ABOUT TEACHER TRAINING CONTACT JOURNAL LOGIN
PRACTICE WITH ME

Together we'll explore the wisdom of the body, of the heart, of story...

Cultivating the Mind of Wisdom

A 6 week exploration of the teachings of yoga, mythology and folktales, exploring themes of elderhood, crone medicine, and more. 

 

"Prajna" wisdom not inferred but received from direct insight...our purest knowing. 

 

Together we will spend these 6 weeks exploring the teachings of the yoga tradition, somatic movement, meditation, and  breath with a deep anchoring in myth and folklore to explore what it is to cultivate our sweetest inner transmission. 

We attribute most often high wisdom to the elders to the crone and her consort. In these troubling times we are called to become the elders we seek. To cultivate an inner fortitude, forbearance, and clear seeing. 

To connect to the bone knowing and the bone memory that has held humanity since before there was a "long time ago." 

Grab your pen and paper, something warm to wear by the fire, gather what you'll need for the journey and lets go.

I have a story to tell you...

 

Weave the ancient teachings into the everyday, recommit to ritual, map yourself in the old mind's knowing

The program includes lifetime access to you may return to the classes and teachings. Each week includes two, 90 minute classes, a weekly audio teaching, and a weekly downloadable guide including writing prompts to take you further. 

This course was recorded live in 2023. But you will still be able to leave comments and receive replies from Selena

We had the privilege of moving through the full the last full moon of the winter and the first new moon on the spring equinox during this course so there are some lovely seasonal offerings included. You will welcome the light and bid the wintery cave of introspection farewell till next time. However the practices are relevant to any time and lovely to return to on ceremony months. 

The development of our inner landscape is a great act of altruism.

You are invited to take the long road through time, to explore stories that hold us, and  teach us to live.  

MYTH AND STORY

 

Myth teaches us how to live, we map ourselves in these ancient stories. They are the "bone memory" (Martin Shaw) that holds us.

Good stories break the spell of the cultural mother and all of the "you ought to be's." 

You will cozy up and listen to a tale or two, and in time as you listen again and again the stories will keep revealing themselves to you if you're keen to listen to their whispers. 

YOGA ASANA

 

Artfully sequenced yoga classes anchored in Katonah Yoga™, Chinese Medicine, and Ayurveda. 

Savor asana classes created with intention to nourish you, to inspire you, and to shift your chemistry and your state. 

Practitioners of all levels are welcome here. This is an invitation to a deep home practice that grows you. 

Breath & Mind

 

In your weekly sessions you will practice nourishing breathwork, somatic movement explorations, and meditation.

Additionally you will receive a weekly audio teaching and writing prompts to serve your private work and to uncover your inner wisdom and knowing. 

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Comparative Mythologist | Storyteller | Movement Maestra | Writer | Integrative Hypnotist

 

Selena is a comparative mythologist with advanced degrees in sociocultural anthropology.  She is a renowned Teacher of Yoga and Meditation, dedicated to delivering transformative wellness experiences that inspire personal growth, creativity, and inner harmony. With extensive experience leading global retreats, she masterfully blends cultural exploration with yoga, breathwork, and meditation practices, guiding individuals toward clarity, balance, and renewed purpose.

 

As a Leadership Coach and Mentor, Selena empowers others to unlock their potential. Her academic foundation is complemented by years of experience guiding individuals towards personal growth. With extensive training in psychology, holistic therapies, and personal development methodologies, she has earned certifications in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Hypnosis, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) coaching which she applies to her clients. Her work fosters deep self-discovery, empowering participants to reconnect with their authentic selves and embrace a life of intention and well-being.

 

Selena holds an MPH from Boston University in International Public Health, a MA in Sociocultural Anthropology, and was a PhD Candidate. She is a Fulbright scholar and two time Cornell University Fellow.

 

Selena’s thoughtfully curated retreats seamlessly blend cultural exploration with self-discovery, fostering spaces for joyful, intentional living and conscious travel.

