Fall at Holds the Moon Quan Yin Water Temple
“This is the stone,
drenched with rain
that points the way.”
—Santoka, PZI Miscellaneous Koans
What is it like to be drenched in your own life?
To be a stone?
To have the way? To point to it, notice it, lose it, gain it? To be the way itself?
What is the way?
Greetings, beloved community!
Blessed equinox, eclipse, and waxing moon season from us here at Holds the Moon, what a full summer it was!
We were very pleased to host our first group since our phase one completion of our Zendo renovation this past Sunday for our Clarity, Consent & Curiosity workshop. We followed that with a beautiful community fire, float and potluck gathering for the equinox and marked this potent turning of the season. Our little community of aquatic bodywork practitioners and dance/movement group facilitators continues growing. Our Zen teacher Steven Grant blessed our temple community on our sixth anniversary in July and so much change and transformation has continued to unfold here since.
Thank you all for your generous sharing of resources, time and energy to make this all possible. Keep doing what you do.
We look forward to seeing you all here again soon, please see our new Zendo sitting meditation schedule and new aquatic offerings, below.
-James Jishin Anthony & seh-reum tom, Temple Co-stewards
FALL EVENTS
beginner contact jam series *NEW
Every 3rd Monday, starting October 20th
This space welcomes those new to aquatic dance to learn the basics of warm water contact improv and begin to develop familiarity and attunement in the water with guidance from experienced aquatic dancers and facilitators. Each session will be guided by rotating facilitators from Holds the Moon and visiting guest teachers.
$30-$70 sliding scale (NOTAFLOF)
Venmo @ThreeSistersPool
6-6:30pm: Arrival/Opening
6:30-7:30pm: Class
7:30-8:30pm: Jam
8:30-9pm: Closing/Departure
intermediate-advanced water contact lab series *NEW
Every 1st Monday, starting November 3rd
This experimental lab space welcomes aquatic dancers with existing experience to focus on specific research themes in warm water contact improv with guidance from experienced aquatic dancers and facilitators. Each session will be guided by rotating facilitators from Holds the Moon and visiting guest teachers.
$30-$70 sliding scale (NOTAFLOF)
Venmo @ThreeSistersPool
6-6:30pm: Arrival/Opening
6:30-8:30pm: Lab
8:30-9pm: Closing/Departure
pouring in: a birthworkers aquatic circle *NEW
Every 3rd Wednesday, starting October 15th
this is a space open to non-aquatic birthwork practitioners (doulas, midwives, nurses, etc) to be held in the water in a circle of peer support, facilitated by a group of rotating aquatic dance and bodywork practitioners and facilitators who have backgrounds in birthwork
~a space to fill your own cup~
$40 (NOTAFLOF)
6-9pm
weekly sitting meditation (dry-land)
EVERY TUESDAY · 6-7:30 PM in the Zendo*
Sitting meditation with James in the Pacific Zen Institute style: some simple instruction, a koan for the group, some silent meditation, and then some conversation and the four vows. We will be gathering in person and virtually joining David Weinsteins’s weekly zoom Koan meditation group. (www.pacificzen.org)
by donation
water babies: a monthly queer circle
OCTOBER 2, NOVEMBER 6 · 7-10 PM
Intro to Aquatic Peer-to-Peer Bodywork Class (Triad Round)
EVERY SATURDAY · 10 AM-1 PM
age 55+ Intro to Aquatic Peer-to-Peer Bodywork Class (Triad Round)
EVERY TUESDAY · 10AM-1PM
ancestors returning: a monthly BIPOC/PGM circle
OCTOBER 17, (break in November) · 6-9 PM
OPEN TO ALL Water Dragon Sangha Silent Floating Meditation (free/dana based)
SEPTEMBER 28 · 9-10 AM
A silent floating meditation space with minimal facilitation and dharma sharing at the end
QTBIPOC/PGM Water Dragon Sangha Silent Floating Meditation (free/dana based)
NOVEMBER 9 · 9-10 AM
A silent floating meditation space with minimal facilitation and dharma sharing at the end
the water knows us: a monthly QTBIPOC/PGM circle
OCTOBER 16, (break in November) · 7:30-10 PM
clarity, consent & curiosity: aquatic container culture & care pt. 1
NOVEMBER 8, JANUARY 18 · 2-5 PM
*while this is a workshop offered as a requirement for new facilitators & practitioners before sharing their practice here in the temple, it is also open to any participants who are interested in embodied consent practices within aquatic work
please take part 1 before taking part 2
(This workshop is influenced and inspired by the Wheel of Consent® as developed by Dr. Betty Martin. We have trained with the School of Consent and have permission to share these practices, but are not yet certified facilitators. For more information visit www.schoolofconsent.org.)
clarity, consent & curiosity: aquatic container culture & care pt. 2
OCTOBER 18, DECEMBER 13· 2-5 PM
*while this is a workshop offered as a requirement for new facilitators & practitioners before sharing their practice here in the temple, it is also open to any participants who are interested in embodied consent practices within aquatic work
please take part 1 before taking part 2
(This workshop is influenced and inspired by the Wheel of Consent® as developed by Dr. Betty Martin. We have trained with the School of Consent and have permission to share these practices, but are not yet certified facilitators. For more information visit www.schoolofconsent.org.)
PRACTITIONER/FACILITATOR SPOTLIGHT!
(each newsletter we highlight one of the aquatic practitioners or facilitators in our community directory)
Rahul (he/they)
Within the aquatic realm, Rahul (he/they) loves warm water contact improvisation and giving / receiving aquatic bodywork. His approach to aquatic bodywork is influenced by Aguahara (Level 1 training in Fall 2024 & Level 2 in Spring 2025), contact improvisation dance, and a spiritual support group - inviting elements of deep listening, softness, and gentle curiosity. He also organizes & facilitates a monthly warm water contact improvisation dance lab. Outside of the aquatic world, Rahul is an organizer, teacher, & performer of contact improvisation in Berkeley.
To book, please email Rahul at rahul.madanahalli@gmail.com
COMING SOON !
Keep an eye out for more offerings emerging this season including a Grief Circle, a Post-Ceremony Somatic Integration Support Circle, and an offering combining the Art of Circling® with aquatic work
Sessions
For 1:1, 2:2, or 2:1 aquatic bodywork sessions, you may book with James and Seh-reum here on Acuity
If you are interested in receiving discounted sessions from student practitioners, or if you yourself are a new practitioner interested in joining our practice groups, or for general inquiries, please fill out our google form here.
We are diligently working toward our goals for this year and are open to receiving community support toward them:
to continue making the temple more accessible for community members with mobility access needs, including remodeling the garage to have an accessible bathroom and kitchen, and to be an expanded dry-land temple gathering meditation space, apothecary & teahouse;
getting grant funding to subsidize our discounted community offerings and worktrade program to continue to make the pool more financially accessible;
supporting training for those who historically have had less access to aquatic work;
updating & developing community accountability, safety, emergency preparedness protocols
urban beekeeping and further care for the temple garden
Many hands & hearts make this work possible and we thank you for supporting us in all the ways you do! We welcome donations to help us sustain our work in the seasons to come so we can continue to offer this as a sacred space of refuge in these times of great collective uncertainty and possibility.
with love,
Seh-reum & James at Holds the Moon Temple
