Yoga with Shawn

Sacred Seasons

A Journey Through the Celtic Wheel of the Year

The Celtic cross-quarter holidays offer us powerful opportunities to align with the rhythms of nature and tap into our inner wisdom. By embracing these seasonal shifts, we can transform our energy and change our lives. At Imbolc, we can harness the power of new beginnings and set intentions for growth and transformation. At Beltane, we can connect with the creative life force within us and awaken our passions. At Lughnasadh, we can celebrate our abundance and harvest the fruits of our labor. And at Samhain, we can honor the cycles of life and death, release what no longer serves us, and invite in new insights and wisdom.

Through the practices of yoga, breathwork, meditation, sound healing, and journaling, we can access deeper states of consciousness and connect with our inner guidance for a more rewarding life. By focusing our thoughts and intentions on these seasonal themes, we can transform our lives and align with our highest potential.

Sessions will include an overview of the Celtic holidays and their significance, as well as the practices and activities outlined below.

We will practice gentle yoga that incorporates movements and postures related to the season and its themes. We will also include breathwork exercises to help participants connect with their body and release tension.

Using various techniques, we will explore the healing power of sound to balance and restore our energy. Participants will have the opportunity to experience the transformative effects of sound and connect with their inner harmony.

We will have guided writing prompts to help participants explore their feelings and intentions related to the season and its themes.

We will have guided Yoga Nidra or Savasana practices to help participants release stress and tension. We will also include visualization exercises to help participants connect with their intentions for the season and release any blockages or obstacles.

We will end each session with a gratitude meditation or visualization to help participants cultivate a sense of abundance and contentment.

We will offer a guided ceremony to honor the corresponding deity and celebrate the season. We will incorporate rituals, such as lighting candles, offering flowers, or creating mandalas to help us connect with the energy of the season and its themes. Participants will also have the opportunity to share any insights or intentions gained during the session, and an invitation to continue incorporating the practices and themes of the season into daily life will be extended.

Offerings

Join Shawn for an 8-week yoga journey

Beltane: Celebration of the Light

Beltane is an ancient Celtic festival, celebrated between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, marking the midpoint of the light half of the year. It is a celebration of vitality, growth, and the return of the sun, honoring the light that awakens and nourishes the flourishing energy of the earth. The word Beltane comes from the Gaelic term Bel (meaning “bright” or “shining”) and tain (meaning “fire”). The growing light encourages growth from the earth, symbolizing the blossoming energy that this season brings. As the sun’s light strengthens, the earth responds with an abundance of life. The celebration honors the power of Bel, the sun god, whose expansive energy brings forth the flourishing of all living things.

Beltane is a time to honor the sun’s return and the vitality it brings. In this practice, we focus on connecting with the potency of light and how it empowers us, guiding our bodies and minds toward a deeper connection with the sun’s nurturing force, and the new growth of the earth. Each week we’ll explore mindful movement, breathwork, and focused attention to harness the transformative energy of the returning light. This practice will guide our bodies and minds toward a deeper connection with the sun’s expansive energy, fostering growth, renewal, and new possibilities within ourselves.

1. Nourished by the Light –Strength and Stability: Building a strong foundation
2. Spring Awakening: Flow practice to align with winter’s thaw and arrival of new life
3. Nurtured by the Light: Tapping into expansion, growth and vitality
4. Welcoming Prosperity and Growth: Cultivating abundance from root to sky
5. Breathing Life into Stillness: Unlocking the power of expression
6. The Dance of Life: Celebrating the sun’s return with movement and joy
7. Opening to Higher Wisdom: Cultivating connection to the divine and the higher self
8. Beltane-Celebration of the Light: Celebration of growth light, and joy

Why join?

