Areola Area

The Areola was founded in 2005 by DeAnna Batdorff as a grass-roots initiative to provide proper education and empower women around their breast and lymphatic health.  With thousands of women seen and supported this holistic care has provided a backbone to our community.  In 2017, with DeAnna’s blessing,  The Areola made its way to the SWG community.   

The Areola is a passionate group of women trained by DeAnna Batdorff – committed to the path of  empowering and educating women on holistic breast health, one boobie at a time.  We are trained in Ayurvedic Lymphatic Massage along with a variety of other modalities.  We will be teaching women how to explore, map and understand the terrain of their breast tissue. We will be offering  COMPLIMENTARY holistic breast checks within the safe container of our wellness yurt  throughout the gathering to women who are interested in opening a deeper conversation with their breast health.  This can be a deeply profound, and often emotional experience as we re-awaken this deeply intuitive aspect of our bodies, and learn, maybe for the first time, how to truly listen to what our breast tissue is telling us about our health. We offer a compassionate and safe space for women to explore their bodies and move through whatever may arise.

Women who are interested in receiving a breast check will have the opportunity to enter our raffle Thursday evening after the opening ceremony and winners will be selected  and posted Thursday night.  We will be offering breast checks on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings during the morning class session, and raffle winners will have a chance to sign up for their desired timeslot.  Each woman who is selected from the raffle will receive a complimentary 30 minute breast check and lymphatic massage as well as empowerment and education around their unique self-care needs from an elemental and Ayurvedic perspective. We are in deep gratitude to the traditions of Ayurveda and our teacher, DeAnna Batdorff,  for the deep wisdom of her teachings and her willingness to share them with us. May we continue to pass on this knowledge to all women everywhere!  

Beyond the complimentary raffled breast check time slots women are able to sign up daily with practitioners for afternoon breast checks on a sliding scale donation basis ranging $45-75.  The Areola has been supporting the growing Spiritweavers community for 7 years now.  In addition to our breast check offerings we will be offering deeper dive workshops through the Aryuvedic lens empowering women around their breast health & womb health.   Please visit Sun/ Moon Friday / Saturday  Afternoon  schedule for our workshop’s times & description. 

SHERI NELSEN

Sheri Nelsen started supporting women’s healing processes through the art of hairstyling in 1983. Her charismatic personality, good nature and open hearted friendliness creates a safe place for women to release. In 2009 Sheri was guided to study with Deanna Batdorff at the Dhyana Centers Ayurvedic School in Sebastopol. After her training was complete she was on staff at the original Areola area inside the Northern California Herbal Symposium for 8 years. Sheri decided to bring her love for Breast care to the Spirit Weavers Gathering in 2018. Sheri is an experienced guide, passionate about empowering each woman on how to care for their breasts facilitating a deeper understanding and awareness of how their emotions are connected to transformational healing. After supporting The Areola at The Spirit Weavers Gathering for the past 4 years, she is stepping in as hub lead.

Herbal Training: Donna D’Terra of Yerba Women in Willits CA

Jane Bothwell of Dandelion Herbals in Bayside, Eureka

Bodywork Training : Harbin Hot Springs

Coeur d’Alene Massage School

Ayurvedic Breast Practitioner – 8 years on staff at the Women’s Herbal Symposium with Deanna Batdorff at the Areola

RAE RODRIGUEZ

Rae was born in the Mojave Desert and is currently residing in West Sonoma County. She is a mother, bodyworker, herbalist, Ayurvedic wellness counselor, and artist. Her path towards Ayurveda and the healing arts began during her first yoga teacher training in 2009. After completing YTT 200hr through Western Yoga College she traveled to Oregon to complete an Herbaculture Internship Program at The Herb Pharm, a rigorous and intensive immersion into herbalism and the cultivation of medicinal plants. This is where she was introduced to Ayurvedic plant medicine which led her to relocate to Sebastopol to deepen her studies. She has studied Ayurveda with her teacher, DeAnna Batdorff, through The dhyana Center now known as dhyana Essentials for the last eleven years. While at the dhyana Center, she held many roles, including working as a practitioner in the Treatment center and managing the Medicine Making department. Rae is now immersed in her motherhood journey and her part-time private practice in Sebastopol specializing in prenatal/postpartum bodywork and lymphatic care. As a practitioner, she is passionate about supporting others through integrative bodywork as well as living in devotion and service to the innate healing abilities that we each possess. Her completed studies include The Dhyana Center’s Ayurvedic Clinical Program, Ayurvedic Bodywork Techniques, Ayurvedic Subtle Bodywork Therapies, Ayurvedic Diagnostic Tools, Aromatherapy Intensive, Herb Pharm Herbaculture Internship 2011, Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium Areola Clinic Practitioner for eight years, Spirit Weavers Areola Clinic Practitioner for four years, Evolutionary Herbalism’s Vitalist Herbal Practitioner program, Introduction to Ayurveda and Self Assessment and Traditional Medicinal Preparations with Dr. Liladhar Gupta at Dhanvantari Dham in Vrindavan, India, National Holistic Institute (900 hr) Massage Therapy Program, Western Yoga College YTT 200hr, RCC Christie Hall YTT 200hr, IrieYoga YTT 200hr, Zen Hospice Mindful Caregiving, Advanced Prenatal Massage at Institute for Integrative Healthcare, and Holistic Pelvic Care™ Practitioner program with Tami Kent.

Teaching Sun Session – ” Breast Health & The Lymphatic System” & “Herbal Baby & Infant Care”

raemelinabodywork.com

IG @raemelina

ABIGAIL HINDS

Abigail is a wisdom keeper of feminine healing lineages that nourish the life-giving powers of the womb, heart and soul. Her offerings support women to embody the wild roots of their fertility and open to the wellspring of their feminine magic. She specializes in therapeutic breast massage, supporting the lymph rivers to flow freely and the breasts to receive the nourishment they need. She also offers womb healing in collaboration with the whales, including internal pelvic massage and spiritual bathing. As a weaver and artist Abigail creates medicinal animal medicine adornments and woven jewelry. She is a song carrier, animal communicator and ambassador of the unseen realms of spirit. She incorporates animal medicine, sound healing, plant & flower medicine, and somatic embodiment into all of her offerings.

Teaching Sun Session WOMB WEAVING “ foundational womb health & reclamation &  “ SQUIRREL to SOUP step by step process of turning a dead squirrel into a nourishing soup.

Teaching Moon Session “ BREAST LOVE “ lymphatic health and our breasts & “ SQUIRREL to SOUP step by step process of turning a dead squirrel into a nourishing soup.

Website: whalewombweaving.com

IG: @whalewombweaving