Dear friends,
Here it is, the details about a most unique adventure.
Please share with friends and e-mail lists. I appreciate your help in getting the word out.
As always, if you'd prefer to be removed from this list, just let me know.
Judy Piazza
248-563-0049
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RESONANCE, RHYTHMS, & MAYAN GODDESS STUDY
on the YUCATAN PENINSULA
WITH JUDY PIAZZA
And Special Guest Teacher
MIGUEL ANGEL VERGARA CALLEROS
February 24 through March 4, 2007
For women and men
I am delighted to offer this unique, incredible journey to the Yucatan Peninsula!
We'll explore, study, and experience the sacred sites, some of Earth’s most powerful places, in order to catalyze and amplify our own eco-spiritual consciousnesss. We'll go deeper in experience of the power of sound, mantra (sound formulas for optimal health, vitality, love, and joy), chant, and rhythm (tar, tambourine, kanjira, and djembe ... see registration form). We'll study the Maya Goddess cosmology, symbolism, and practices with Miguel Angel, a well-respected and most knowledgeable Maya Cultural Educator. And we'll breathe, swim, relax, swing in a hammock, shop, indulge in life’s great beauty, be filled with gratitude, joy, devotion, and love.
I have been working with Trudy of Iluminado Tours for many months
to create the best experience possible.
It is with confidence and excitement that I invite you to join us on the Yucatan!
ITINERARY (Subject to change as necessary or desired)
Sat. Feb. 24: Arrive Cancun (Please try to arrive by 2 pm) and transfer to Genesis Eco Retreat Center, Ek Balam.
(See www.genesisretreat.com) Welcoming dinner with an introduction by Miguel Angel followed by an opening circle, orientation, and music with Judy.
(Overnight Genesis, D)
Sun. Feb. 25: 7:30 am: A drum meditation with Miguel Angel on the Mayan Sacred Female Forces
8:00 am: Breakfast followed by sessions with Miguel Angel on:
- The Maya sacred books
- The origin of the Maya Goddesses
- The sacred Maya Goddesses and their symbolism
1:00 pm: lunch, swim, walk, hammock time!
2:30 pm:
- Maya Meditations with the Maya spiritual Goddesses
- Maya mantras to connect with your inner spiritual goddess
6:00: Free time, optional artisans walk into village of Ek Balam.
7:30: dinner followed by a circle of sharing, rhythms & songs in temazcal (Maya ceremonial lodge).
(overnight Genesis, Ek Balam) B, L & D
Mon. Feb. 26: 7:30 am: Mantra & Sound Session in temazcal (ceremonial lodge) with Judy
8:15 am: Breakfast
9 am: Sessions with Miguel Angel on:
- Maya Priestesses and their spiritual functions
- Maya women healers and their use of sacred energies to heal
- Maya women shamans and their techniques to awake the spirit
1:00 pm: Lunch break followed by sessions with Miguel Angel on:
- Maya women astronomers, artists, philosophers, etc.
- Maya sacred chants, music and dances
5:00 pm: free time
7:30: dinner followed by a circle of sharing, rhythms, & songs.
(overnight Genesis, Ek Balam) B, L & D
Tues. Feb. 27: 8:00 am: Breakfast
9:00 am: Depart for the sacred site of Ek Balam (Black Jaguar). This site was inhabited as early as 400 BC. It is an incredible, little-known site, with well preserved architecture, statues, and glyphs. This morning we will be working with the elements of the earth: WATER, WIND, FIRE, AND ETHER. Miguel Angel will teach us and give us time to practice a series of thirteen movements from Maya, Yoga, and Tibetan exercises to connect with the energy of these elements.
We will have our closing ceremony with Miguel Angel on the site before departing for Valladolid, where we will have lunch, say goodbye to Miguel Angel and then stay in Valladolid to enjoy this beautiful colonial city and do some shopping.
We’ll have a late afternoon swim at the cenote (sacred well) Ikil and then head to Coba. Dinner at the hotel in Coba.
Free night for catching up on sleep, journaling, etc. (overnight Coba) B, L & D
Wed. Feb. 28: Breakfast
Tour the sacred site of Coba with a local guide. Coba (“Water Stirred by Wind”) is a quiet and impressive site, known for its Nohoc Mul pyramid, the tallest in the Yucatan at over 126 feet. The steep climb up the 120 steps is rewarding! You’ll be in the jungle, an exquisite setting. (See www.mayasites.com/coba.html)
We’ll practice some of the Maya mantras here, and have a sound session.
Time to explore ruins and reflect on our own.
Late Lunch in Coba
4-6, Instructional drum session. (Overnight at Coba)
B, L & D
Thurs. Mar. 1: Breakfast
Morning Mantras and Sound Session
Depart for the site of Tulum, an incredible ancient Oceanside Maya site. Recent research indicates that Tulum was a pilgrimage site for Maya women on their way to the holy island of Cozumel. We’ll tour with a knowledgeable local guide. There will be personal time at this site and also rhythms and chants, honoring the ocean spirits. (See www.sacredsites.com/americas/mexico/tulum.html)
Lunch at Acumal, a lovely spot on the way to Cozumel
Travel to Cozumel by ferry, an island that served as an ancient pilgrimage site for the Maya goddess Ixcheel.
Late afternoon Drum Instructional Session in Cozumel
Dinner followed by free time, rhythms & songs if we wish.
(Overnight at Cozumel) B, L, D
Fri. Mar. 2: Breakfast
Morning Mantra & Sound Session
Free day at Cozumel! Transportation can be easily arranged at low rates.
Lunch and Dinner on your own
4 – 6 Drumming Instructional Session, at hotel.
Dinner on your own
Open Rhythm & Song on the beach, optional.
