Upper West Side

Map and Directions | Register

Map and Directions | Register

Description:

At Playing Ground we’re committed to living big, fun, delicious lives.  But we understand that to live this way is a practice – one that is often overlooked!

In our busy, hectic New York lives, we tend to be all about what we do rather than who we are.  We are prolific doers.  From the moment we step out of bed until we collapse back into it again – we’re constantly doing.  In our Western culture, we’re actually rewarded in every material way for our productivity and little encouragement is given to explore the deeper still place of what we are.

But you’re in luck, because the guest teachers at our August monthly event, Mary Campbell and Kimio Wheaton, have been training in the practice of being vs. doing for most of their lives.  How lucky are we!

Together, we’ll play for a bit with who we are — the masculine and feminine energies that propel our doing and being. And we’ll relax into the loving space of what we are.  The who vs. what we are is an important distinction we will explore through the evening.

We’ll share the secrets to remembering the essential nature of what we are beyond our gender or personality. We’ll  begin to access living our truth because it’s when we’re not living our truth that we can feel cranky, disappointed and unfulfilled.   We’ll introduce practices to permeate that place of disappointment with contentment and compassion. And who doesn’t want that!

 You’ll leave with:

- the skills to living a juicy, sensual, turned on life as a busy person

- organic options for creating balance in the moment

- skills to balance masculine and feminine energies within

- greater compassion for yourself and others

Come play with us Tuesday, August 14th!  Can’t wait to see your busy, smiling self at our temple!

Pre-Registration is required.

The exact address will be provided upon registration.

Register

Kristian is a man of the world.  He has lived all over the world and found that home is where the soul is.  Kristian is passionate about the journey of his soul’s growth and has dedicated his life to calling others to theirs.  He has trained extensively in numerous psychological modalities and somatic practices and is a Tantra teacher (or practioner), process trainer, body worker and coach.

Vyana lives and breathes the principles of Tantra every day and is passionate about transformation on all levels for the individual, the community and the earth.  She is an experienced Tantric practitioner, an ordained UCC minister, a process trainer and an experienced therapist.  She has a private practice in individual and couples counseling and spiritual development.

With over 25 years of combined experience, Kristian and Vyana have dedicated their lives to sharing and teaching the healing power of pleasure.  In both their individual and joint coaching practice and their workshops, they support men and women in awakening to the possibilities of their lives through the exploration of spirituality and sexuality.

After I hung up with Time Warner and the deed was done, I stared longingly at my blank television screen.   How will I watch the new season of Mad Men?   I’ve got to keep up with Don Draper.  The guy drinks scotch at 8am in the morning for Goddess’ sake!  And all those fabulous 1960’s clothes…   Then it dawned on me.  Mad Men was once just a simple thought that emerged in creator Matthew Weiner’s head.  That in fact, everything on television is the result of someone’s imagination and by spending hours a week watching their creativity on the screen, I was actually numbing my own.

At that moment a new desire was freed up from inside me.  A desire to have the dreamings of my imagination out in the world.   Perhaps it was time to produce that exercise video illustrating how to lose 5 pounds a week by having sex and eating chocolate?  Or maybe a new reality show titled “Real Polyamorous Housewives of NYC”?  OK, not really my style – but what about a workshop on how to expand your capacity for adoration and intimacy?  Or that book I’ve been meaning to write about how the death of my child led me on a path to love more than I could ever imagine.  Now I was getting excited.

Rather then watch Ina Garten prepare yet another perfectly roasted chicken on the Food Network, I could journal, self-pleasure, take long baths or start to read one of the 17 books I ordered from Amazon this month.  And I decided to take the $1,200 a year I’m saving on lousy programming and gift my sweet twin Godchildren a weekly gym class their single Mom can’t afford right now.  Seems that giving up bad television is already opening the door to more desires being fulfilled.

Now that the click of my remote produces nothing but white fuzz, I’ve taped a note on my television screen to remind me of my hearts deep desire to set my imagination free.

What delicious ideas live in your imagination?

After spending the past decade as a student of sacred sexuality, intimacy and love, Joanne practices her dedication to awakening the divine that lives in each of us through her private coaching practice.

Joanne is also currently writing her first work of non-fiction titled “Playdate, A big lesson I learned from a little girl” which shares the simple wisdom of children, inspired by her late niece, Isabel, who succumbed to cancer at the age of six.

