THE Practice
A Sunday class where yoga meets the ideas I use in therapy. Movement, writing, drawing, rest, and ritual. Echo Park, Los Angeles.
Forming now. I'm gathering a group, and we'll begin as soon as we have enough people.
What it is
Seventy-five minutes on a Sunday evening. We open with a writing prompt, move through a yoga flow strong enough to build heat, pause once or twice to write or draw whatever surfaces, and close with a long guided rest, slower and deeper than a typical savasana.
You'll leave looser in the body and clearer in the head, with a better sense of how you want to meet the week.
No experience with yoga, meditation, or art required. Adults 18 and over.
The Shape of the Practice
0 to 5. Free writing on the week's theme.
5 to 25. Yoga with breathwork, tuned to the theme.
25 to 35. Guided inquiry and a creative practice.
35 to 50. Yoga continues. Write or draw as things surface.
50 to 60. Final inquiry and a closing ritual.
60 to 75. Guided nervous system reset with breathwork and visualization.
A 6-week curriculum on repeat
WEEK 1 —Coffins Containment, grief, and internal boundaries. You write or draw something, put it in, and close the lid. Sometimes to let it go, more often to give it a place so you can put it down for the day. Based on the EMDR container exercise, made tactile.
The Atlas Project
WEEK 2 — Five ceramic bowls, one for each stage of you. A meditation to get in touch with one part of yourself, then time to listen and write back what it needs to hear. IFS-inspired parts work, made tactile.
100 Words for Friend. You place the people in your life into concentric rings, from yourself at the center outward. You'll see who's drifted closer, who's drifted out, and which rings are full or sparse. Part parts-work, part boundary-setting.
The Echo Project
WEEK 4 — MENTAL HEALTH BLOCKS Wooden blocks inscribed with ideas for your own healing. What do you need more of, less of, or want to try? Behavioral activation and DBT, made tactile.
Shades of Gray. Opposing words, and where you actually sit between them. Loved and unloved, brave and afraid, good person and bad person. CBT and DBT made spatial.
Blood From a Stone. Where in your life have you been trying to get something from a source that doesn't have it? Acceptance work, made tactile.
Class created and led by Leda Maliga, associate therapist. AMFT #161245.
Supervised by Vanessa Spooner, PsyD #PSY24942
A note on what this is
I use ideas from my clinical work here, and I'll name them as we go. The class itself is a class. There's no intake, no treatment plan, and I'm not your therapist in this room. If something surfaces that wants more space than a Sunday evening, I'm glad to talk with you about that separately.
LOGISTICS
When. Sundays, 6:00 to 7:15. Arrive by 5:50 so you have time to settle in. Once the door closes, there's no late entry.
Where. Echo Park Creative Psychology, 1555 W. Sunset Blvd Ste C, Los Angeles, CA 90026.
The door code comes with your confirmation.
How much. $20, drop-in.
From past workshops
These are from the Healing Arts Hour, an online workshop series I ran for artists and educators across California. Same tools, same approach, different room.
“With simple tools, lunch hour timing, free access, and an online format, Leda's Healing Arts Hour workshop series provided the rare combination of a highly accessible and deeply meaningful art experience. She combined visioning exercises with drawing and group reflection, offering a powerful entry point to an introspective art therapy practice and an avenue for connection with other creatives across the state. ”
— Erica Garber
“I want to thank you so much for these workshops and all that you shared with us. Your generosity of spirit was inspiring. I was only able to attend two of the four classes but I got a lot out of each one. The mapping lesson project (9 circles) especially resonated with me. I enjoy working with teens and I think that could be a great project to do with them as they navigate that time when friendships are so complicated and always shifting.”
- Julie Williams
“Thank you so much for this class. I regret having to miss the last three sessions due to work commitments, as I truly loved the content of the healing arts hour and was able to take a deep breath after today's class. “
-Huskee