Events and Workshops
We frequently host special guest teachers, extended classes from your favorite local teachers, music, art and other special events at PPY. If you walk away learning one thing from any of these offerings that is a good and worthy practice, and will boost your daily yoga. Make it a staycation: a regular morning weekend class, grab a healthy bite in the neighborhood and then come back for an afternoon workshop. Instant Day of Yoga Retreat! ~Please scroll down, pre-registration is recommended… 48 hours advanced notice for cancellation required for refund~
For registration assistance ~ please email us at: info@pleasurepointyoga.com
OUTDOOR Yoga 
INSTRUCTORS: Caren Camblin, Kayla Copeland, Becky Quinn, & Emily Perry
COST: Regular class pricing
LOCATIONS AND TIMES:
Wednesdays at 9am at Sunny Cove Beach
Fridays at 11am at Jade Street Park
Saturdays at 9am at Twin Lakes Beach (near the Crows Nest)
Sundays at 9:30am at Sunny Cove Beach
Beach + Outdoor Yoga is HERE! Join us outside this summer!
ALUNA Transformational Breathwork
INSTRUCTORS: Alex & Atilla
DATE: Sunday, July 12th
TIME: 12-3pm
COST: $65
Group size: max 10 people
What to bring: your water bottle
Please
* try not to eat two hours prior to the session
* wear comfortable clothes
* drink plenty of water after the session
* make sure you have no commitments after the session
* and come with an intention. What would you like to explore, transform, integrate or let go off?
About Alex & Attila:
Alex: For the past ten years Alexandra has facilitated for many to find their true bliss and purpose in life, supporting and empowering others through energy healing, massage therapy, Huna, meditation, Transformational Breath®️ and plant medicine. Her greatest joy lies in guiding people to embrace themselves and their authenticity. Alexandra is a strong believer in creating your own reality. Limiting beliefs and programming are a big player in feeling stuck and not experiencing the full potential we came with. Undoing those limitations can results in a more, fulfilled and joyful life. Her work is rooted in self-forgiveness and self-love.
Attila: A former Marketing Executive for multinational companies for 25 years Attila now facilitates and coaches, committed and serving others to achieve greater spiritual and emotional awareness by transforming existing traumas, releasing limiting beliefs, getting in touch with deep emotions, to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Once being in touch with yourself, self love has the power to bloom to help each one of us to achieve anything we aspire. Thoughts manifest creation, and by giving all, you will receive all…more than you could possibly imagine. He shares his message and techniques through 1-on-1 sessions, group workshops and retreats.
Skill in Action
INSTRUCTORS: Michelle Johnson
DATE: Friday July 31st 6-9pm ; Saturday and Sunday August 1st – 2nd 9am-4pm
COST: $250 before May 1st, $275 after February 29th
Skill in Action is a workshop designed to explore patterns of oppression, power and privilege, and to respond to the current cultural challenges through practices of self-study, contemplation and collective action.
It can be difficult to remain centered amidst the chaos of a culture that continues to divide and conquer. Many are wondering how to respond to increasingly oppressive policies, political divisions and the current cultural upheaval. While we have questions about how to respond, I believe that we must respond with steadfastness and courageous hearts to the urgent concerns of this time. Contemplative practices, including meditation and yoga, allow us to work with sensation, toxic thought patterns, cultural conditioning, overwhelm, and anxiety through mindfulness and thoughtful care. In this workshop, we will deepen our understanding of the principles of justice and yoga; the workings of power and privilege, oppression and identity, suffering and liberation, and loving kindness.
The most effective tool of White Supremacy is Divide and Conquer. This system of oppression causes us to distance from ourselves and others, leaving us split apart both individually and collectively. Dismantling White Supremacy and systems of oppression requires turning towards, and facing one another. Through the practice of yoga, we can experience personal transformation that allows us to approach one another with honesty, skill and awareness. Through sharing and conversation we will explore the ways White Supremacy and oppression become internalized, and how we, in turn, embody and perpetuate oppression individually and collectively. We will practice asana (postures), meditation, mindfulness, pranayama (breathing), chanting and mantra work to sharpen our goals and visions for our work to change the world. We will create concrete plans to put our goals into action.
