? Celebrating The Goddess In Every Woman, a presentation by Alexina Mehta, a naturopathic physician, part of The Art of Healthy Living series at West Vancouver's Ferry Building Gallery, Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. Cost: $15. Registration: 604-925-7270. Info: ferrybuildinggallery. com.
ALEXINA Mehta defines a goddess as "the most empowered version of yourself as a woman."
"It's pretty simple, but it's got a lot of potency," the Vancouver-based naturopathic physician goes on to explain.
Mehta is among the featured presenters at the Ferry Building Gallery's Art of Healthy Living series, on now and featuring a weekly event, Thursdays at 7 p.m.
Her presentation, Celebrating The Goddess In Every Woman, will be offered this Thursday, Oct. 11, and will emphasize the main areas of focus that women can step into so that they can become the most empowered version of themselves.
She'll encourage those in attendance to consider the various aspects of their lives (including their careers, contributions to the world and their relationships - with others, themselves and their community).
The goal is for participants to leave feeling inspired to create more opportunities for themselves, and live more joyful, purposeful and healthy lives, she says.
Mehta, a Sentinel secondary grad, has been working in the healing field since she was 18, and has studied a variety of modalities and techniques from energy healing to acupuncture.
She currently maintains a private naturopathic practice in Kitsilano.
Having a long-held interest in helping women, a few years ago, Mehta launched Celebrating the Goddess, with a goal of providing educational opportunities for them to come together and meet new people.
"It's all about bringing community (members) together and also working with different concepts in how to evolve and grow to become the best you can be as a woman in 2012, which is very different than even just 20 years ago," she says.
Through the organization, Mehta offers a variety of events hinged around a different monthly topic (from health and wellness, to entrepreneurship), though all are focused on women's empowerment and growth.
For example, in addition to her Thursday presentation in West Vancouver, through Celebrating the Goddess she's also presenting a laughter yoga-themed session Friday, Oct. 12 at The Yoga Practice in West Vancouver at 7: 30 p.m., and another, a night of breath work, Friday, Oct. 26 at Vancouver's Prana Yoga Centre at 7: 30 p.m.
Both are under the umbrella of her October topic, The Joyful, Blissful Goddess.
"No matter what the topic is, we keep it engaging and joyful," she says.
Mehta will at times bring in other local experts to assist in the presentations, which are typically attended by a blend of regulars and newcomers. She endeavours to keep her events low-cost, usually in the $20 range.
"I want people to come out and meet new people and experience something new and a lot of the people end up making new friends," she says.
"The women who come out, they're amazing. They have that sense of purpose. People who are wanting to grow and learn, they meet other women who are like that and then they feel inspired, so it's a very inspiring environment and there's a lot of positive energy in the room. That's my priority: Making sure that people feel safe and well taken care of and part of the community and that they have an opportunity to learn something new," she says.
Mehta, likewise, continues to be inspired through her work, seeing her charges transform before her very eyes.
"It makes me so happy to see these people who have these needs and the needs are met and to see women take themselves up a notch and step in, to really own that they are powerful people and they have everything that they need inside of them and they just need to be reminded of that," she says.
Additional upcoming Art of Healthy Living series events ($15 per event) include: Tibetan Singing Bowls by Megha Shakya on Oct. 18; and, The Lure of Addictions by Caroline Sutherland on Oct. 25. For more information, visit ferrybuildinggallery. com.
For more information on Alexina Mehta, including details about other upcoming talks, including one in Vancouver Wednesday, Oct. 10 on beating sugar cravings, visit dralexinamehta.com or celebratingthegoddess.com.
emcphee@nsnews.com
