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Berkeley Alembic

@berkeleyalembic

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⚗️ An alchemical vessel for transformation
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Somatic Breathwork is an embodiment practice designed to move you out of the thinking mind and into the intelligence of the body. It gives the body space to express and discharge stored emotion, stress, and old patterns that may be weighing you down. The practice uses circular connected breathing with rhythmic music to support a cathartic release, which may take the form of movement, shaking, yelling, crying, laughing, or simply stillness. The aim is to give the body room to express what often has no place in everyday social settings, so the nervous system can process stuck emotion and return toward balance. This session is designed to help you move out of your head and into your body, reset the nervous system toward calm, and support you to reconnect with a more grounded sense of self. What to expect: -Opening check-in and introduction -60-minute guided somatic breathwork journey -Integration and optional group sharing Please bring a journal and water bottle, and wear comfortable clothes. Please arrive 10 minutes early— doors will close promptly on time and there will be no late entries. Anna Bolender is a Certified Somatic Embodiment Coach and Somatic Breathwork Facilitator. Through her workshops, programs, and immersive experiences, Anna helps people come home to themselves — reconnecting with their body's wisdom, building self-trust, and creating simple, sustainable practices that support lasting transformation from the inside out. Blending somatics, nervous system education, breathwork, energy healing, quantum wellness, and mindset work, Anna guides others to break free from limiting patterns, cultivate greater presence and resilience, and create lives that feel more aligned, joyful, and deeply fulfilling. Her mission is to empower people to become their own healers and build lives that naturally support their health, well-being, and fullest expression. -- Event link in Bio -- #berkeleyalembic #breathwork #somatic by @berkeleyalembic
Lucid dreaming is not reserved for the special few. Rather, it is a trainable skill, and a doorway into the deeper practice of psychonavigation, the art of moving through your own psyche with clarity, intention, and skill. In this workshop, mother-daughter teaching team Norma Burton and Nisha Burton will guide participants through foundational practices that many cultures throughout history have used to work with dream and the subconscious. Participants will be introduced to lucid dreaming as an accessible, learnable practice, along with complementary inner pathways like dreamwork, shadow work, and drumming journeys. Together, these tools can help build a working map of one's own inner world, supporting healing, sharpening intuition, and strengthening the kind of discernment that can be very useful in a world saturated with noise and division. The workshop is also intended as a foundation for anyone preparing for or integrating psychedelic experiences, offering grounded skills for navigating altered states. During the workshop, participants can expect to: - Learn the fundamentals of lucid dreaming and how to begin cultivating it through simple, evidence-informed techniques - Explore dreamwork and shadow work practices for interpreting dreams and identifying unconscious patterns - Begin building a personal practice, starting with dream journaling, to carry these tools into daily life - Learn both beginning and advanced lucid dreaming techniques Rooted in nearly thirty years of Norma's work in Buddhist practice, Jungian shadow work, and trauma healing, and brought into the present through Nisha's own experience with lucid dreaming, this workshop offers an intergenerational approach to teaching — practical, embodied, and grounded in decades of lived experience. Event Link in Bio #berkeleyalembic #luciddreaming by @berkeleyalembic
Out on the ancient granite of Joshua Tree, we share a simple stretch and Anjuli’s heart opens toward the sky. This is what I feel the world is asking of us right now. Not more armor, but more open hearts. And so often that opening happens through supporting each other, through presence, through caring touch, through the simple gift of being held. Thai massage is an ancient practice of loving kindness, a slow dance between giver and receiver that nourishes both. Whether you are brand new or returning to deepen, our events are a chance to refill your own cup while learning to offer healing to the ones you love. Join us: (link in bio) ZenThai Daylong Immersion · Sunday Nov 8 · The Alembic, Berkeley ZenThai Workshop Sunday Dec 6, 3-5:30p Embody Flow Retreat · Feb 14 to 19, 2027 · Yelapa, Mexico Come solo or bring someone dear. Thanks to the talented @joshua_tree_photographer for the video! #supporteachother #metta #zenthai #thaimassage #embodyflow by @berkeleyalembic