Some of what will be explored:
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Meditation
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Embodied practice and asana
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Creating culture: Agreements and assumptions
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Social location
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Privilege, Power and Oppression
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Racism, Internalizations and intersectionality
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Spiritual Bypassing and Cultural Appropriation
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Dharma and Duty to intervene, disrupt and dismantle systems of oppression
Instructor Bio:
I am a social justice warrior, author, dismantling racism trainer, empath, yoga teacher and practitioner, and an intuitive healer. With over 20 years of experience leading dismantling racism work and working with clients as a licensed clinical social worker, I have a deep understanding of how trauma impacts the mind, body, spirit, and heart. My awareness of the world through my own experience as a black woman allows me to know, first-hand, how privilege and power operate.
I have a Bachelors of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. I have worked in several non-profits and served as an elected official and on many non-profit boards of directors. I have led Dismantling Racism Trainings with large corporations, small non-profits, and community groups, including the ACLU-WA, Duke University, Google, This American Life, The Center for Equity and Inclusion, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Church, Lululemon, and many others. I published Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World in 2017; I teach workshops in yoga studios and community spaces nationwide. I am on the faculty of Off the Mat Into the World, and serve as the Co-Director of 18 Springs Healing Center in Winston-Salem, NC. I was a Tedx speaker at Wake Forest University in 2019, and I have been interviewed on several podcasts in which I explore the premise and foundation of Skill in Action, along with creating ritual in justice spaces, our divine connection with nature and Spirit, and how we as a culture can heal.
I lead courageously from the heart with compassion and a commitment to address the heartbreak dominant culture causes for many because of the harm it creates. I inspire change that allows people to stand in their humanity and wholeness in a world that fragments most of us. Whether in an anti-oppression training, yoga space, individual or group intuitive healing session, the heart, healing and wholeness are at the center of how I approach all of my work in the world. There are myriad of ways to work with me. I hope to support you on your healing journey and path towards wholeness in whatever capacity allows you to live your fullest life.
Restorative Yoga + Live Music w/ Girish
INSTRUCTORS: Leslee Bassin & Girish
DATE: Saturday, August 8th
TIME: 6-7:30pm
COST: $30 in advance, $35 at the door
Crystal Bowl Sound Journey
INSTRUCTORS: Kim Molloy
DATE: TBA
TIME: 7:30-8:30pm
COST: $15-20 sliding scale
Every first Sunday of the month!
Kim Molloy is a Sound Alchemist divinely gifted with
Sound and Energy Healing. She integrates Theta
Healing, Reiki, and Angelic Healing energies. Kim
channels energy and vibration from the higher dimensions into this earth plane. The Crystal bowls are the vehicle for transmitting these light codes, sounds, and energy vibrations. They are musically attuned to the chakras in the body infusing pure light vibration and harmonic sound waves that resonate into every cell.
Cardio Funk
INSTRUCTORS: Alison Chesley
DATE: Coming soon! Tuesdays
TIME: 6-7pm
COST: Regular class pricing!
CARDIO FUNK is a high energy all level choreography dance class to upbeat music where we build a fun and accessible dance over the hour for some serious satisfaction by the end. Starting with a warm-up then breaking down moves with a continuous cardio flow that includes some glut and ab toning, Alison’s clear and experienced style makes dancing our way to wellness AWESOME and available to all levels with no dance experience necessary!
Bio:
Alison is a veteran of the Santa Cruz dance scene having taught classes for all ages at Motion Pacific while running and performing with her teen performance troupe Scene 13 for almost a decade. She has also performed and taught her own fiery style of Cardio Funk/Hip Hop/Street Jazz for three years in LA, stints in Paris and Japan, and recently in WA state where she again ran a kids Hip-Hop group and also started her unique class for adults, Energizing Flow. Alison is now a licensed Physical Therapist Asst. and works with the rehab department at Pacific Coast Manor where she incorporates her Energizing Flow with both rehab patients and in classes for residents using elements of dance, Tai Chi and Pilates with music to spice up their recoveryand daily lives.
