We are the Namaste' Cooperative
Our Mission:
Namaste' Cooperative is agroup of like-minded holistic practitioners connecting individuals to a broad variety of well-being therapies. Our members are certified professionals who are credentialed, experienced and effective in their fields. Our mission is to make wellness modalities accessible to everyone.We are a resource group dedicated to helping you find the right therapist at affordable rates and assisting Wellness Professionals in growing their businesses.
In today’s world we are more educated about our health and well-being than ever before. We seek alternatives to help us with everything from stress-reduction to creating a healthy relationship with money. We go to yoga, pilates, meditation, art therapy, run marathons and then seek chiropractors, acupuncturists, energy healers, bodyworkers and more…
A few short years ago many of these practices were considered fringe and New Age. Now more than ever we are taking our Health & Wellness into our own hands and our choices are ever expanding. With recent healthcare policy changes and skyrocketing medical fees, we all have more ‘skin in the game’ and are free to choose holistic options that compliment mainstream medicine and make healthcare more affordable.
Namaste’ Cooperative: We are here to connect you to what you need.
What We've Achieved.
Monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery - The Yellow Hat School - at Miller Beach Indiana. The Monks were here to create a week of prayerful meditation and a Sand Mandala for World Peace (2013) - a now Annual Event. They are pictured with Jason and Cari Kniola - the monks' gracious local hosts for the past 10 years... This image was taken at the completion of their closing prayer-ceremony when they poured the sands of the Peace Mandala into Lake Michigan as a blessing for the waters, our community, and the earth. (For more info about the Drepung Gomang Monastary visit: www.drepunggomang.org)
Patti Shaffner & David Cowan preparing for a Sacred Music House Concert at Sacred Waters Retreat Center in Mishawaka Indiana - an ecumenical center for Spiritual Growth on beautifully tended grounds - set along side the historic St Joseph River - "Sacred Waters." (For more info about Sacred Waters visit: www.sacredwaterscenter.org)
Here we have Jason Kniola and David Cowan pictured with mentor and elder: Lemual Joyner - South Bend Artist, Healer & Expressive Therapist. We have created a Gong Vortex - a vibrational healing experience with 4 large gongs and twin massage tables so that two Gong Cosmonauts at a time can have a very intimate Vibrational Healing. This was all part of the day-long experiential workshop and pre-concert events offered prior to our Sacred House Concert, Group Gonging and Community Drumming.
Close up image of the completed 2014 World Peace Sand Mandala executed and on display at the Gardner Center on Lake Street in Miller Beach Indiana. This design was approved by the Dali Lama as an emblem of co-existence and harmony among all Peoples - no matter what religious background one spiritual belief one adheres to. Just so beautiful. What a blessing for our Community!
The Yellow Hat School Monks performing a Fire Puja Ceremony at the conclusion of their 2014 visit for an intimate group of our Namaste' Co-Op families and friends. And of course... It was followed with Drumming! The Tibetan Fire Puja Ceremony is an offering to Spirits and Ancestors and The Spirits of the Land. It's intention is to create a Blessing for Inner-Peace, a Prayer for Healing and to clear away Negative Karma. The Monks made such a wonderful impact upon us all - AND - they also had a wonderful time themselves here in Duneland... We eagerly await their return next year!
The 2013 Poster for our Annual Hawaiian Teaching Retreat - "Healing the Healers" - when we take a small group of advanced meditation students to travel to Big Island and study with our Kupuna: Rev. M. Kalani Souza and with his wife and Lomi Lomi Kumu: Julie Kai Stowell. Also 'Qigong in Paradise!' with Dave Cowan... Authentic Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Instruction... True Hawaiian Cultural Immersion... Lessons of the Ha.... A life-changing event for those dedicated advanced students fortunate to be invited. What a rare and wonderful opportunity to work towards! (For more about Qigong & Lomi Lomi visit: www.qiforlife.org)
Patti Shaffner leads a group of novice Zentangle® Students at a Consciousness Retreat in Door County. Zentangle® is a Meditative Art Form. The Zentangle® Methodis an easy-to-learn relaxing and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. Our Door County Wisconsin Retreat also featured Yoga, Qigong, and a Consciousness Study Group of Don Miguel Ruiz's Book: "The Four Agreements." Natural local organic foods... Nutritious smoothies and soups... Bon Fires and music... And of course - Drumming and Gonging... All of our Namaste' Co-Op ingredients! Patti is at the top of the table on the left - demonstrating pen strokes with the assistance of her archive camera and computer. Notice her pristine Meditation Posture! That is how you Zentangle®! (For more information on Zentangle® Art visit: www.zentangle.com)
Namaste' Co-Op facilitated a community drum circle for the VNA Phoenix Center - a hospice support-group dedicated to helping children cope with bereavement and grief. All the kids pictured here have recently lost a parent or a grandparent. Communal Drumming is so good for the Soul! The sheer liveliness we created with our spontaneous and feral drumming awakened such joy and laughter and excitement in these children. Seeing the big smiles on each of their faces... What a wonderful healing for us to witness! What an honor for us to be of service in a time of deep sorrow! (For more information about the Phoenix Center Program visit: www.vnapotercounty.org)
Mary Kritikos, CHt, CAT, RMT, Shadow Wisdom® - The class will cover approaches and techniques designed to ease the transition of breaking free from the old Fear paradigm and navigating the frequencies supporting this heart-centered evolution. It will introduce tools that support the dis-integration, or letting-go phase, and perspectives on regenerating, re-viving and rebirthing a “new you”! The class introduces concepts of shadow-wisdom and also serves as an introduction to Evolution of the Soul® Program : Working with Shadow Wisdom®.
Lama Lobsang Palden from Chicago blowing the long horn back in 2012. Cari & Jason Kniola organized a Medicine Buddha Healing Ceremony at the David Ross House in Ross Hills Park near West Lafayette, Indiana. Lama Lobsang also taught Tibetan Yantra Yoga and performed a Gong Healing for our group. A wonderful Day of Mindfulness & Sacred Sounds set in beautiful natural surrounding; wide windows looking out over the forested hills of Tippecanoe County. (For more information about Lama Lobsang visit: www.lamalobsang.com)