We host regular workshops, specialty classes, and events to deepen your practice in a community setting. Payment is required at the time of registration and GST will be added to the price. We often require a minimum number of participants to run a workshop, so if you are considering attending, please register one week prior to avoid disappointment.
Hemma Open House
Celebrating Moss Street Paint-In
Saturday, July 20th 9:00am-5:00pm
The Moss Street Paint-In is one of our favourite days around here. As thousands of people
wander by, admiring the art festival that runs the full length of Moss Street (11am-4pm), many people also wander in to Hemma to say hello. We LOVE this! To coincide with this community fun, we have an OPEN HOUSE on that day. On July 2oth, we invite you stop by Hemma for prizes, sales, high fives and hugs, in addition to our regular Saturday schedule!
Now is the time to stock up on your favourite 5 treatments for $85 acupunch cards or plan the rest of your summer yoga routine with 5 classes for $55 (on sale July 19-22, in person, over the phone, or online!).
We will also have unique prizes and sales (up to 40% off), and FREE outdoor acupuncture from 11am-4pm! Donations will be accepted and all proceeds given to the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre, a feminist organization committed to ending sexualized violence through healing, education, and prevention.
Come and say hello on July 2oth – we look forward to seeing you! Please note Moss St will be closed from 10am-6pm so parking may be tricky to find. Allow yourself plenty of time to arrive for your treatment or yoga class, and perhaps even plan to leave your car at home and walk, bike, or bus to hemma!
Meditation and the Bhagavad Gita Series
with Padma
Thursday’s, August 1st-August 29th
7:45-9:15 pm
Come learn meditation and explore the wisdom teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a classic yogic scripture. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most studied and renowned books about spirituality in the east. It teaches in depth, about how to be and act effectively, powerfully and freely in your life. Discover meditation, breath work and philosophy in this 90 minute class with Padma. Enhance your happiness and brighten your awareness. No Meditation experience required and experienced practitioners are most welcome.
Padma is one of Canada’s most renowned teachers of Meditation and Self-Awareness. She is the host of the nationally-aired television series Padma Yoga and has lead meditation workshops internationally since 2000. For more about Padma check our her website www.padmameditation.com
Investment: sliding scale $110 to $130.
Drop in $30
Sun Salutations: Refinements and Practice
With Susie Burke
Saturday, August 3rd 2:00-4:00pm
The Sun Salutation, or Surya Namaskara (SOOR-ee-yahnah-mah-SHKAR), is a series of poses performed in a sequence to create a flow of movement, and also have mythological and spiritual significance. Each pose coordinates with your breathing: Inhale to extend,and exhale to contract or fold. The components of a Sun Salutation also make up a vinyasa — the series of movements used between poses as a way of resetting and
refocusing the mind and body with breath.
Sun Salutations build heat in the body and are often used as warm-up sequences for a yoga practice yet there is rarely time dedicated in class to breaking down proper alignment.
Through lecture and physical practice, we will break down three different versions of the Sun Salutations to learn proper
alignment in each posture, understand how each posture
connects with the breath, and learn the deeper meaning
behind these common sequences. This workshop is for all yoga practitioners who wish to refine their practice, clarify their alignment, understand the
philosophy behind it, and learn variations of the ancient
sequence.
Investment: Before July 29th $25/ After $35
Satsang
with Hemma Teachers and Guests
Friday, August 9th 7:00-8:30pm
Satang is a Sanskrit word which translates loosely to “being in the company of the truth” and refers to a group of like-minded people who engage in spiritual discussion and teachings. We will chant, meditate, learn about yoga and yogic philosophy and then eat together as a community in a vegetarian pot-luck afterwards. Everyone is welcome and if you cannot bring food to share, please just bring yourself! Satsangs will be held the second Friday of each month.
Investment:$5-$20 Sliding Scale Donation
Deepen Your Practice: Early Morning Sadhana Summer Series
with Susie Burke
August 19th-23rd, 6:15-8:15am
Take your yoga practice to the next level! Deepen your yoga practice through this morning Sadhana, a discipline or routine spiritual practice that includes an invigorating hatha flow, with extended savasana, twenty-minute meditation, breath (pranayama) and concentration (dharana) exercises, and chanting.
Developing your Sadhana builds connection with your intention, and illuminates your own infinite nature through the dedication of practicing beyond the postures. Within the practice of yoga, keeping a Sadhana empowers us to connect with a sense of groundedness upon which we can face the world with a greater awareness of our truth and intention.
This workshop is for all yoga practitioners who wish to
deepen their spiritual yoga experience, or who simply wish to
have an extended early morning practice with these
additional elements of yoga.
Investment: Sliding Scale $100-$130
Satsang
with Hemma Teachers and Guests
Friday, August 9th 7:00-8:30pm
Satang is a Sanskrit word which translates loosely to “being in the company of the truth” and refers to a group of like-minded people who engage in spiritual discussion and teachings. We will chant, meditate, learn about yoga and yogic philosophy and then eat together as a community in a vegetarian pot-luck afterwards. Everyone is welcome and if you cannot bring food to share, please just bring yourself! Satsangs will be held the second Friday of each month.
Investment:$5-$20 Sliding Scale Donation
Fall Yoga workshop
with Jenafor Ryane
Saturday, September 21st 1:30-4:00pm
After the long, warm, playful days of Summer, Fall’s swift arrival can feel abrupt and can present some physical and mental challenges. Fall sweeps in with crisp air, shorter days, and a long list of “to-do’s”, which challenges our immune system, our energy levels, and our ability to remain grounded and mindful. But with a regularly scheduled Yoga practice specific to Fall season, you can remain peaceful, stable, and healthy no matter what the Fall winds blow your way!