What if you could slow down enough to listen to your own biology? Join us for an immersive journey through the living landscape of the body, blending guided somatic meditation with live ambient music. Moving through four inner organ systems, including the brain, heart, lungs, and digestive system, we will explore the felt experience of embodied anatomy through rest and curiosity. Each part of the journey offers an invitation to notice the subtle rhythms, sensations, movements, and processes happening within you. What would it be like to pause and feel the shifting activity of the brain, the pulsing and presence of the heart, the movement of breath through the lungs, and the deep, rhythmic work of digestion? Through poetic guidance, sensory imagery, gentle movement, and spacious periods of rest, you will be invited to turn your attention inward. Gentle ambient music will accompany the journey, creating an evolving soundscape that will support your relaxation, curiosity, and deep listening. Come lie down, get comfortable, move if you feel called to, and listen closely.No experience needed. Arrive as you are. Bio: Dr. Karah Charette, PT, DPT, RYT is a somatic pelvic health physical therapist, movement educator, and dancer. Drawing from her studies in Body-Mind Centering® and Authentic Movement, she guides gentle, sensory-based experiences that support deep listening and embodied awareness. Spencer Sussman is a producer, composer, and trombonist from the SF Bay Area. His nature inspired ambient sound design creates immersive, meditative listening experiences grounded in warmth, resonance, and spaciousness. -- Event Link in Bio -- #berkeleyalembic #movement #meditation by @berkeleyalembic
The Alembic founders, board, & crew warmly invite you to a day of practice & revelry at the Alembic, & to join us in celebrating our new managing director Anisa Charucksiri. Alembic is entering a new phase. To show off a few of our offerings, we have asked eight of our teachers to showcase their work through the afternoon & into the night — art, meditation, voice, dance, somatic connection, and kirtan. Throughout the day, the lobby remains open for tea, snacks, and hanging out. In the late afternoon, we'll gather together in community to celebrate the present & future of the Alembic experiment. Co-founders Michael Taft & Erik Davis will share some long-term visions, while board member Leela Henderson will introduce & honor Anisa, a seasoned leader in contemplative programming & community building as well as an Alembic regular. Michael Taft will offer a guided meditation, & then the evening loosens — dancing, kirtan, & fun until the night is spent. Food trucks will be available from 5pm onward, as well as a special tea service in the lounge. Come in your autumn finery or simply as you are. If it’s been a while since you’ve been through our doors, come back & reconnect. Bring a friend, meet someone new, find a familiar face, discover a new teacher, & spend time in good company. This is a day for the Alembic community & the Alembic curious to gather around our alchemical hearth & enjoy the dynamic warmth of renewal. It is also a day to remember that the Alembic is a non-profit organization that relies on your support to keep our doors open. While a single ticket gets you into all the day’s events, please consider paying more if you can. Schedule: 2:00 – 2:45 Krisztina · Alligator Lizards: Integration Through Artistic Expression 3:00 – 3:45 Silvia · Who Is Singing? Embody & Celebrate the Cosmic Nature of Sound 4:00 – 5:00 Maya · Butoh Movement Meditation 4:15 – 5:00 Annalisa · A Somatic Workshop on Dating 5:30 – 6:15 Welcome Talks & Ceremony 6:30 – 7:15 Michael Taft · Deconstructing Yourself Meditation 7:45 – 9:30 Madhu & Ege · Kirtan Ecstatic Dance Journey 9:30 – 10:30 Līlā · Open Dance Event link in bio. #berkeleyalembic #celebration #community by @berkeleyalembic
Join Chandra Easton, renowned Tibetan Buddhism teacher and devotional chantress, for an evening of sacred sound where we experience the "echoes of emptiness"—the empty yet appearing nature of all sound, thought, and experience. This event blends Buddhist and Hindu Tantric traditions, offering an accessible, joyful exploration of devotional music and meditation suitable for all levels. Event highlights: Call and response chanting: Engage in traditional Sanskrit mantras to promote inner peace and spiritual reflection. Through kirtan (melodic chanting) and japa (mantra repetition), we uplift our spirits, center ourselves, and open our hearts to spiritual blessings. Meditative atmosphere: Connect deeply with your inner self through rhythmic, repetitive chants, exploring the space where sound and silence meet. Community connection: Share a collective musical journey that fosters unity and illuminates our interconnectedness. If the spirit moves you, dancing is always welcome. Buddhist & Hindu wisdom: Experience practices from Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Hindu Tantric traditions, including sacred deity practices such as the 21 Taras, Avalokiteshvara, and Saraswati for deeper states of meditative absorption. Chandra’s unique approach emphasizes direct spiritual experience over conceptual understanding, encouraging participants to move beyond intellectual knowledge into embodied wisdom. By weaving together chanting, storytelling, and meditation, she creates transformative journeys that connect us with our innate enlightened nature—the very essence of “emptiness” in Buddhist philosophy. Join us for an evening where the echoes of ancient wisdom resonate through community practice, guiding us toward the realization of our true nature and the profound understanding of emptiness. Please purchase your ticket in advance, as we cannot guarantee entry for walk-ins. We recommend arriving 15 minutes early to allow time for check-in and settling in. Event Link in Bio #berkeleyalembic #kirtan #singing #chandraeaston #eventsinberkeley #echosofemptiness by @berkeleyalembic