Energizing Flow
INSTRUCTORS: Alison Chesley
DATE: Coming soon! Tuesdays & Thursdays
TIME: 2-3pm
COST: $10
ENERGIZING FLOW is a gentle strengthening class for any level that can be done seated or standing. Elements of Tai Chi, dance, and Pilates are combined in a slow reaching, stretching and strengthening flow that is beneficial for balance, posture, cardio and respiratory health and is proven to facilitate the neuro-muscular connection. Using relaxing music, deep breathing and flowing arm and trunk movements combined with lower body strengthening, this class is perfect for seniors or anyone who wants to gain strength and range of motion, and to improve posture and seated/standing balance.
Bio:
Alison is a veteran of the Santa Cruz dance scene having taught classes for all ages at Motion Pacific while running and performing with her teen performance troupe Scene 13 for almost a decade. She has also performed and taught her own fiery style of Cardio Funk/Hip Hop/Street Jazz for three years in LA, stints in Paris and Japan, and recently in WA state where she again ran a kids Hip-Hop group and also started her unique class for adults, Energizing Flow. Alison is now a licensed Physical Therapist Asst. and works with the rehab department at Pacific Coast Manor where she incorporates her Energizing Flow with both rehab patients and in classes for residents using elements of dance, Tai Chi and Pilates with music to spice up their recoveryand daily lives.
FREE! Community Flow
INSTRUCTORS: PPY Faculty
DATE: Sundays
TIME: Please see times listed below
COST: FREE!
Free Community Yoga Flow taught by either our 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Graduates or YFAM Instructors every Sunday. Please see rotating schedule below for teacher, time, and PPY Location (Main Studio or Movement Studio). ALL BODIES WELCOME, ALL WAYS, ALL LEVELS
* donations accepted but never expected*
DATE / TEACHER / TIME /LOCATION
March’s Schedule (12-1pm):
Monthly Sunday Night Yoga Nidra
INSTRUCTOR: Kayla Copeland & Katie Jacobson
DATE: Rotating 2nd and 4th Sundays
TIME: 7:30-8:15pm
COST: $12 drop-in OR suggested sliding scale donation of $5-15
When the body is relaxed and the nervous system is in a ‘resting state’, we are much more apt to heal from within. Sometimes in our busy lives we don’t always have the time to “hurry up and relax” or sometimes finding relaxation itself can be a challenge.
This class is designed to guide you into a deep and conscious relaxation of body and mind, to a place between dreaming and waking. Yoga Nidra is often referred to as ‘Yogic Sleep’. It is said that 45 mins of Yoga Nidra is equivalent in benefits to 4 hours of traditional sleep.
Join Kayla Copeland and Katie Jacobson for a sweet cap to your week! Every 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month
Sunrise Satsang Weekly
INSTRUCTOR: Sherry Cassedy
DATE: Every Monday
TIME: 7:30 – 8:30am
COST: Free and open to all!
Pleasure Point Yoga’s Monday morning Satsang is a unique (and free) opportunity to delve deeper into the esoteric teachings of Yoga in the company of one another. It is a great introduction for anyone who is curious to learn more, and an open invitation to revisit and share in the supported space of the Sangha as we deepen our practice.
We will begin the Book on Practice on February 10,
combined with chanting, pranayama and meditation.
Come clear your mind and refresh your soul.
In Satsang, we gather together, in community to seek truth or, more simply, to be with the truth. We create the space with chanting, light, and intention, gentle rituals that help us to dedicate this hour to our study and practice and to one another.
