4th Street Yoga in Berkeley
Co-Sponsored by 4th Street Yoga, Chochmat HaLev, JCC East Bay, Kehilla Community Synagogue, and Reboot's National Day of Unplugging.
$20 Members of Co-sponsoring Organizations/$25 Public
Integrate mind, body, heart and spirit via a gentle Iyengar-based yoga and movement practice rooted in Jewish mystical teachings. The Passover holiday celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt and this story is meaningful for all beings. Experience, via an embodied practice, why the Jewish mystics believe that the places of constriction hold the key and secret to freedom.
In this workshop we will enter into the tighter and less known places in the body with conscious awareness, loving-kindness and compassion. We will move from these places of restriction/constriction to freedom on all levels of being, via yoga, movement, art and writing. No previous experience with yoga or knowledge about Passover is required. Please wear comfortable loosely layered clothing in which you can easily move.
YOGA FOR LOVINGKINDNESS
with Julie Emden & Tracey Green
Sunday, February 11, 2018 • 1:30-3:30 PM
Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Foster City
Support and cultivate lovingkindness in your life. Join us for a yoga practice of seated and standing forward bends infused with teachings from the Jewish mystical tradition as we focus on the qualities of release, flow, and ease in the practice and in our lives. Pre-registration required.