This Sunday, all grievers welcome to attend this Grief Tending Circle, a space to gather in community to honor and tend to our own griefs, be it loss and change of identities, grief around unlived dreams, global and systemic grief around genocide and ecocide, chronic illness, death and loss of loved ones… and so on….Grief is everywhere and often shunned and disregarded in our grief phobic society, in this space we welcome grief and slow down to honor and make space to tend to our withered hearts. This will not be a grief process group, but rather grief tending through personal reflection, guided meditation, partner shares, nature based ritual and creative process. Lead by Shannon Knorr and Petra Gojun. Please share with the grievers in your life. ❤️ #grievers #grief #grieftending #honoringourgrief #tendinggrief Artwork by Kimera Wachna by @berkeleyalembic
What if we stopped treating death as the thing we're not supposed to talk about? Death Day: Facing Mortality, Mourning, & the Strife of Endings is an Alembic gathering for turning toward the inevitable with curiosity, irreverence, reverence, & even defiance. Through talks, storytelling, & conversation, we'll explore death not as an abstraction, but as a force that shapes how we live, love, grieve, create, & make meaning. The day includes 3 presentations: *Facing the Wave: Ecological Grief as an Act of Reverence with Kirra Swenerton As an ecologist & healer, Swenton has been asked to bear witness to the extraordinary loss of biodiversity, while continuing to plant seeds & lay down prayers for an uncertain future. Through stories from the wild world, they'll explore what dreams, gurus, ancestors, butterflies, & plants can teach us about living with loss; A way of honoring what is dying while remaining in relationship with what is still alive. * Mourning Dress: Making Grief Visible with Maria Mangini Grief may be universal, but mourning is cultural. This illustrated lecture traces the visible language of bereavement from the Middle Ages to the present, exploring mourning dress, etiquette, sumptuary laws, textiles, colors, & the elaborate rules that once governed how the bereaved were expected to signal their loss. We'll look at how mourning customs differ across social classes, how they reflect status & aspiration, & why making grief visible can matter to those living through it. *Gliomancy: Acknowledging & Resisting the Proximity of Thanatos with Tom Banger What would you do if you were diagnosed with a "terminal," "incurable" condition? In 2023, Tom Banger was diagnosed with brain cancer and began developing what he calls gliomancy: a syncretic mashup of mysticism, shamanism, Stoicism, Shinto, Zen, pop psychology, & the Kübler-Ross grief model. Drawing on performance art, ritual, humor, & what he calls "medical tourism," Banger has spent 3 years confronting mortality with dignity, courage and poise. This participatory session asks us how we might meet unwelcome news without surrendering agency. Event link in bio #berkeleyalembic #halloween #dayofdeath by @berkeleyalembic
Join us for November's Chalice: Other Illuminations: Psychedelic Literature, Travel, and Grassroots Counterculture in Latin America with Albert Casasayas and Ana Luengo While the discourse around the so-called “psychedelic renaissance” has frequently centered on the Global North, the Spanish-speaking world has generated its own vibrant intellectual cultures of psychedelic research and exploration. Latin American territories offer their own rich landscapes of alterity, counterculture, and plant-medicine narratives. Guided by Drs. Albert Casasayas and Ana Luengo, Latin American Studies scholars and authors of the new book, Otras iluminaciones: Narrativa, cultura y psicodélicos (Other Illuminations: Narrative, Culture, and Psychedelics), this month’s Chalice bridges literature, travel, and grassroots culture across Latin America, moving from the 1980s to the present. Drawing from their deep insights into Hispanic literature and culture, they will expand the conversation to share reflections and images from their recent travels across the region. They will also discuss their experiences with different organizations in psychedelic spaces as well as activism, advocacy, and harm reduction organizations across the Americas. Albert Casasayas is Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at Santa Clara University. He is the author of Luces y sombras del renacimiento psicodélico (Highs and Lows in the Psychedelic Renaissance), edited by the Spanish countercultural press Ulises Ediciones. He co-edited, with Ana Luengo, Otras iluminaciones. Ana Luengo is Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at San Francisco State University. She is the author of several studies on historical memory, social movements, and anticolonialism, the latest of which is Arqueología del esencialismo español. She has co-edited Otras iluminaciones with Albert Casasayas. She is also a writer and has published a novel, a poetry book and a children’s book. The Chalice is a recurring psychedelic salon held at the Berkeley Alembic the first Wednesday of every month. Event link in bio #berkeleyalembic #thechalice #psychedelics #counterculture by @berkeleyalembic
