On May 10, a special Mother’s Day class will offer a dedicated gathering for women and men to honor motherhood. The mothers who shaped us, the lineage we come from, and the care we carry forward. A chance to reset, reconnect, and be nourished through movement, meditation, and intentional care.
Movement + Meditation for Nervous System Balance
How can we use intentional movement and focused attention to support healing, resilience, and overall well-being?
This gentle movement and meditation class invites you to experience exercise and mental focus in a new way, as practical tools for nervous system regulation, recovery, and long-term health.
This class emphasizes clarity, simplicity, and precision. Movements are accessible, intentional, and supported by breath and awareness. Practices are drawn from yoga, qigong, dance-informed movement, and somatic education to help you downshift out of stress and into a more balanced physiological state.
Each session is designed to help the body and mind move out of chronic tension patterns and into greater ease, focus, and stability.
Over time, participants often notice improvements in:
Physical ease and mobility
Mental clarity and concentration
Emotional regulation and steadiness
A deeper sense of grounding and internal safety
Guided by Merrill Page and Shana Walt’s combined decades of experience, this class frames movement as a form of applied nervous system care. Practical, accessible, and sustainable.
What You’ll Explore in Class
How stress patterns show up in the body and how to unwind them through movement
The relationship between breath, attention, and nervous system regulation
Gentle, structured movement sequences designed for clarity and balance
How seasonal and cyclical patterns can inform energy, recovery, and focus
Simple tools you can use daily to support physical and mental well-being
Foundations of the Practice
This class is informed by both modern nervous system science and traditional wellness systems such as Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. These frameworks help us understand how stress, environment, and lifestyle influence the body’s internal balance.
The focus is not on complexity, but on consistency, awareness, and intelligently applied movement that supports real-life functioning.
The Intention
This practice is designed to meet you where you are, whether you are highly active, highly analytical, or simply looking for a more sustainable way to care for your body.
The goal is not to push harder, but to help you move and think in ways that support lasting regulation, resilience, and ease.
Schedule:
In-Person at Metta Yoga Studios in Corte Madera 11:30 - 12:45: Every second Sunday of the month. 2/8 3/8, 4/12, 5/10, 6/14, 7/12, 8/9, 9/13, 10/11, 11/8, 12/13,
Meditation will be sent out after each class.
Class format:
Movement: 15 minutes circle, introductions, orientation and teachings to themes of class. Includes a handout and diagrams re: energetic and structure of the month. 60 minutes somatic movement with instruction. This gentle and fluid movement practice blends teachings from diverse schools including qigong, yoga, dance, authentic movement, polarity therapy and touch for health. At the end of class there will be a short savasana with subtle and supportive hands-on contact to help you integrate and embody what you have learned in class. A meditation will be sent out after each class.
Roots of Wellness April 12, 2026 Class Interview Questions
Shana Walt & Merrill Page
This class blends movement, meditation, and somatic practices. What does a typical session feel like?
Roots of Wellness feels like opening a window and letting fresh light in, both grounding and illuminating. Each class begins with a warm welcome and a brief introduction to the month’s seasonal theme and how it influences the body and mind.
We move into a short meditation, followed by gentle, fluid movement inspired by yoga, qigong, and Pilates. As you move, you’ll receive simple, insightful teachings on how these practices support the nervous system, hormones, and overall health. Class ends with gentle hands-on integration, leaving you feeling relaxed, aligned, and more in tune with what your body needs.
How do these practices help shift people out of chronic stress?
This class is rooted in nervous system support. Chronic stress impacts the body physically, not just mentally, so we focus on helping you safely reconnect with your body. We begin with grounding, creating a sense of safety and presence. From there, intentional, fluid movement helps release stored tension while building strength and stability. This combination helps regulate the nervous system, allowing the body to move out of stress and into a state that supports healing.
How does aligning with seasonal rhythms support well-being?
At the heart of this class is what we call “earth medicine.” Our bodies are deeply connected to natural rhythms, and when we align with them, we access a more intuitive, sustainable form of wellness. This work is less about doing and more about listening, tuning inward, softening, and allowing the body to receive. It is an experiential process that helps you reconnect with your natural state of balance.
What makes this class unique compared to traditional yoga or meditation?
Roots of Wellness blends multiple modalities, including yoga, meditation, qigong, Pilates, and somatic movement, into one cohesive and accessible experience. It is designed not just to help you move, but to help you understand how movement, thoughts, and patterns influence your well-being. The goal is for you to leave feeling embodied, balanced, and empowered, with tools you can carry into daily life.
About the instructors:
Merrill Page, expert in Mindbody Medicine, practitioner of Cranioscral and Polarity therapies, author of two EARTH MEDICINE books, and mother of four boys welcomes you into a space sure to inspire your spirit, soothe your heart and soften you back into the sanctuary of your own body.
Her decades of experience and study in meditation, nutrition, energy medicine, bodywork, herbs, and movement creates a unique offering across a broad spectrum of disciplines that merge modern minds with ancient wisdom.
Shana Walt, mother, dancer, and master bodyworker, is certified in Craniosacral Therapy, Neuromuscular work and Prenatal Birth skills.
She holds a field for deep nervous system regulation and calming and uses her two decades of experience in integrative practices to move us all towards embodiment and wholeness on all levels: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. She is inspired by the movement and rhythms of nature and possesses a deep searching and understanding that freedom comes from the inside out.