New Class! Inversion Therapy Yoga
INSTRUCTORS: Carissa Nations
DATE: Mondays
TIME: 3-4pm
COST: Class passes Accepted (Monthly unlimited, Yearly, 10 class passes) ; $20 Drop In
HeartBeat Dance Fitness
INSTRUCTOR: Danu
DATE: Monday and Wednesday
TIME: 6-7pm
COST: Regular class pricing
LOCATION: Pleasure Point Movement, PPY’s 2nd Studio located a few doors down at 3603 Portola Dr.
Come dance and sweat with us! This hour long adults’ dance fitness class blends high and low intensity dance moves, toning calisthenics and feel good music to work your body and feed your soul. All levels welcome!
Danu Schoeck is back on the Santa Cruz Dance scene and excited to bring you Heartbeat Dance Fitness! This class combines heart pumping cardio dance in hip hop, street jazz and world dance styles with fitness movements to tone and strengthen. Danu is a well known local dance and fitness choreographer and teacher. She has over 9 years of experience teaching dance and fitness classes and a strong belief in movement as medicine. Come see what the buzz is about!
A message from PPY’s Owner (Megan McAllister): Danu is BACK on the Dance Scene and joining the line up of classes at Pleasure Point Movement (Pleasure Point Yoga’s new and forming second studio). Pleasure Point Movement has crafted its class offerings to inspire students to get out of their heads and back into their hearts – – all centered around movement of some sort (stay tuneded for much more!!!). Danu is one of my favorite dance teachers of all time (Hip Hop, Street Jazz, Zumba). Danu is such a talented dancer and a prolific teacher. She may be small in size but her dance moves are HUGE! She is such a light – – her radiant personality, contageous smile, encouraging teaching style, and dope choreography had classes packed when she was teaching!! No matter the level of dance experience, Danu will make it FUN!! Get ready to drop it like it’s HOTT!!!
Monthly Monday Night Yoga for Social Justice Book Club
INSTRUCTOR: Gwen Benjamin
DATE: 1st Monday of every month
TIME: 7:15 – 8:30pm
COST: FREE!
LOCATION: Pleasure Point Movement, PPY’s 2nd Studio located a few doors down at 3603 Portola Dr..
This monthly reading and discussion group is a safe container to hold difficult conversations about social justice issues in the yoga world. Through examining modern yoga’s relationship to race, class, gender, colonialism, activism, trauma, body positivity, and agency, we will explore a variety of complicated topics that inform the ways in which we in the West consume and create yoga culture.
Each month when the new book is announced, participants will receive a list of guided questions to accompany the readings. The Yoga for Social Justice Book Club is 90 minutes long and open to all bodies, all ways.
Yoga for Social Justice Book Club – Reading List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rb_8magvutAVN7V_KkXyG319jFADOFmv9K1BjWA1FDk/edit
Monthly Monday Night Kirtan
INSTRUCTOR: Emily Perry & Friends
DATE: 3rd Monday of every month
TIME: 7:30 – 9:30pm
COST: $10-20 Suggested Donation (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Urban Cardio Glow
INSTRUCTORS: Desiree Phillips
DATE: Tuesdays
TIME: 9-10:15am
COST: Regular class pricing
Désirée Phillips is a local dancer with a 20+ year background of promoting self-esteem and body-love through movement, dance, workshops, and motivational seminars worldwide. People of all backgrounds, ages, and fitness levels benefit from her passion to spread the experiences of self-love through urban hip-hop moves and dance.
This class blends a warm-up, light choreography breakdown, steady-state cardio and a short cool-down.
Peace Warriors Kids Yoga (all ages 5+)
INSTRUCTORS: Ilana Ingber
DATE: Tuesdays and Thursdays
TIME: 3:45-5:15pm
COST: $150 for 6 sessions; $30 drop in
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Dr. located a few doors down and to the left of our main yoga studio
Please note: Thursday classes to begin January 2020!
Pleasure Point Yoga is excited for the return of Kids Yoga (all ages) with Ilana Ingber! Beginning EVERY Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 3:45-5:15pm
Peace Warriors-in-training will practice cultivating a kind and compassionate inner voice as they are guided through yoga, mindfulness, martial arts, and art activities in a safe and supportive environment. Each week will focus on a different theme.
