How do you learn Kabbalah? By reading a book, which gives you a map of the body and soul, or by experiencing the body and soul themselves?

In an Embodied Judaism class, we experience Kabbalistic concepts such as the four souls -- nefesh (earth, life force, flexibility, core balance), ruach (uniting air and water, circulation, chi/chai), neshamah (air, breath), and yechidah (spirit) -- by actually learning to perceive them. True Kabbalah is not about blind faith; it is about experience: enabling the self to receive and express its true nature.

Imagine moving your body in gentle undulations, movements drawn from the modalities of pilates and gyrotonic, synchronized with the breath -- this is the place of ruach. Then imagine a shift to breath-meditation based on the three "mother letters" of the Book of Creation: this is a way to experience neshamah. Embodied Judaism is drawn directly from core teachings of the Kabbalah -- it isn't yoga in a yarmulke. But it also is experiential, real, and vital.

Usually, an Embodied Judaism class is a workout! We learn Kabbalah, but we learn the concepts through our bodies, not just our minds and hearts. We bend, breathe, and balance, and although the spiritual nature of the movement practices will be familiar to students of yoga, we are not confined to a mat. At the same time, Embodied Judaism is accessible to persons of all levels of physical fitness, and is especially beneficial for those with injuries or debilitating physical conditions such as chronic back pain.

Other classes may focus on experiencing the sefirot in the natural world -- Ari and Jay have taken grandmothers rock-scrambling, and teenagers into caves. Or, classes may center around the spirituality of ordinary experience, such as eating or walking. With attention, the thinking mind may become quieted, and the sense of self (the yetzer, or self-centered inclination) can slowly drop, revealing that what you've actually been looking for all this time is actually Who you really are.

Embodied Judaism classes are offered at synagogues, retreat centers, and conferences. They may be incorporated into larger programs -- about the body, or Judaism, or Kabbalah, for example -- or can stand alone. To find out more about booking Ari and Jay to teach, simply send an email with your request by clicking this link.

Retreats....