InterPlay and Mindfulness Class Series
Cynthia Winton-Henry,
Prashant Olalekar,
Chinh Nguyen, and
Connors John McConville

Oakland, CA
Four Weeks April 7-28 β’ Wednesdays 7:10-8:30 pm
A four class series exploring the relationship of mindfulness and meditation with the InterPlay approach to becoming present through movement, voice, word, connection, and being. Each week Cynthia Winton-Henry hosts an experienced leader as they introduce their practice in combination with InterPlay forms and ideas.
Each class includes an InterPlay warm up, a short period of sitting mediation, explorations at the intersection of InterPlay and mindfulness and time for reflection.
Week One: Prashant Olalkar, Founder of InterPlay India and teacher of movement meditation
Week Two: Chinh Nguyen is an InterPlayer and has been practicing meditation and mindfulness in the Plum Village, Soto Zen, and Shambhala tradition.
Week Three: Connors McConville, InterPlay leader and Vipassana practitioner. Week Four: Cynthia Winton-Henry and leaders engage InterPlay and mindful practices that invite us into the present.
Each class includes an InterPlay warm up, a short period of sitting mediation, explorations at the intersection of InterPlay and mindfulness and time for reflection.
Week One: Prashant Olalkar, Founder of InterPlay India and teacher of movement meditation
Week Two: Chinh Nguyen is an InterPlayer and has been practicing meditation and mindfulness in the Plum Village, Soto Zen, and Shambhala tradition.
Week Three: Connors McConville, InterPlay leader and Vipassana practitioner. Week Four: Cynthia Winton-Henry and leaders engage InterPlay and mindful practices that invite us into the present.
Cost: $15/class or $50 for all four
Registration/Information: InterPlay office: 510/465-2797, info@interplay.org
Venue
InterPlayce
2273 Telegraph Avenue (at 23rd St.)
Oakland, CA 94612
InterPlayce is the center of the InterPlay universe. The offices for Body Wisdom, Inc. are also located here. The building is at the corner of 23rd and Telegraph, one block north of West Grand. It is just a few blocks from the 19th Street Downtown Oakland BART station, and on several convenient bus lines. On-street parking is always available at night and metered during the day. It is also easily accessible by several of the major freeways.
Click here for a map.
Leaders
Cynthia Winton-Henry
Cynthia Winton-Henry, co-founder of InterPlay with Phil Porter, has researched "what the body wants" in the arts, in jails, shelters, slums, hospitals, churches, businesses, classrooms, doctoral programs in theology and the arts, and in multicultural education. She develops somatic curriculums to address racism, leadership for the Earth, and spiritual intelligence with an eye to supporting millennials. A featured speaker on the Body Intelligence Summit and a keynoter at conferences, Cynthia is the author of What the Body Wants, Having It All: Body, Mind, Heart & Spirit Together Again at Last; Dance - A Sacred Art: Discovering the Joy of Movement as Spiritual Practice, Chasing the Dance of Life: A Faith Journey, and The Art of Ensoulment: A Playbook on How to Create From Body and Soul.. Check out her writing, The Dancing Center, on Substack, her Hidden Monastery Online Dance Chapels and courses for those seeking spiritual intelligence for our time at cynthiawinton-henry.com.
Prashant Olalekar
Prashant Olalekar together with the InterPlay India team played a pioneering role in actively promoting InterPlay in India and building bridges through Global Peace Exchanges. He is a Jesuit, peace activist, spiritual director, and educator. He travels throughout India and abroad to share what he is learning about the power of play, spirit, and the deep wisdom of the body to foster peace. He has served as the former Novice Director and Coordinator of Formation of the Bombay Jesuit Province. He was also director of Jivanvikas Sadan Retreat House in Mumbai and founder of Pasayadaan Peace Partnership, a fledgling global network for peace. He is currently playing with integrating Ignatian Spirituality, Jesuit Education and Body Wisdom. Prashant encourages lay collaboration to foster the vision of InterPlay India namely, βto co-create a universe InterPlaying for Peace.β He enjoys exploring new frontiers especially playing with people on the margins.
Chinh Nguyen
Chinh Nguyen is an InterPlay Leadership Program graduate and has given his soul to InterPlay for a long time. He is part of the team playing with dirt and plants in the InterPlayce sidewalk garden and has been enjoying arranging flowers and greenery that come from it. Chinh studies Ikebana with Alice Tarkeshi at the San Francisco Shambala Center. He believes that flower arranging can be playful, satisfying and fun even if you haven't done much of it.
Connors John McConville
MDiv, MA, LMFT, Certified InterPlay Leader, Connors is a long time Interplayer and WING IT! member and co-teaches with John Diller the Interplay Men's Class that meets every Thursday evening at Interplayce. He has worked as a dance teacher, dance-maker and performer internationally and taught at the International School Bangkok and at Chulalongkorn University. He is a somatic psychotherapist (MFC 47398), and a spiritual director and is currently in a PhD program in East West Psychology at CIIS. As a young Jesuit missionary in Thailand 1974 β 1978 he formally studied Buddhism and Vipassana (meditation) at Wat Suan Dok in Chiangmai and Wat Bowonniwet Vihara in Bangkok and was certified in Thai Massage Therapy (Nuat Boran) with over 500 hours of training.