(Overnight at Cozumel) B
Sat. Mar. 3: Breakfast
Morning Mantra & Sound Session
Visit to the Ixcheel Sanctuary, San Gervasio, the place where thousands of Mayan women gathered to worship goddess Ixcheel, creator of medicine and textiles, grantor of fertility, and protector of childbirth and pilgrims. Ixcheel is associated with the moon. This site dates from 100 BC to 1600 AD. (See www.cozumelparks.com)
Late Lunch
Free Time
4 – 6 Drumming Instructional Session
7:00 : Closing dinner together followed by a final circle of sharing, rhythms & songs. (Overnight at Cozumel) B, L & D
Sun. Mar. 4: Breakfast
Depart for Cancun airport (make your reservations later than noon). B
FEES:
$1,475 with $500 deposit by December 1, balance paid in full by January 15
$1,625 for registration after December 1, with balance paid in full by January 15
Fee DOES NOT include airfare. YOU WILL NEED A PASSPORT TO ENTER MEXICO. They have recently changed the laws regarding this.
Fees Include:
All lodging
All meals except on March 2, breakfast and lunch on your own.
All taxes and gratuities.
All ground transportation between airport and all sites that are listed in itinerary. (Other ground transportation is available during free time for very low rates)
Workshop time with Miguel Angel and Judy Piazza
Miguel’s new book on the Maya Goddesses
Judy’s CD of chants and handouts
All site entry fees and guide service as noted in itinerary.
All services provided by Iluminado Tours
See information on payment methods below in the registration form.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
If tuition is paid in full, a refund of 90% less a $75 handling fee will be issued if cancellation is received in writing by January 15, 2007. If notice of cancellation of interest is received in writing by December 15, 95% of your deposit and any other moneys collected will be refunded less a $75 handling fee. There is no refund if cancellation is received after January 15 except in emergency situations.
Accomodations:
Based on double or triple occupancy. Please let me know if you would like to room with a particular person. Inquire about possibility of single room at some sites. Our accommodations will be clean, simple to nicer, sometimes thatched roof dwellings, in keeping with the nature of this trip as much as possible.
BIOGRAPHIES:
Master Miguel Angel Vergara Calleros
Miguel Angel Vergara studied for 17 years with Mayan elder, Don Vicente
Martin, who was a wisdom keeper, professional teacher and artist. Miguel
Angel is a Maya Master and teaches seminars in Mexico and abroad on Mayan
astronomy, philosophy, calendar, glyphs and symbols, medicine, cosmovision,
traditions and prayers, ceremonies and healing. He is author of several books
on the Maya, and has just completed a book about the Uxmal and the Maya
goddesses “The Maya Goddesses and Their Sacred Symbolism.” He was the
director of Chichen Itza for four years, and is considered the world’s
foremost authority on this great sacred site.
Miguel conducts tours to the
Mayan sacred sites so that people can experience first hand the powerful
activating energies of those areas. His knowledge and experience makes the
journeys come alive as you begin to understand how the messages were
imprinted, what the glyphs mean, what uses the buildings had and how
ceremonies were conducted. His teachings help us to understand Maya symbols
from a true perspective. We are ready to hear again what the Mayans
taught, and we are ready, once again, to enter into a cosmic view of reality.
Miguel Angel teaches in a heart-centered style that connects rapidly and profoundly with his audience. Those who experience him realize they are in the presence of a master and are being given an extraordinary gift.
Find out more atwww.iluminadotours.com
Judy Piazza
Judy is an extraordinarily talented woman inspired, studied, and caught up in sound traditions near and far. She has been exploring music and sound for forty years, and is well-respected and loved as educator, music therapist, performer (solo as well as with Ubaka Hill’s Shapeshifters, Repercussions, Yatra, and Ann Arbor Kirtan), workshop presenter and recording artist. Although initially a singer/songwriter, rhythm and voice now guides her fascination and fires her passion creatively and musically. Judy plays drums from around the world (including tar, riqq, bodhran, kanjira, daf, tambourine, djembe, doumbek...), alternative dulcimer, didgeridoo, native flute, and guitar, lacing vocal and songstyles in unique soundscapes and rhythmsongs ... Resonance & Rhythms that excite the spirit, calm the mind, expand the heart, and feed the body.
Judy has travelled to Peru, Brazil, Central America, India, and Japan to study and experience the rhythmic and vocal traditions of indigenous peoples there, or to teach/perform. She has studied with distinguished teachers in the States and abroad including Glen Velez, Russill Paul, Ganesh Kumar, Silvia Nakkach, Ubaka Hill, Nikolai, Luz Clara. She facilitates frame drum workshops, rhythm and song circles, Sound Energetics workshops, Earth Rhythm & Songs school assemblies, and interactive performances for all ages to nurture community as well as to communicate gentle yet powerful messages regarding relationships to our self, each other, and to our Earth.
Find out more at www.resonanceandrhythms.com
REGISTRATION FORM
Name____________________________________________________________________
Address__________________________________________________________________
Phone_________________________ Cell____________________ E-mail______________
Emergency Contact__________________________________________________________
What drums will you bring, and how would you describe your level of rhythm and drum experience? (Drum instruction will be focused on frame drums, including tar, tambourine, and kanjira, and djembe, depending on what people will be bringing. All participants must bring their own drum(s). Other small percussion instruments will be available, but you are also free to bring your own!)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Flight Information (please provide as soon as you have it)
Airlines__________________________________ Flight No.________________________
Arrival Time into Cancun (Saturday, February 24; close to 2 pm as possible)_____________________
Departure Time (Sunday, March 4; after 12 noon) __________________
Send your registration form and $500 deposit or full payment to:
Judy Piazza, 2555 Waters Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103