Peace Warrior students will:
- Build inner and outer strength
- Flexibility and creative thinking skills
- Students will be guided through breathing exercises, flowing sequences, balancing poses, martial arts
- Art exploration
Classes will focus on balancing effort and ease, ending in a deep relaxation. Finally, students will be guided into art exploration as meditation. Through the blend of yoga and art making, students will focus on building self-awareness, confidence, positive self talk, and compassion.
Tribal Fusion Belly Dance (all levels)
INSTRUCTORS: Kaelin Bovee
DATE: Wednesdays
TIME: 7:15pm
COST: Regular class pricing
This class focuses on American Tribal Fusion technique and isolation drills, use of props followed by combinations. Come learn sensual movement to feel the benefits of moving your body intuitively while stretching and strengthening abdominal muscles. Strong encouragement of your creative expression and a likely boost of confidence.
Bio:
Kaelin began Egyptian Belly Dance at eight years old with Melanie Kareem in Topanga, California. She fell in love with this dance form for its freedom of expression and exotic costumes. She danced professionally in Los Angeles for a few years and went on to study with the highly respected Rachel Brice, Zoe Jakes and Gina Bruno. Kaelin still performs but truly enjoys teaching and creating community through dance.
Creativity Flow Yoga & Art Mash Up – for adults!
INSTRUCTORS: Ilana Ingber
DATE: Thursdays
TIME: 6-7:30pm
COST: Regular class pricing
Creativity Flow! (Meditation, Yoga, Art making Mash up) ~ For Adults of all ages!
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong” Joseph Chilton Pearce
Release fear and come practice creating with non-attachment and non-judgement in the loving PPY environment! This class is a meditation, yoga, art making mash up for anyone who wants to enhance their creative thinking skills and let go of self-limiting beliefs/blocks. Class begins with a warm up (infusing practices from qi gong, kundalini, and hatha yoga). We will center our minds, awaken our bodies, and focus on expanding our second chakra, our creativity center. Students will then be led in creativity enhancing meditations or journal exercises to help heal our relationship with our inner artist/child and open our inner channels of inspiration, intuition, and imagination. Finally students will be guided into an art exploration (or given time to explore art materials freely based on comfort level) in community. Let’s use our art practice as an opportunity to increase our inner friendliness, compassion, and positive self talk muscles. This class is open to beginner artists, recovering perfectionists, and experienced artists. All are welcome!
Bio:
Ilana Ingber, founder of Happy HeART Studio and Happy HeART Teacher Mentorship program, is an expert on teaching mindfulness and creative thinking through art and yoga. She has her masters in Art and Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and her 200-hour yoga certification from YogaWorks. She has been a dedicated yoga practitioner since 2011. Ilana has taught as an educator in public school, private school, museums, as well as yoga studios and national conferences. She has over 1000 students from Kindergarten to adults. She began her career in New York City where she worked for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Learning through Art Program and Creativity Institute. She later taught at Success Academy Charter School and became the Art Content Lead, providing mentorship and professional development for art teachers across the network of Success Academy schools. Ilana is an active member of the National Art Education Association and has presented at National Conventions on topics such as: Teaching Collaboration Skills through Painting Curriculum, Assessing Creativity, and Infusing Mindfulness Practices into the Art Studio. Additionally Ilana attends neuroscience, experiential education, and mindfulness conferences every year as part of her ongoing learning. Overall, Ilana is most committed to teaching herself and others how to find inner love, joy, and creativity, to create a more compassionate and peaceful world.
Youth Inversion / Trapeze Yoga (Ages 5+)
INSTRUCTORS: Carissa Nations
DATE: Wednesdays
TIME: 4-5pm
COST: $25
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Monthly
INSTRUCTOR: Cat McDaris
DATE: 2nd Tuesday of every month
TIME: 7-8:30pm
COST: FREE! Donations accepted but not expected
LOCATION: Pleasure Point Movement, located a few doors down at 3603 Portola Dr.