Caroline is a celebrated author, teacher and practitioner of Tantra Yoga whose books and teachings have impacted over 25,000 students – men, women, singles and couples who appreciate the depth, integrity and warmth she brings to this sensitive and ancient subject.

Caroline founded the Divine Feminine Awakened Masculine Institute and her memoir “Queen of Hearts: the Life of a Sexual Pioneer” is scheduled for release in October of 2011.

I recently worked with a twenty-four year old student/client who was the vision of erotic innocence. She admitted to not having had sex yet, worried that she was missing out and should perhaps just do it anyway, like so many of her friends.  But something told her to wait until she knew what she was doing, until she knew more about her own body.  I praised her for following her intuition in the face of a lot of peer pressure to lose her virginity and “hook-up”.

Before I lay her back on the massage table, I invited her into my arms as we rocked and held one another. Hands placed consciously on the back of one anothers’ chakras at sacrum and heart, we eye gazed, breathing deeply until the nervous eye fluttering subsided and she relaxed. I then suggested we lower our eyes, place our foreheads together softly, and exchange wisdom of a feminine nature.  Sounds of AH toned along with our exhales, as a soft breeze caressed our bodies.

The session was a calling to the Priestess within me. I asked if she would like to have a deeper understanding of her inner sanctum, her cave of warmth, her garden of delights… her Yoni… her Sacred Space. I gave her the option of using the sacred name. I explained the meaning of Yoni as Sacred Space from the most ancient of all languages, Sanskrit. She loved that.

I took great joy in holding her lovely, flawless young fingers, and using a vanilla-scented oil, I showed her on her own hand how I have learned to caress my own body, building energy in all of the chakras from the heart down. With intention and permission, I touched her with the same strokes while holding a clear boundary of integrity. I was not hired to arouse her, but to teach her, staying in the connection of mentor rather than lover. For that connection is what can help one learn to experience orgasmic pleasure to the heavens and beyond. Safety is the cocoon that must hold this mentoring in order for it to fully become integrated.

As a pioneer of this cutting-edge work of spiritual sexual education, I have the privilege of mentoring men and women into their own integrated sexuality. As the ripples spread, and more and more people are learning how to fully access and express their life force with integrity and respect, we are creating a new world. I invite you to explore our offerings-weekend workshops and weeklong trainings, as they continue to expand world-wide, and experience for yourself the magic of the weaving of the divine feminine and awakened masculine energies.

Mae West was a woman ahead of her time. She knew the power of a woman’s sensuality and used it without shame or self-judgment. She was a woman who lived full out without concern about what anyone thought of her. In fact, I just learned that she wrote a play titled “Sex” in 1926 that landed her in jail for ten days.

What I like most about Mae is that she was a champion flirt. She flirted with her audience, the camera, and every one of her leading men. As a single woman living in New York City, I decided it was high time for a little flirting experiment. I was nervous at first – but it isn’t as complicated as I thought. My friend, Mama Gena, defines flirting as “enjoying yourself in the presence of another”. Sounded easy enough, so I took my flirt out for a spin.

I eagerly started my morning on the Starbucks line and complimented the man behind me on his tie. I got a smile and a thank you – which I considered a great accomplishment since he hadn’t had his morning coffee yet. Next stop on my way to the subway was a drop off at the dry cleaner. I thanked him for doing a great job with my new dress and he gave me a 20% discount on the alteration. Nice! I said good morning to an elderly man on the subway as I offered up my seat. He told me I was a sweetheart. How true!

When I arrived at work, I attempted to flirt with this cute guy from my office, but he never even looked up from his computer. I’ve always wondered if he was gay. I was disappointed, slightly embarrassed and considered packing up my flirt for the day when I was reminded that flirting really works.

How do I know for sure? Because Mae said so in my favorite quote of all “I’ve been in more laps than a napkin.”

A: Passion waxes and wanes with most couples. To keep a relationship juicy, you must first keep yourself stimulated and happy. Are you doing things for yourself that make you interesting? Are you growing and learning new things? Are you happy with your body, mind and soul? If you are not happy with yourself or life, you husband will sense this and mirror it back to you. Also, do you and your husband do things that bring you together having fun? Passion comes from being loving with each other and sharing things that inspire you both.

Sit down with your husband and tell him you love him and you miss the passion between you. Ask him to tell you what he needs in order to bring the passion back. Plan some things together that excite you both. Also, find the passion in your life that will keep you stimulated and excited about life. Make sure you do things to keep yourself healthy and fit, growing intellectually, and feeling good.