Wow, 2009 is here! I was hoping to start our classes today, but I have 3 weeks of gigs away from Portland, so it looks like we will be easing into the New Year. So far, the Renewal Class is scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday mornings, 8:45 AM to 9:45 AM. Then, we have a tentative Yoga class at 10 AM, taught by Susan Banyas. There is a sacred dance community meeting coming up.

We have a beautiful screen and projector installed in the studio. I am looking forward to showing videos and having discussion groups afterwards.

Come by and check out the Oasis Healing Arts Center space. “I feel like I’m back in New York City when I walk in,” said Nicole, my Anusara Yoga teacher colleague. Joanne Doussea, a healer visiting from Los Angeles said, “Your meeting room is a true work of art. You did a great job, John.”

9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Morning Practice with John Johnson
A great way to begin your day, this class is designed to energize your mind and body. Try all the products John uses each day to stay fit.

10:00 AM – 10:45 AM
Renewal with John Johnson
Share your morning with others while listening to ambient music, moving and stretching in a safe space with minimal facilitation.

11:00 AM – 11:45 PM
Qigong with Mary Blaine
Chi Gong is a set of meditative exercises developed over 2000 years ago by Taoist monks in China. By combining simple movements, breathing and mental imagery, you can direct the flow of your body’s energy to prevent disease, build strength and advance spiritually.

12:00 PM – 12:45 PM
Massage Made Easy with John Johnson
Learn some amazing ways to take care of your body. John will teach you an easy routine to release tension in your neck and shoulder area.

1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
Soul Stories with Susan Banyas
Storytelling practice using a process developed by Susan Banyas. An opportunity ro dive deep and learn about yourself using the power of story.

2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Tribal Singing with Robin Chilstrom
Robin teaches her fun and creative way to find our voices in collaboration with others. Based on simple sound games, the form engages our spontaneous, natural voices in expressive monologues.

3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
Sound and Movement as Medicine with John Johnson
Explore your own unique movement and sounding patterns to heal your body and mind.

4:00 PM – 4:45 PM
Qigong: Meditations with the Tao with Leslei
Movements, stances, breathwork and meditations for cultivation of energy, vitality and well-being from the ancient sages of China.

5:00 PM – 5:45 PM
Internet Marketing for Health Professionals
Learn the top 5 ways to increase your revenue using the Internet. Bring your laptop.

Come join us!

Oasis Healing Arts Center
537 SE Ash St, #42
Portland, OR 97214

Then, on Tuesday, election day, Gwynne Warner performed a Blessing Ceremony to move out the old stagnant Chi and bring in the new. It was an incredible two hour ceremony.

My friend, Eden, let me know that the 4th of November was the end of a 260 day Galactic Cycle (according to the Galactic Calendar, which is lunar based). So, the move in was very auspicious.

Now we are beginning to organize the space for our Open House on Saturday, December 6th. Are you coming? Please put it on your calendar.

Designing the space and manifesting the next part of my journey is an exciting process. So far, I’m pretty certain this new venture is going to be called “Oasis”. The tagline will be something like “Rest, Rejuvenate, Renew”. I’m still working on the third word.

My vision for the space is a combination of continuing the work that matters to me and providing a space for my community to develop and thrive. I look forward to offering to you some of the things I love. The process that feels closest to my heart is the work I’ve developed: Sound, Movement and Massage as Medicine.

I’ll be teaching a Renewal Class in the mornings that will just be what I would normally do on my own at home; all the toys I love to play with, like the Chi Machine, Yamuna Body Rolling products, the TheraCane will all be available for community use.

Another process I love is Morning Practice. We’ll be stretching and moving, alone and with each other, in a free form way that is about opening up to the new day that is emerging and helping people find themselves through their bodies. Some of this is Authentic Movement.

I will also continue to teach massage, either Neck and Shoulder Massage or Couples Massage.

There will also be other teachers whose work I love and admire. I will send you the information about these teachers and their work as soon as I have confirmation, but there will be Storytelling, Sounding and Massage.

I am looking forward to sponsoring “Sundays at Seven” again. This is a form where dancers and performers get to show works in progress to an audience and get feedback.

I’m going to have community building events, like Conversations That Matter and movie nights, especially documentaries and local filmmakers.

Then, of course, there will be our line of products. I’m looking forward to having stations where people can come in, view our Menu, and rent our products for an hour.

That’s all I can think of for now. I will keep you updated. I would love to hear any thoughts or ideas on how this space might make your life better.

I’ve had my Internet retail business, All About Network, in my home for 10 years now. This summer, I got a Notice of Violation from the city saying that complaints had been filed regarding my running a business in a residential area.

For a moment, I thought about finding whom in the neighborhood would have complained and, after contemplating sticking needles in a doll with their faces on it, I quickly decided to turn this negative into an opportunity.

So, after a month of searching, I found the ideal space: 537 SE Ash Street in Portland, Oregon. See, for a long, long time I’ve been a dancer, a massage therapist, and a psychotherapist, but those loves all took a back seat to the Internet business, which is where the money was coming in. Now, I am going to have 5000 sq. ft. to manifest my vision. Check out the pictures! So far, it’s still a work in progress.

I’m using Feng Shui guidelines to construct the site. Gwynne Warner, Feng Shui consultant, and Jeffrey Allen, interior designer are my mentors.

I’m going to have the East room as a healing arts center, to do my Sound and Movement as Medicine work. I will also produce workshops with people whose work I love – like Robin Chilstrom doing Tribal Singing and Susan Banyas doing Soul Stories.

In the mornings, I will have a Renewal class, when people get to use the equipment we sell. We’ll use the products I use every day. There will also be a Morning Practice class, which will be for people who have enough of a background in movement to do Authentic Movement, stretching, and their own personal movement practice, alone, or with others. I’ll also be teaching my Soul Motion work and Yamuna Body Rolling practice.

The West room will house the Internet business, and a showroom where people can try out our products. There will also be space for community meetings. I want to do groups that deal with Conversations That Matter, sustainability issues, showing documentaries and discussing them, etc.

That is enough for now. Keep in touch. We are having a Blessing Ceremony on Friday, October 24th. We’ll be moving in on October 26th and our Open House will be in November.