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Calendar of Events
Events for September
From 09/06/2010 to 09/12/2010
Nia Week
Nia is a body-mind-spirit program incorporating cardiovascular fitness through kinesthetic dance/movement patterns. Nia blends Eastern and Western movements including Yoga, martial arts, dance, Tai chi, and Aikido. Join us September 6-12 with special guest Nia instructors Joanie Brooks (pictured), Gary Koutcher MD, and Lyn Koutcher.
Nia classes are designed to make it easy for everybody to step right in, at any age, level, or experience. Masterful at guiding people to move, trained Nia teachers specialize in providing a transformative movement experience and a strong connection to music.
Tuesday, September 7 and Wednesday, September 8
Nia Dance with Special Guest Nia Instructor: Joanie BrooksJoanie Brooks is a nationally certified Nia Black-Belt & Nia 5 Stages of Healing instructor, & has been teaching Nia since 1994. Her classes focus on developing student's self-awareness & body wisdom through movement to promote fitness, strength, power, creativity & personal growth. Her mission is to share the joy of Nia & to help others reclaim their body's natural way of moving. "As a teacher of Nia, joy of movement and truly caring for people are my motivations. I believe we are as young as our spirit allows us to be.
It is through an open mind and a true connection to joy that we can free, strengthen and heal our body, mind and spirit. Nia has awakened my inner child, and has made me feel timeless, ageless and weightless. I now stay fit by dancing, laughing, skipping and playing on the floor."
In addition to her Nia classes, Joanie offers Nia workshops, presentations, and has used Nia in therapy groups and with cancer rehab patients. She also offers personalized 1 on 1 sessions on the principles and practice of Nia for students and Nia teachers at her home studio.
Thursday, September 9 - Saturday, September 11
Moving with Poise with Special Guests Gary and Lyn KoutcherAlexander Technique & Nia These classes will help you to discover a more natural, a more delicious way of moving your body in Nia classes as well as the through the rest of your day Using the discoveries of F.M. Alexander, we will experience what it means to dance with a spine that is free and unencumbered by our ideas of how it should be. We will move with the head leading our body into space and rediscover our length and elegance. Come learn the essence of the Alexander Technique, one of the 9 movement forms in Nia, with Gary Koutcher MD and Lyn Koutcher.
Gary Koutcher MD has been involved in many facets of the healing arts for the past 30 years trying to understand what is it that makes a person healthy as well as happy. He has practiced emergency medicine in New York for many years, and served on a mobile hospital that treated at no charge, the indigenous people of Western India. He has explored the fields of acupuncture and homeopathy and is also an avid meditator who has lived in ashrams for 25 years (Yoga residential communities) both in the U.S. and Asia.
Starting in 2003, Gary along with his wife Lyn, took a 3 year teacher training course in the Alexander Technique, a method that helps a person discover the natural ease that is inherent in the body and that is often been masked by tension and fears. Gary is happy to have discovered that this poise and elegant way of moving never really disappears and can be brought out of hiding and back into one’s everyday life. He would like to share what he’s found, with you.
From 09/13/2010 to 09/19/2010
The Culinary Experience: September 2010
Learn the secrets of preparing and enjoying deliciously healthy food and take part of the Lake Austin Spa Resort experience home with you! This month's special guest chef is the Food Network's Sara Moulton and Bryce Murphree.
Monday, September 13
Cooking Sessions with Special Guest Chef: Sara MoultonSara Moulton is one of the most trusted names in the food biz. As the host of “Cooking Live,” “Cooking Live Primetime,” and “Sara’s Secrets” between 1996 and 2005, she was a founding Food Network personality.
She’s been Food Editor of ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” since 1997. In the spring of 2008, she hosted “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” for public television. Sara was Gourmet’s executive chef from 1987 until the magazine was shuttered in October of 2009. She is the author of Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals and Sara Moulton Cooks at Home. Her next cookbook, Sara’s Everyday Family Dinners, will be published by Simon & Schuster in the spring of 2010.
