Community Events
Community in Practice
“Ceremony is not something we attend—it is a way we learn to live.”
Practice does not end when a training concludes. It deepens through relationship—relationship with the land, with ceremony, with community, and with the rhythms that shape a meaningful life. Throughout the year, we gather in many forms to practice together, celebrate the turning seasons, honour life’s milestones, and continue tending the traditions that hold our community. Whether you are an alumni, a current student, or joining us for the first time, these gatherings offer an invitation to step into authentic connection, embodied practice, and shared ceremony.
Fire Ceremonies
Since time immemorial, people have gathered around the fire to mark life’s transitions, offer gratitude, release what no longer serves, and remember their place within the living world. Fire invites us into presence, reciprocity, and community, reminding us that healing is often something we do together.
Throughout the year, we gather on the banks of the Squamish rivers to honour the changing seasons and open sacred space through the directions. Together we move through collective prayer, energetic practices, offerings to the elements, song, silence, and the beauty we create together.
These gatherings are a place where our alumni continue to refine their ceremonial practice while welcoming new members into our growing community.
Our fire ceremonies are offered throughout the year, often in rhythm with the changing seasons. If you feel called to gather around the fire with our community, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to learn about upcoming ceremonies.
Mountain Practices
The mountain has always been our greatest teachers.
Each year we make pilgrimage to Siyám Smánit, our benefactor mountain, beginning before sunrise and ascending together in quiet reverence. These journeys weave hiking, mindful silence, yoga, meditation, and ceremony into a practice of relationship with the land.
Reaching the summit is never the objective. The mountain invites us into humility, presence, and reciprocity—qualities cultivated through every step of the climb. Together we greet the morning through practice, offering gratitude to the mountain and carrying its teachings back into our lives.
Mountain pilgrimages are offered seasonally as weather and conditions allow. Contact us to learn about the next ascent.
Despacho Ceremonies
A despacho is a ceremonial offering of gratitude created as an expression of ayni—the sacred principle of reciprocity between ourselves, the Earth, and the unseen forces that support life. Through the simple act of offering beauty, we remember that healing begins with gratitude and that every gift we receive carries an invitation to give back.
In these community gatherings, participants are guided through the intentional creation of their own despacho using flowers, seeds, sweets, herbs, prayers, and symbolic offerings. Each bundle becomes a living prayer, woven with gratitude, blessings, and heartfelt intention before being returned to the Earth or offered to the fire.
Community despacho ceremonies are held throughout the year. If you feel called to deepen your relationship with gratitude and reciprocity, we’d love to welcome you. Reach out to learn about upcoming gatherings.
Public Shamanic Yoga Classes
Yoga is a practice of relationship—relationship with the body, the breath, the land, and the awareness that unites them. Our public classes offer an accessible doorway into the philosophy and practices of the Shamanic Yoga Institute, inviting students to cultivate presence through movement, breath, and embodied inquiry.
Led by Dr. Christine Selda at Shala Yoga in Squamish, each class weaves intentional sequencing with pranayama, meditation, subtle energy practices, mythology, and contemplative teachings. Whether you are exploring our work for the first time or seeking a weekly place to practice, everyone is welcome on the mat.
Weekly classes are open to practitioners of all experience levels. Reach out if you have questions or would like to learn more before joining us.
Book Classes Here
Cacao Ceremonies
Mama Cacao has long been honoured as a gentle plant ally that invites us into presence, compassion, and deeper connection with the wisdom of the heart. Gathering in ceremonial circle, we slow down together, share cacao with intention, and create space for prayer, reflection, and authentic expression.
As hearts begin to soften, song often arises naturally. Through medicine songs, mantra, silence, improvisation, and shared presence, we remember that every voice carries medicine. This is not a performance, but a practice of listening, belonging, and allowing ourselves to be fully present with one another.
Our cacao ceremonies are offered periodically throughout the year. If you feel called to gather in circle, we’d be honoured to welcome you. Reach out to learn about our next ceremony.
Kirtan and Song Circles
Across cultures and traditions, people have gathered in song to celebrate, grieve, pray, and remember that we are not separate. Kirtan is one expression of this ancient tradition—a devotional practice where the voice becomes a pathway to presence, connection, and collective healing.
Our community song circles weave together traditional kirtan, sacred mantra, and songs from diverse wisdom traditions in an atmosphere of warmth, authenticity, and belonging. Whether singing, listening, or simply resting in the resonance of the circle, every participant becomes part of the practice. No musical experience is needed—only a willingness to show up with an open heart.
Our kirtan and song circles are offered throughout the year as opportunities to gather in community. Reach out to learn about our next event.