Grief Tending Circle at The Alembic in Berkeley, Sunday November 1st, from 10-12, lead by myself and colleague Petra Gojun. All grievers are welcome. This is not a grief process group, but rather, a space to hold and make space for our own grief and heart tending. We will grief tend through our own personal process, somatic exploration, creative process, guided meditation, altar tending, partner shares, all in the shared community space with fellow grievers. This is a slowed down, uninterrupted and intentional space for you to be with and listen, to connect and give space to that which needs tending to. Grief work is soul work. “Grief work is not passive, it implies an ongoing practice of deepening, attending and listening. There is some strange intimacy between grief and aliveness, some sacred exchange between what seems unbearable and what is most exquisitely alive.” Francis Weller Please join us ❤️ Link in Bio #grief #griefcircle #somatics #grieftending #rosemary https://momence.com/Berkeley-Alembic/Grief-Tending-Circle-with-Shannon-Knorr-and-Petra-Gojun/143475692 by @berkeleyalembic
Join us for our monthly psychedelic integration circles with @drlyssamenard Many of us work with psychedelics without a guide or with limited support to integrate these experiences. That can feel painful or lonely when we’ve had meaningful journeys (and also when we’ve had disappointing journeys!). Healing – especially from interpersonal injuries – deepens when done in community. The same is true of personal and spiritual growth. Even the most joyful experiences are best metabolized when witnessed. These are drop-in, monthly supported peer group rather than a psychotherapy group. We create space for sharing stories and experiences, receiving support, and forging genuine connections. Meditation, mindful movement, somatic practices, Internal Family Systems parts work, and creative tools are all part of the fun. Whether you’re new to integration or looking to deepen your practice, you’ll find a supportive community here. Note: You’re invited to bring an object for our community altar that represents some aspect of your journey. No one turned away for lack of funds. If this applies to you, please pay at the door. This event is a closed container. Please arrive early. There will be no further entry 15 minutes past the start time. Dr. Lyssa Menard is a psychologist, psychedelic therapist, and professor (Northwestern University Medical School) with specialties in Integrative Medicine, trauma treatment, and health psychology. She is the founder of Strategies for Change, a coaching and consulting firm promoting personal, organizational, and leadership change and has been a consultant to a wide range of media outlets, including CNN, New York Times, and WebMD. She brings this varied background to her integration groups, facilitating growth and change through a multi-media concoction of integrative therapeutic approaches (mindful movement, creative arts, somatic healing and embodiment, social connection, and spiritual ritual). #berkeleyalembic #integrationcircle #psychedelic by @berkeleyalembic
Join Liz Koch @stalkingwildpsoas here at the Berkeley Alembic for a weekend of somatic discussion and exploration *Primal Gestures - How Direct Perception Reshapes The Way We Think [Friday] Innovation is determined by our ability to think creatively, what is often referred to as thinking outside of the box. But what if our daily movement defines our capacity to expand our creativity? New biology, quantum physics, molecular science, mathematics, deep psychology, and indigenous wisdom all recognize that human beings are not static objects animated by a spirit, but expressions of living sacred processes. These perspectives contend that a unified matrix of life, not individual parts, provides an in-depth understanding of being human. This bio-intelligence can be felt-sensed through primal gestures. Engaging with a living systems approach, specifically our embryological story, reveals that human beings at their very core are fluid organisms (imagine a tadpole or caterpillar) that continually reshape through invaginating and innovating flows of intelligence. Turning our attention toward the somatic sensory system, direct perception enables a conscious participation in a universal intelligence capable of dissolving mind/body dualism and reductionist constructs. *Primal Gestures: An Experiential Day of Movement [Saturday] This one-day workshop follows our evening lecture, offering a direct experience of the concepts presented. Employing a bio-intelligent paradigm we will explore felt-sensed primal gestures. When we perceive and experience our spine through an embryological and biomorphic paradigm, it is the nexus of our being—the source from which all aspects of self, flow – a life shaping central channel of fluid embodiment. Whether referred to as a channel, axis, midline, primitive streak, or central nervous system, the spine has oceanic and cosmic origins. Sensed as micro-undulations and spirals that echo through tissue, all life is touched by the planetary rhythms of vibrating water. Event Link in Bio #berkeleyalembic #LizKoch #somatic #berkeley by @berkeleyalembic

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