Friday, September 17
Special Guest Chef Bryce MurphreeBryce Murphree is the opening Executive Chef of The Westin Austin at the Domain and its restaurant, Urban an American Grill. A native Texan, Bryce strongly believes in buying the freshest ingredients available and using local products and sources whenever possible. Respect is another culinary ideal Chef Murphree strives to live up to. "If you respect your ingredients and respect the culinary techniques and processes involved, you cannot help but achieve great results." Chef Murphree incorporates these beliefs into an oft changing, seasonal menu at Urban. "Our food is straightforward and unpretentious; a return to comfort food, but redefined." Prior to joining The Westin Austin at the Domain, Chef Bryce held positions as Chef de Cuisine of the Omni La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio, Executive Chef of Lakeway Resort and Spa, and Chef de Cuisine of The Hotel Crescent Court and Crescent Club in Dallas. Before that he spent over seven years cooking at the Little Nell Hotel in Aspen, CO.
From 09/20/2010 to 09/21/2010
Feng Shui Style with Billy Yamaguchi - September 2010
Feng Shui Style with Feng Shui Hair Stylist Billy Yamaguchi - Billy Yamaguchi will be speaking and available for private appointments on September 20 and September 21.
As president and co-owner of Yamaguchi Enterprises, Billy Yamaguchi has developed a series of salons that offer unsurpassed services in luxurious settings in multiple California locations. The salons truly exemplify the holistic principles that guide his vision of beauty. Billy combines the elements of Feng Shui and Western tradition of hair design into an entirely innovative approach to beauty and harmony.
Billy has participated in countless fashion shows, photo and make-up shoots and television commercials. He is one of the spokespersons for Schwarzkopf, Inc., a renowned hair color manufacturer, and he has conducted educational classes and led seminars and workshops throughout the United States and abroad.
Billy is the author of Yamaguchi Feng Shui: The Art & Science of Color Formulation for the salon professionals, as well as Billy Yamaguchi Feng Shui Beauty.
Recognized as a "Holistic Hair Artist" by Town and Country and as a "Feng Shui Artist" by Bridge Magazine, USA, his work as also been showcased in Salon Today, Modern Salon, American Salon, and Hairspa. Billy has made numerous appearances on national and international television shows: ABC News, KCAL News, CBS News, CNN, KNBC, E! Entertainment, Style Network, Behind the Scenes on Showtime, Rikki Lake, Life Time Channel's New Attitudes, Fuji TV, Early Morning Show on Tokyo TV, CBS Early Morning Show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and the Dr. Phil Show.
09/25/2010
For the Love of Books Club: Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal, Julie Metz
Join us each month for a wine and cheese book chat as we host great guest authors in a lively discussion about all things literary and not so literary. Authors and guests have fun discussing the writing process, exchanging titles, sharing informal book reviews and debating about wireless reading devices! September's featured book is Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal, by Julie Metz.
"Heart-wrenching but triumphant." --Glamour
"A lyrical, haunting, and utterly gripping memoir." --Redbook
"A fascinating memoir." --People
"A delectable summer read." --USA Today
Julie Metz is a writer, graphic designer, and artist. In addition to Perfection she has written essays and commentary for publications including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Hemispheres, Glamour, and mrbellersneighborhood. She received a MacDowell Fellowship in 2008 where she completed work on Perfection and began work on a novel. Julie lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.
(Photo credit: SIGRID ESTRADA)
From 09/27/2010 to 10/03/2010
Gardening for Life Week: September 2010
Join us September 27-October 3, 2010 for Gardening for Life Week to pick up many useful gardening tips.Monday, September 27
Gardening In the 21st Century with Nan Booth Simpson
Nan Booth Simpson, a fifth-generation Texan, is a landscape architect who specializes in residential garden design. She has worked on projects throughout the United States, and has spent much of her career writing about gardens. She co-authored The Texas Garden Resource Book and served as a consultant to Practical Guide to Garden Design in the Time-Life Complete Gardener series. She has contributed to such journals as Southern Living, Southern Accents, Landscape Architecture, Garden Design and currently writes feature articles for Wildflower, the national quarterly of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Her latest books Texas Gardening for the 21st Century and The Texas Garden Resource Book.
