Workshops
Sacred Transitions: Micro-Retreat
Guided by Rebecca James-Alsum & Kyle Leia Heyesen
January 1st, 2025
1:00 - 4:00 pm
Suggested Cost of $75*
*This workshop is offered on a sliding-scale basis with a suggested donation of $75. Please pay what you can, with a minimum donation of $35. If cost is a barrier, please reach out—we welcome all regardless of ability to pay.
Micro-Retreat offered in-person only.
Enter the New Year with intention.
Equip yourself with clarity and purpose for your journey of continued awakening and healing.
Pause and Reflect: Take a break from the rush of urgency culture and join Kyle and Rebecca for a Sacred Transitions Micro-Retreat, a mindful way to cross into 2025.
Inward Journey: Connect with your Inner Knowing through Yin yoga and the healing sounds of cello, guiding you to honor this Sacred Transition and the intuition of your body.
Cultivate Awareness: Develop deeper mindfulness to intentionally design your life, planting the seeds for actualizing your dreams and creating the conditions for growth.
Reflect on 2024: Take time to recall the past year with gratitude, release what no longer serves you, and prepare to begin anew.
Craft Your Vision for 2025: With purpose, reflect on all domains of your life, envisioning and dedicating yourself to the year ahead.
Experiential Practices Include:
Yin yoga
Healing cello vibrations
Meditation and ritual
Writing and poetry
Visioning and Sankalpa (intention setting)
Namaste in the New Year with Sober Women Duluth
Guided by Cassidy Glad
January 2nd, 2025
5:00 - 6:30 p.m
We kindly request a $10 donation, with flexible pricing offered as needed
This event is offered in-person only.
Join us for an uplifting and grounding experience: a 30-minute slow flow yoga session led by Cass from Move with Cass/Pulse Barre and Fitness, followed by an enriching reflection and conversation on discovering and deepening our "why" in sobriety.
This session is open to everyone, whether you’re exploring a sober lifestyle for the first time with a Dry January challenge, seeking support and community for a sober month, or celebrating many years on your sobriety journey. Together, we’ll create space for connection, personal growth, and movement to energize and inspire the start of the new year.
Come as you are, and join us in a supportive environment that fosters community, conversation, and the joy of mindful movement. Let’s start the year with intention and purpose!
New Year Storytelling: Thriving Futures
With Ed Heisler, Rebecca James Alsum & Julie Venus
January 6th, 2025
5:30 - 8:30 p.m
No Cost. If you would like, please bring a treat to share. Donations to the studio are welcome if you are able.
This event is offered in-person only. Held in Rose Studio.
Join Rebecca, Julie, and Ed in welcoming the New Year by sharing visions and stories of what thriving could look like for future generations in this region. How fitting it is to begin the year by nourishing a sense of thriving in community and shared purpose at Svalja!
In fraught times, thriving can feel like a lofty or abstract concept — making it all the more important to focus on a clear, collective vision of what it means. Together, let’s envision, in vibrant detail, what thriving might look like 150 years into the future. Through this process, we will uncover wisdom about what thriving means for us today.
By visioning in this way together, we will be contributing to a tapestry of 100 Thriving Future Horizons being woven together across the country–and opportunities to dive deeper into our own localized wisdom around thriving. May we be a people who thrive together, for the benefit of all and the dreams of our descendants.
No preparation is necessary, and no prior storytelling experienced is needed. All you need is your whole, brilliant self, an open heart, and a willingness to join us for this 3-hour session dedicated to our community and future generations. We look forward to seeing you there.
An Introduction to Zazen: 3-Part Series
With Ed Heisler
Mondays: January 13th | January 20th | January 27th
6:30 - 8:00 p.m
$15 - $99 for three sessions in support of Svalja Whole-Being. If a full scholarship would support your participation, please reach out.
This event is offered in-person only.
Are you curious about Rinzai Zen?
These sessions provide an introduction to Zazen, the seated meditation practice central to the Rinzai Zen tradition. Participants will learn the foundational elements of meditation, including breathing techniques, posture, and concentration.
Resonance breathing and 10-step tai ji practices—offered weekly at Svalja—are specifically designed to support the cultivation of Zazen. These practices, along with additional techniques, will be explored as time and participant interest allow.
This three-part series is open to anyone curious about Rinzai Zen, whether you're new to meditation or looking to deepen your practice. No prior experience is required. Activity level is low to moderate and adjusted to your need. Attendees will have opportunities to continue with Zazen and other Rinzai Zen practices following the series.
What to Expect at Each Session:
Rinzai Zen Instruction: Guided teachings rooted in the Rinzai Zen tradition.
Zazen: Seated, still meditation in 20-30 minute segments.
