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Dates
Saturday 12/05/2026 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Pricing
$81.00 Japa Mala: Make Your Own Mala Workshop

 A japa mala (or more simply put, mala) is a string of prayer beads used in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism to count the repetition of mantras, prayers, or breath during meditation. While malas are often constructed out of simple wooden beads, they can also be made from more symbolic materials such as bodhi or rudraksha seeds, or of crystals or semi-precious gems such as rose quartz or amethyst, that may hold meaning or important properties to the user. The beads are typically spaced with a knot and finished with a larger single bead, known as a guru bead and a tassel.

 Often in modern Yoga spaces, we see people wearing them as necklaces, but they are not jewelry - they are important meditation tools that can help quiet the mind. And…you can make your own!

 Join Rebecca for this fun and creative two part Saturday workshop - first, we learn how to string and knot the beads, make a tassel and complete the mala. And then we use them!

 Mala making workshop will go from 2-3:45pm, followed by a workshop on the history/techniques of how to use them for meditation, along with a meditation practice.

 If you are not interested in making your own mala, just join us for the last 90 minutes (see seperate listing to register for that portion), and if you need a mala to work with, you can get a discount on one of Rebecca’s hand made malas with the cost of the workshop!

Please note:  For those joining us to make their malas - knotting a mala is a skill that can take some time to master. If your mala is not complete by the end of the the first 2 hours, Rebecca will have malas to borrow to use (or purchase for a discount!) for the remainder of the workshop. And, as a bonus, on Dec 19th at 2pm - Rebecca will host a mala making clinic at La Coop to continue working on our knotting technique and finishing our malas. Come by for help and to just craft together.

 Cost for both parts of the workshop includes the materials for a single mala made of wooden beads.

Rebecca Henry

Owner/Manager/Director of Programming

RYT-500, E-RYT 200, RPYT, YACEP

Rebecca’s journey with yoga and meditation began more than twenty years ago when she took precepts with the Zen Buddhist Society of Compassionate Wisdom, finding that a vigorous yoga practice was the only way to keep her chattering mind quiet on her meditation mat. As those practices expanded into helping her with the stresses of school, and, later, work and family life, she has been exploring the benefits of her practice on and off the mat ever since.

Forever a student, Rebecca brings a beginners mind and an awakened heart to her practice and teaching. Compassion, empathy, humor and joy are at the core of all of her classes. Her focus is on uniting mindful movement with breath while helping people understand of how their own unique body affects their individual practice, in both a traditional hatha as well as a more vinyasa style.

 As a mother of two teenagers, she is impassioned to support other people in their journey into parenthood through the mindfulness and body-centered practices of yoga and meditation. As birth and postpartum doula, she emphasizes childbirth education and body awareness in her pre- and postnatal classes, bringing these practical aspects together with a warm, nurturing teaching style.

Rebecca completed her 300 hour training with Radiance Yoga in Alexandria, VA, 200 hour training with Tara Lemerise at Willow Street Yoga in Takoma Park, MD, pre and post natal yoga teacher training with Debra Flashenburg of the Prenatal Yoga Center of New York City and is certified with Leslie Howard in Pelvic Floor Yoga™. She has also completed training with Tara Lemerise, of Tara Lemerise Yoga, in Restorative Yoga, and has completed a 50 hr Yin Yoga certification with Machelle Lee of Roots and River Yoga and a 34 hr cadaver and observational anatomy lab with Jules Mitchell.

Photo Credit Melody Klemin