Garden Crafts with Trisha Shirey
Make and take something home!
Tuesday, September 28
Composting 101 with Dietitian: Terry Shaw
At least 24% of our waste stream, such as yard trimmings & food residue, can be composted. The composted material provides nutrients & helps retain moisture for your lawn & landscape. Composting can be done on a non smelly small scale for the condo dweller, or on a larger scale for the suburban yard. Come learn the basics & alternatives.
Why Buy Organic? with Dietitian Terry Shaw
We often wonder if the extra cost of organic food will really benefit us.
We will identify the “dirty dozen”, foods that are important to choose organic. We’ll explore the success of organics in the U.S. and the environmental impact of not supporting the organic industry.
Southwestern Specialties Cooking Session With Special Guest: Cheryl Jamison
Cheryl returns with a menu of seasonal Southwestern specialties, hot off the grill. More families grill year-round and, in many parts of the country, fall is a better season for outdoor cooking than the heat of summer. You’ll get a full helping of Cheryl insider tips on ingredients, equipment, and entertaining.
Great Ideas for Outdoor Kitchens and Other Outdoor Rooms With Special Guest: Cheryl Jamison
Cheryl Jamison may be best known as the four-time James Beard award-winning author of thoroughly researched books on outdoor cooking, equipment, and entertaining. She also consults on the planning, design, and furnishing of outdoor kitchens and other outdoor living areas. She’ll discuss trends and show great examples of outdoor kitchens and other outdoor rooms, and discuss how you can create an outdoor space that fits your budget while expanding the style and comfort of your home.
Wednesday, September 29
Garden Tour with Trisha Shirey
Take a tour of Lake Austin Spa Resort’s award-winning organic gardens with original landscaper and head gardener Trisha Shirey.
Intro to Organic Gardening with Trisha Shirey
Everything you always wanted to learn about organic gardening; fertilizing, bed preparation, raised bed gardens, mulching, intensive planting techniques, composting, cover crops and pest control will be covered. Bring your garden questions or problems and we will address those also.
Thursday, September 30
Eating From the Garden: Fresh Pestos and Salsas with Terry Shaw
Watch Terry whip these up and then you can do the fresh taste test!
All About Herbs with Terry Shaw
Herbs provide flavor and health benefits. Our perennial favorite, oregano, provides strong protection against viral infections. Fresh herbs generally provide more flavor and health benefits, but some are effective in the dried form. In this class, you will enjoy scents from the garden and learn how they can be used.
Friday, October 1
Roses with Personality with Special Guest Speaker: Molly GlentzerWith apologies to Gertrude Stein, a rose is not just a rose – especially when it has a name like "Duchesse de Brabant" or "Lamarque." It’s a plant with a vivid personality and history. Molly Glentzer, the author of Pink Ladies & Crimson Gents: Portraits and Legends of 50 Roses, offers an entertaining look at some favorite old garden varieties, challenging you to view them - and your ideas about gardening - from a fresh perspective. Books will be available for sale, and Molly will be happy to sign them.
Saturday, October 2
Garden Inspirations with Special Guest Speaker: Molly GlentzerThink of your garden as a 24-hour party. You're always invited, of course, but the action doesn’t stop when you're busy with the rest of your life.
Flowers open, vegetables produce, insects and other critters do their dances. How much of this magic do you actually see? Gardener and author Molly Glentzer, who is surprised daily by the goings-on in a small urban yard of multiple "rooms," explains how you can enrich your gardening experience.Molly Glentzer, the author of Pink Ladies & Crimson Gents, is a Texas-based writer and gardener. She works full-time as the lifestyle editor of the Houston Chronicle, where she directs fashion, home and garden coverage as well as Gloss, the paper’s monthly luxury lifestyle magazine. She also writes the Digging In blog at the Chronicle’s gardening website, houstongrows.com.
