ODC Health
Movement has the power to promote physical and mental health, creativity, and longevity. The ODC Health initiative is a logical outgrowth of our passion for movement, commitment to community wellness and our wish to share our years of collective experience in developing and maintaining physical resilience. These ODC Health programs focus on supporting an informed, robust, and responsive physical lifestyle as they foster inclusivity and diversity through movement.
ODC Health Workshops
LudoSport Discovery Class with James Billings, Michael Masangkay, & Darien Caine
LudoSport teaches students to spar with light sabers in sporting competitions (no choreography here!). With practice, students are able to safely duel with one another, participate in official LudoSport tournaments, and may even qualify to compete in National and World Championship events.
LudoSport was founded in 2006 by 3 friends in Italy who imagined what if the light saber were “real”. They developed a rich set of techniques adapted from their various martial arts and sword arts backgrounds. LudoSport opened it’s first US academy here in San Francisco in 2017. There are approximately 5000 LudoSport athletes around the world.
We'll Provide the Sabers! The Italian Designed Sport Saber LamaDiLuce Polaris SSe-1 will be available for your use during the class.
Discovery classes are designed to give participants an overview of what LudoSport sporting light saber combat is all about. You'll be introduced to the fundamentals: the basic stances, movement, offensive and defensive techniques. At the end of the class you will have the opportunity to practice the techniques you learned in a sparring match. No experience necessary. Ages 16+
Form I Workshop - Introduction to Prima Croce (First Cross)
This 8 week series will introduce students to the first offensive/defensive techniques of Form I. It will include concepts of movement, footwork, and safety. Students will be introduced to the concepts of Service, Care and Respect which allow all students to practice in a safe and supportive environment. This fundamentals class will allow you to continue to build on your skills so you can compete and practice this light saber sport safely. Ages 16+
Body-Mind Centering ®: Perception as a Dynamic Ground of Being and Doing Workshop Series
Sonja Riket, a Body-Mind Centering® teacher, offers a series of Body-Mind Centering® workshops focusing on the process of perception and how this can be a gateway into the relationship between the body, movement, and consciousness.
Explorations will take us from perception of self and others to awakening the felt consciousness of our tissues. When awareness of perception is embodied, it can reveal to us who is living in this body.
Sonja will continue to explore these questions that were raised in Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s workshop at ODC:
- How do we perceive ourself more fully?
- How do we perceive others more fully?
- How do we attune to each other more fully?
- How do we more fully perceive where we are in a changing environment?
- How do we perceive our choices more fully? Our potential?
- How do we dance and live our life with greater pleasure, ease, skill, and dynamic possibility?
We will explore and integrate through movement, voice and music, by oneself and in partnerships with others. No previous experience in BMC or dance is necessary; all are welcome.
Each workshop will explore the felt consciousness of different tissues.
Tai Chi/Qigong Workshop
During this 8 week-long series, Fox Ray L.Ac will be your guide through the Chinese internal practices of Qi Gong and Tai Chi. With more than 10 years of experience and a Master's degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fox is uniquely positioned to speak to not only the forms and the movements of these arts, but also the internal aspects and their intersections with the fields of medicine, meditation, and philosophy.
Week by week, we will gradually lay the foundation of understanding for the practice through embodied concepts in internal arts philosophy. In addition to these principles of embodiment, we will explore 8 qigong movements and the 24 movements of the most popular Yang-style Tai Chi form, which represents a distillation of the traditional long form in a more concise and direct manner. The practice of Qi Gong and Tai Chi raises energy and heat in the body. The aim of these practices is to cultivate balance, muscular strength and endurance, awareness, range of motion, postural structure, flexibility, calm, and longevity.
Virtual Group Health Coaching
Interested in joining a group of peers to stay on track with your health and well-being goals? Social support and accountability are shown to help people achieve their goals. Weekly group coaching allows you to grow, learn, and develop solutions together as a community; a unique opportunity to flex your skills as a listener and put into practice habit changes. Come prepared with a lifestyle behavior you wish to focus on changing. 6 weeks, 75 minute sessions These weekly sessions are virtual. Limited Availability. 10 people.
Flow and Restore Yoga Class
Flow and Restore Yoga class prioritizes the importance of taking time for yourself. Each flow and restore class includes a brief active asana practice followed by a set of restorative postures and meditation. With its mindful movement and rest, flow and restore is a balanced class and offers a well deserved respite from everyday stress. This class invites students to engage in a mindful somatic practice that aims to cultivate calmness and joy.
About the Team
Rachel Recinos Abair is the ODC Health Initiatives Program Director. She is a lifelong dancer and brings over 20 years of experience in the health, wellness, & fitness industry to the position. She has worked in a variety of markets including health clubs, corporate wellness, campus recreation, and community programs and developed health and fitness, youth, seniors, sports, and volunteer programs and offerings. She earned her M.S. in Exercise Science with an emphasis in Exercise, Nutrition, and Eating Behavior from George Washington University. She holds multiple fitness certifications including ACSM Clinical Exercise Physiologist.
Dr. Celina De Borja is a Pediatric Sports Medicine Physician who works at UCSF Medical Center. She has special interest in dance and performing arts medicine, injury prevention and bone health. She has worked with the Boston ballet school, Boston conservatory, and Berklee college of music during her medical training. She is an active in volunteer with UCSF RunSafe and PlaySafe, providing medical coverage at various sporting events in the Bay area. She also serves as the volunteer medical director of the ODC Healthy Dancers' Clinic, which aims to improve the well-being and health of the dance community through education, musculoskeletal screening and integration of health services.
Kirsten Olshan is a wellbeing change maker and coach. Her focus is on the psychology of human performance. Her passions are organizational, and Personal wellness. Kirsten's passion is to help find strengths, joy to help motivate individuals to make behavior changes more sustainable for better Life/Work integration. After battling two Chronic illnesses, Kirsten faced challenges of adapting to a new way of life as a recreational and competitive athlete. Kirsten resilience led her to research and focus on how participation in sports and physical activity impacted individuals overall wellbeing, both physically and mentally. She earned her Master’s in Exercise Science, Health Promotion with a focus in Sports Physiology and Nutrition from PennWest. Kirsten has worked with athletes, professional athletes, coaches, executives, business professionals, clinicians and high-profile performing artists. She has been a Keynote speaker at Stanford University and led mindfulness events as part of team Exos for Google. She has led workshops on health and wellbeing Globally. She is a health educator, research cancer advocate, certified health and wellness coach and nutritionist. She facilitates short courses for 2U/ Stanford Health Education on Stress Management and Employee Wellbeing and Healthcare leadership.
Arina Hunter holds a strong passion for movement, wellness, dance, and helping others live and enjoy their best life. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Montana and expanded her knowledge base in personal training, pre and post natal fitness, corrective exercise, mindset coaching, and nutrition. You can find Arina dancing, choreographing, hiking, enjoying nature, video editing, and snuggling with her pup Noodle. She believes in the magic of movement to energize, connect, help reduce pain and stress, prevent injury, and increase overall health, happiness, and sustainability.