Physical and Breath Practice: Exercises tailored to the specific needs of the group.
Samu: Work/Cleaning Practice, where breath, stance, and focus are applied while cleaning up.
Meet Your Guide
Ed Heisler (he/him)
At the very core of his being, Ed is a storyteller, spirit doula, and healer whose practice and teaching is rooted in curiosity, love, joyful learning with others, and his own journey with healing and spirit reconnection. With a background in violence prevention and peacemaking, Ed’s daily work focuses on nourishing individual and community connection to spirit, healing, and wholeness as a pathway to thriving for future generations–and ourselves. Ed (Koshin) Heisler was Ordained as a Rinzai Zen Priest in Anko-in, an Independent Branch Temple of Chozen-ji by Norma Ryuko Kawelokū Wong Roshi in 2022. He loves learning and sharing spirit and wholeness practices with others. Ed’s core practices include Zazen (meditation), Kado (flower arrangement), Ten Step Tai Ji, Okyo (Chanting), Shodo (Calligraphy), Reiki, and everyday storytelling that connects the depths of our wisdom, ancestors, and spirit.
Mending the Arc Storytelling Practice
With Ed Heisler
Monday, February 3rd
6:30 - 8:00 p.m
Cost: 1 Credit
This event is offered in-person only.
Stories connect us to the past, present, and future—bridging generations and tying us to the beings and places that make our lives possible. Each of us stands at the center of a “long arc,” linking ancestors of the past to generations yet to come. Through the practice of storytelling in community, we can learn, heal, and grow together, deepening our connection to all timelines.
This approach to storytelling is not about performance; it’s a shared practice of connection with our own wisdom and essential beingness, while discovering and sharing what emerges in the moment. Join us for an experience filled with warmth, connection, and collective wisdom that’s accessible and enjoyable for all ages. We can’t wait to see you there!
What to Expect: Connection, laughter, creativity, tea, and simple storytelling prompts that guide us to uncover wisdom from the past, present, and future.
Activity Level: Low
Meet Your Guide
Ed Heisler (he/him)
At the very core of his being, Ed is a storyteller, spirit doula, and healer whose practice and teaching is rooted in curiosity, love, joyful learning with others, and his own journey with healing and spirit reconnection. With a background in violence prevention and peacemaking, Ed’s daily work focuses on nourishing individual and community connection to spirit, healing, and wholeness as a pathway to thriving for future generations–and ourselves. Ed (Koshin) Heisler was Ordained as a Rinzai Zen Priest in Anko-in, an Independent Branch Temple of Chozen-ji by Norma Ryuko Kawelokū Wong Roshi in 2022. He loves learning and sharing spirit and wholeness practices with others. Ed’s core practices include Zazen (meditation), Kado (flower arrangement), Ten Step Tai Ji, Okyo (Chanting), Shodo (Calligraphy), Reiki, and everyday storytelling that connects the depths of our wisdom, ancestors, and spirit.
Special Events
Dance Cardio Pop-Up!
Led by Cassidy Glad (she, her)
Thursdays, 5:30 - 6:15 pm
Dec 12 | Dec 19
Cost: 1 Credits
This is an approachable, easy to follow, and most importantly...FUN dance cardio class! We will include a dynamic warm up and start diving into the movements. You can expect a mash up of basic dance movements to the beat + cardio. Low impact options are always available to make this class accessible to all. Music is fast & high energy with a strong beat. This class is a lot of cardio and a LOT of fun! Prepare to sweat :)
Meet Your Guide
"Cassidy grew up in Waconia, MN, and was a dancer her entire life, from age 3 through college. After her college dance career, she dove into yoga and barre classes and immediately fell in love. She continued to add certifications over the years, deepening her passion for movement. Cassidy brings high energy and has a knack for making fitness fun! She holds certifications in: Barre Certification from YogaFit Studios (2018) // Yoga Sculpt Teacher Training from Corepower Yoga (2019) // 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training from LifePower Yoga (2021) // NASM Personal Training Certification (2022) // Trauma Conscious Certification from Svalja Yoga (2024) // ProNatal Fitness Pre/Post Natal Certification (In Progress)
Gentle Yoga and Writing in the Rose
This guided yoga and writing session will be offered on the first Thursday of each month in Svalja Yoga's Rose Studio. The class will begin with Gentle Yoga where postures are practiced gently and slowly with a combination of moving and stillness accompanied by ambient music. In the second portion of the class, your guide will offer grounding exercises, short readings, and writing prompts followed by a time for free writing (approximately thirty minutes). At the end of the session, there will be time for a check-in and option to share writing and/or experiences. Please bring a journal and pen or other materials for the writing portion of the session.