This series offers a unique opportunity to connect deeply with the energies of expansion and transformation as we journey through the growing light of the season, awakening the potential within. Through gentle movement, mindful breathwork, and introspective practices we’ll embrace transformation and step into the fullness of who we are, connecting with the sun’s light and its power to draw forth growth. This will help us harness vital energy and explore our own potential. In the series you will gain tools to:

• Navigate life’s challenges with clarity, peace, and intention.
• Deepen your practice by exploring the union of mind, body, and spirit.
• Honor your journey of renewal, tapping into the power of light and the earth’s potential to inspire change and growth.
• Build resilience using the tools and practices from each week to integrate balance, creativity, and intention into your day-to-day life.

Join at either location:

• When: Tuesdays beginning March 4, 2025
• Location: Illuminations Studio
• Time: 9:00 - 10:15 AM
• Register at Illuminations HERE

• When: Wednesdays beginning March 5, 2025
• Location: Holistic Wellness and Psychiatry
• Time: 5:30 - 6:45 PM
• Register at Holistic Wellness HERE

While classes follow a series format, you are welcome to join at any time.

The Path of Transformation – A Weekend of Reflection, Renewal, and Connection at Prairiewoods

We are all carrying questions we can’t answer in our daily lives and throughout life, we encounter cycles of change, challenge, and new insights that challenge us to grow beyond what we know. Whether facing a life transition, seeking clarity, or deepening self-understanding, these moments invite us to step beyond our current experience and become something greater. The Path of Transformation Retreat offers space to explore personal transformation through movement, ritual, reflection, and connection to the natural world-guided by traditional pattens of mind/body/spirit evolution.

Incorporating yoga, meditation, eco-therapy practices, ritual, and self-inquiry, we will follow a four-stage journey inspired by universal patterns of revelation and growth—moving from challenge to clarity, uncertainty to insight, and separation to wholeness. Rooted in ancient wisdom and practical tools for modern life, this retreat offers a supportive space to navigate personal shifts and move forward with greater purpose.

This retreat is structured around four stages of transformation integrating the ancient wisdom of alchemy, The Hero’s Journey as expressed in the Ho-Chunk storytelling tradition and the cyclical teachings of balance and direction reflected in the Native American medicine wheel. Each stage will be explored through yoga sessions, guided reflection, ritual, and eco-therapy, offering both embodied and contemplative experiences to support deep transformation and integration.

Whether you seek physical strength, emotional balance, or spiritual insight, this weekend retreat will serve as a sanctuary for reflection, growth, and authentic self-expression. Give yourself the space to pause, breathe and leave feeling restored, inspired, and reconnected to the wisdom within.

No prior experience is necessary, all are welcome.

Prairiewoods
120 East Boyson Road
Hiawatha, IA 52233

• When: Friday, September 05, 6:30 PM - Sunday, September 07, 11:00 AM
• Location: Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center
• Register at Prariewoods HERE

Ancient Wisdom Speaks to the Modern Warrior

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About

Meet Shawn

As a dedicated yoga instructor, healer, nature lover, and lifelong learner, I offer a unique blend of movement, mindfulness, Jungian-focused work, and a profound connection to the natural world in my practice and offerings. My own healing journey began with a deep-rooted love for nature, which I nurtured through the years. This deep connection to the land and natural rhythms has informed my approach to health and well-being, believing that true health begins through harmony with the natural world and its rhythms to help reveal our authentic self.

Rooted in ancient wisdom with a profound love for humanity, my work is about creating a space where individuals can reconnect with themselves, each other, and the deeper currents of life that unite us all. Drawing on mythological stories, seasonal rhythms, grounding rituals, and nature's elements, I offer a journey that goes beyond typical wellness practices, inviting you to release what no longer serves and rediscover the core of your true self. This is a path for personal growth-a way of reclaiming resilience, finding purpose, and embracing a sense of belonging. Each element of this approach serves as a bridge between the past and present, grounding us in something greater than ourselves. By empowering the cultivation of awareness, resilience, and authentic connections, we plant seeds of transformation that reach beyond the ego-self, nurturing more mindfulness, presence, and compassion for a more fulfilling, connected, and peaceful life.

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Contact

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Thank you

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