In this 2.5 hour workshop for Fall season, Jenafor will introduce Fall Yoga practices informed by Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Jenafor will guide you through a gentle Hatha practice, followed by Yin, Restorative, Shavasana, and a grounding Meditation to close. Fall Pranayama (breathing) practices will be offered throughout the workshop.
A Fall Yoga handout with reflection questions will be provided along with time for journaling for those who want to. Bring your journal and a pen if you wish. This is a follow-up workshop to Jenafor’s Summer Yoga workshop, and the second installment in her Seasonal Yoga series. Watch for her Winter Yoga workshop later this year.”
Investment: Before September 16th $35/ After $45
Friday Night Kirtan
With Kelly, Tia, and Damian
Friday, September 27th at 7:30-9:00pm
Kirtan is a form of Bhakti (devotional) Yoga where community gathers to share in call-and-response chanting, therein discovering that which unites us to each other. Most of the chants are in the ancient but timeless Sanskrit language. These sounds vibrate within the physical and subtle body, quieting the mind and purifying the heart. No experience is necessary, and song sheets are provided.
Investment: $5-$20 Sliding Scale
Youthful Vigor:Qi Gong for Healthy Bones & Joints
with Wesley Salter
Saturday, September 29th 1:00-3:30pm
Qi Gong for Healthy Bones & Joints is an amazing practice focused on bringing a youthful vigor into the major joints & bones of the body. From a place of peace & calm we will awaken deep breathing and relax into a soothing moving meditation. With the intention of discovering a more fluid range of graceful motion within the body’s joints and packing an abundance of Qi into the bones [energetic storage units] we will celebrate a growing younger with our practice. Raise your energetic vibration and empower a direct connection to the universe & nature, by tapping into your ‘life-force’ potential.
Qi Gong, often referred to as ‘Taoist Yoga’ or ‘Standing Yin Yoga’, is a powerful ancient Chinese practice based on the premise that the human body is an energy system. Once guarded as a secret practice, Qi Gong practitioners mirror the movement of nature to awaken the flow of Qi. This unique practice is composed of tension-releasing stretches, graceful moving meditations and nature-inspired standing postures, all harmonized with balanced breathing and a present, clear mind. The intention of the practice is to cultivate BIG Qi [Life Force/Prana], prevent disease, and to promote a long healthy life.
Workshop-at-a-glance:
Kula Cultivation
Feel the Force • Bone Breathing/Packing Qi/Invigoration
‘Bye-Bye to Stiffness’ Qi Gong Flow
Inner Smile Meditation
**This is an all-levels workshop that is open to all students. No equipment required.
Bio: Wesley Salter • B.Ed • E-RYT • Qi Gong Instructor
Wesley is a Qi Gong & Yoga Instructor who has worn many creative hats during his adventures around the world: DJ, Break Dancer, Teacher, Actor & Singer. After practicing yoga for over twelve years, Wesley completed his certification in the styles of Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin, Kundalini & Holden Qi Gong. As a Qi Gong & E- RYT Yoga Instructor based on the West Coast of Canada, Wesley’s credo is simple: ‘Big Breath = Big Life!’ For a taste of the ‘Slow-Flow’ awesomeness check out the WesleyQiGong YouTube Channel.
Investment: Before September 23rd $35/ After $45
Yoga for Anxiety
5 Week Series with Sarah Kinsley
Tuesdays at 7:45-9:00pm
October 1- October 29th
Yoga is medicine. Yoga is Self-Care.
In today’s world, we can all relate to thoughts, emotions and body sensations related to anxious states. We live in a world of false refuges claiming to reduce the anxiety we feel on a daily basis. We all have habitual ways of coping-some ways are more skillful than others. Yoga offers a systematic, time-tested approach to meeting our current state of being. Yoga is a skillful and nourishing approach to meeting these states.
This 6-week series will provide students an opportunity to practice asana (postures), energy expansion using the breath (pranayama) and meditations that can be used in our daily round. Classes will include psycho-education on working with anxiety based on the Yoga sutras, Somatic Experiencing (SE) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Everyone welcome. No prior Yoga experience is necessary.
Investment: $70-$100 Sliding Scale
Jivamukti Open Class
with Jonni-Lyn Friel
Saturday, October 5th 1:00-3:00 pm
Jivamukti Yoga, developed by Sharon Gannon and David Life , offers the contemporary yogi a creative approach to living in the world today. Grounded in the ancient scriptures and ethical practices of yoga, Jivamukti, a Sanskrit word which means “living liberated,” is a practical philosophy that teaches how spiritual values can help us work with the challenges of everyday life with more joy, compassion and positive effectiveness. Jivamukti Yoga offers vigorously physical and intellectually stimulating yoga classes. Classes include Vinyasa (flowing asana sequences), hands-on adjustments, Pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation, Sanskrit chanting, Yogic philosophical teachings and deep relaxation with music playing an integral role in the class.
Join certified Jivamukti Teacher Jonni-Lyn Friel for this fun, uplifting and challenging class. The class will be themed around the Focus of the Month for July.
Investment: Before September 31st$25 / After $35
Refund Policy:`
– If you cancel 7 days prior to the event, we can offer you a full refund or credit at Hemma.
– If you cancel within the week prior to the event, we can offer you a credit at Hemma, minus a $5 administration fee.
– If you cancel the day of the event, or don’t show up for it, no refund or credit will be offered.
– It is rare that we cancel a workshop, but if we do we will give you 24 hours notice and offer you a full refund or credit at Hemma.
Thank you for your understanding.