 

Since 2015, Selena’ssyncretic teaching has been profoundly impacted by immersion in studies with her mentor, Nevine Michaan, founder of Katonah Yoga®. The techniques underpinning the Katonah practices come from classical Hatha yoga, geometry, Five Element Theory, and various lineages of western esoteric philosophy. Learn more at KatonahYoga.com


Selena is the host and creator of the Bone & Bloom podcast a show dedicated to conversations on self-mastery, self-exploration, and our simplest altruism.

She believes that practice is service and that there MUST be a direct line between our personal spirituality and civil engagement. That our individual wellbeing cannot be separated from the collective wellbeing.

She offers a practice and teachings that are pragmatic, practical, and magical to help you author your life, live from your heart, and to operate from a place of grace.


Selena holds an MPH from Boston University in International Public Health, a MA in Sociocultural Anthropology, and was a PhD Candidate. She is a Fulbright scholar and two time Cornell University Fellow. Her undergraduate work was a dual degree in sociocultural anthropology and archaeology with a dual minor in women and gender studies and philosphy. 

She is a two-time Cornell Fellow, Fulbright Awardee, and scholar of myth and folklore.

Her movement and wellness training includes certifications in Katonah Yoga™, thousands of hours in yoga training with modern luminaries, FRC Kinstretch™, FRC Mobility Specialist, Balanced Body Pilates, Personal Development Coach, Precision Nutrition™, Ayurveda, Movement Flow™, dance, Non-Linear Movement Method™, and more. 

“Become the elder that you seek"

A Case for Elderhood in Times of Trouble

Cultivating the Mind of Wisdom

What's Included

 

-6 Weeks of Teaching

-Lifetime Access

-Twice weekly 90 minute classes

-Weekly audio teaching

-Weekly guide

Ready for more? Bundle The Returning + Cultivating Wisdom. The Returning is a 5 module exploration of  what it is to honor our core self, to own our stories, and shake off our "shoulds"

Join Cultivating Wisdom $75
Bundle The Returning + Cultivating Wisdom $100

Praise from The Returning Participants

 

In The Returning, Selena offers more than just yoga and pranayama. Each 90 minute class is themed around self connection and includes an expressive movement practice which is different each time. The 30 minute pranayama sessions are highly engaging and challenging in the best way. Her teachings throughout this month have truly helped me to form a deeper relationship between my mind, body, and spirit. The course has helped me to find the insight and courage to step out into the world as my best, most authentic self. Selena's teachings are truly inclusive and potent, I cannot recommend this course enough. Thank you Selena!

Praise from Alumni

 

Selena's workshop will inspire, educate, and empower you to pursue and uncover your authentic self. She is not your teacher if you wish to be coddled or spoon fed. She will provoke fundamental questioning that invites you to strip away the self limiting stories, practices, and habits that hold you back from your greatest potential. Go to her class, shake the dust, and breathe life into your dry bones.

Praise from Returning Participants

 

"If you aren't ready to have your life changed, don't study with Selena. She has a rare gift of glimpsing her students' highest potential and constructing an environment to slowly draw it out. You will learn Anatomy and philosophy from someone who is deeply passionated about them and it shows. You WILL be inspired. You WILL leave equipped with the tools and insight to transform your life. You will also learn, inside and out and in every direction, an intricate, many-faceted and carefully considered perspective of the yoga tradition from an insanely experienced student herself. The whole idea of Selena's trainings are to integrate and assimilate the method because when one embodies yoga from the inside out, the teaching takes care of itself. Selena doesn't just teach yoga, she lives yoga, and at the end of your training with her, you can too."

Praise from The Returning Participants

 

I have nothing but deep gratitude for Selena and her incredible offerings as a teacher. This course was abundant with rich and varied styles of pranayama, asana and movement practices that she framed beautifully using teachings from the many lineages that she has studied. She is a teacher who truly offers so many facets of herself to her students and doesn't shy away talking about the gritty side of life & the reality of deep practice. This course was profound, thought-provoking and at times really took me into some places that I needed to access within myself. 

© 2022 Selena Garefino . All rights reserved . Site Credit . Privacy Policy . Terms of Service