The Rose Studio (street level) is located at 18 1st Ave West, the door just to the left of Svälja's main studio entrance. The space is roomy with two private bathrooms. There are mats and props available, but feel free to bring your own mat if you like.
Yin & Live Healing Sounds
With Miriam Hanson, Kristy Marie Chisti & Shane Nelson
One Thursday per month
7:00 - 8:15 pm
Please check our schedule for upcoming dates!
Cost: 2 Credits
The intentional, curated sounds of live guitar, vocals, and harmonium guide you on an illuminating soundscape to support your whole-being release during this Yin Yoga practice. Yin Yoga is a therapeutic, slow-paced form of yoga where postures are held passively with the support of props for longer periods of time (1-10 minutes) to move into our connective tissue and activate sensation to release and open more deeply. The interplay of music and deep fascial release encourages discerning awareness within the physical and emotional bodies.
Sacred Journeying
With Matt Muecke and Friends
Third Friday of each month
7:00 - 9:00 pm (90 minute class followed by optional 30 minutes of post-event community)
Please check our schedule for upcoming dates!
Cost: 2 Credits
Join Matt Muecke and friends for a monthly 90-minute in-person offering that allows space for deeper engagement in conversation with the body-mind, spirit, soul, and psyche through breathwork, meditation, gentle movement, the practices of Yin, and Savasana exploration. This journey will be accompanied by a variety of live and recorded music offerings with the musical stylings of Bryce Kastning of Sound Journeying Meditations, and vocal stylings of Seth Currier. Following the practice, time and space will be available for reflection, conversation, and the support of coming together in community.
Yin & Live Healing Cello Vibrations
Yin Yoga guided by Kyle Leia Heyesen : Cello performed by Rebecca James Alsum
One Thursday per Month
7:00 - 8:15 pm
Please check our schedule for upcoming dates!
Cost: 2 Credits
Yin Yoga is a therapeutic, slow-paced form of yoga where postures are held passively with the support of props for longer periods of time (1-10 minutes) to move into our connective tissue and activate sensation to release and open more deeply. Live cello provides deep, resonate healing vibrations that gently break-up long-held tensions encouraging your physical body to soften and release. The soothing sounds of live cello offer comfort and calm, encouraging you to turn inward and explore your inner landscape, helping you connect with yourself more deeply. This beautiful coupling of Yin and healing cello vibrations may awaken new awareness, insight, inner-connection (mind-body-spirit), and transformation.
Into the Night
Sacred Music with Kristy Marie Nur Jehan and The Way Of The Heart Crew
One Friday per month
7:00 - 9:00 pm
Please check our schedule for upcoming dates!
Cost: 2 Credits
Join Kristy Marie and friends for an evening deep dive into a 2-hour participatory musical offering. These nights will be full of experiential unity as we come together from all paths, many lineages, and all directions to share a moment together in song and great heart.
We will be engaging in universal Kirtan, dances of universal peace, and a deep dive into the Sufi practice of Zikr. These practices encourage sovereignty while sharing space with others, and no experience is necessary—it is forever and always a practice, not a performance. Kirtan is a more sedentary, sonic experience, while the dances of universal peace and Zikr are more of a guided, moving, and harmonizing meditation. The vibrations of our voices coming together help to dissolve the barriers between us and our hearts, and our hearts alongside all other hearts.
Honoring the Ruhaniat Lineage
The Ruhaniat is a world-wide spiritual family, walking in the footsteps of Murshid Samuel Lewis (our founder), and of Hazrat Inayat Khan, his teacher, who brought "The Sufi Message of Spiritual Liberty" from India to the West in 1910. Our stated mission is, "helping individuals unfold their highest spiritual purpose, manifest their essential inner being, and live harmoniously with others, with the hope of relieving human suffering and contributing to the awakening of all of humankind".
Workshop Cancelation Policy
Cancellation up to 48 hours prior to the workshop will be refunded less a 10% Administrative Fee. Cancellation 24-48 hours prior to the workshop receives a 50% refund. Cancellation less than 24 hours prior or a no-show receives no refund.
Other Svälja Yoga Offerings
Classes
Visit class descriptions to learn about our variety of styles of trauma conscious yoga, kirtan, fitness classes, and more; or if are ready to register for classes, visit the weekly class schedule.
Deeper Study
Looking for a way to dive deeper into your yoga journey? Svälja Yoga hosts dozens of certification programs which provide a wide breadth of opportunities. To view these, go to the top of our website and hover over Deeper Study to discover the wide array of deeper study opportunities for growth, development, and transformation.
We also offer Yoga Teacher Training Programs — 250 hr (for 200 hr certification) and +300 hr (for 500 hr certification).