Breema Bodywork & Nervous System Reset Weekend in Santa Cruz, California

The teaching here is hands-on and unglamorous in the best way. You pair up and take turns giving and receiving bodywork sequences on a padded floor, learning how to lean, hold a limb, and move someone's arm without straining your own back. Between partner rounds you do Self-Breema — a set of solo movements you can run through at home in ten minutes. The Nine Principles of Harmony are the language the instructors use to correct what you're doing: if you're forcing, they'll tell you; if your mind has wandered off, they'll tell you that too. It's a small, quiet practice rather than a workout, though you'll be on the floor a lot and using your legs and core to support your partner's weight.

Alexandra Johnson is the main draw for a lot of attendees. She's an MD — Family Medicine trained at the University of Colorado, with an obstetrics fellowship and teaching posts at Colorado and Addis Ababa University — who now runs an integrative and functional medicine practice in Oakland and Santa Cruz. She uses Breema in her clinic, particularly for perimenopause and hormones, gut issues, chronic fatigue, burnout, and nervous system regulation. She was featured in the 2016 film Why Not Home? talking about physiologic birth. She's been a Breema practitioner and instructor for over 25 years.

Jon Schreiber, who directs the Breema Center and Clinic in Oakland, has been teaching Breema since 1980 and has written several books on it. He presents at medical, psychology, and bodywork conferences. Kevin Johnson also instructs and has been studying Breema for over 20 years. Between them there's a lot of accumulated teaching experience in the room, and class sizes are small enough that you get hands-on corrections rather than watching from the back.

Hummingbird Valley itself is the other half of the appeal. It's at 1690 Glen Canyon Road in the Santa Cruz mountains, a few minutes off Highway 17 at the Mount Hermon exit, surrounded by redwoods. There's a pool, a hot tub, and a bathhouse with a sauna on the main property, plus a shared kitchen in the Guest House. It's roughly 30 miles from San Jose Mineta International Airport and 60 from SFO. You'll want a car, or to arrange an Uber, Lyft, or shuttle.

The area around the property has hiking trails, ecstatic dance, contact improv, live music, and yoga classes if you want to fill the gaps between workshops. Most people drive in for dinner in Santa Cruz or Felton.

What's included

- 2 nights accommodation (Private Room at Guest House, Private Room at Clinic, Shared Vintage Trailers, or Camping) - All four Breema workshops (Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon, Sunday morning and afternoon) - Friday evening open house with mini-Breema bodywork sessions - Complimentary water, tea, and snacks during class - Access to Shared Kitchen in the Guest House - Access to pool and hot tub - Access to Bathhouse with sauna - Wi-Fi in the Guest House and Clinic

What's not included

- Meals (shared kitchen and local restaurants available) - Flights - Airport transfers - Car rental or shuttle from airport - Travel insurance - Optional upgrades and extras