Owatonna Community Education

Join Bonnie on a journey through the 7 primary energy centers in your body. These energy centers are in charge of how you interpret and act upon the world around you. Your view of the world can become cloudy and tainted by past experiences, traumas, and outdated belief systems. By gaining a deeper understanding of each of your chakras, you have the potential to see the world through clear eyes and create new ways to act upon it. We will spend ample time on each chakra, learning about its function, how to tell if it's out of balance, and how to restore balance. You will come away with a new understanding of your chakra system and how to maintain it, allowing you to live fresh in the moment and become the creator of your days, dreams, and goals.

Why plant a rain garden? It will beautify your property, capture rainwater, reduce stormwater runoff - and the City of Owatonna and the Steele County Soil & Water Conservation District can help you pay for it! Attend this class and learn about the benefits of rain gardens and how to plan and install your own. You'll learn where to put your rain garden, how to choose the right plants, and what cost-share programs exist to help you pay for the project. Please bring your ideas and your questions! This class is sponsored by the City of Owatonna, Clean River Partners, Steele County SWCD, and the Bee Friendly Environmental Alliance of Steele County. The Bee Friendlies will also share free native pollinator plant seeds after the workshop!

Have you ever caught sight of your reflection in a window or mirror to see that your head leads the way? Or noticed that your shoulders and upper back are rounded forward? In this online workshop, you'll learn simple techniques to improve posture and stand straighter. We'll complete exercises to help flatten the upper back, un-round your shoulders, and flatten your midsection. Learn how to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and how to regain bone mass. We'll discuss the latest research findings on nutrition, minerals, and trace minerals needed for bone health; foods that help and/or harm your bones and more. Wear loose, comfortable clothing. You will need a resistance band or tube for some of the exercises.

Ever caught your own reflection to see that your head hangs too far forward or you slump too much? You will learn how to correct common posture problems and learn an "instant alignment technique" that will have you standing straighter immediately. We'll discuss easy to implement tips when at a computer, in a car, or working out. There are many benefits to improving posture. And, the good news is no matter how long you may have had poor posture, it is NEVER TOO LATE to make improvements.

Do you have joints that ache - a knee or hip or back? Whether you have arthritis, bursitis or just creaky joints, this online workshop is for you! Joint lubrication exercises are quite simple and easy to do yet produce rather remarkable results by helping to free your joints of pain. We'll also discuss which nutrients are needed to help keep your joints healthy.

Are you finding no matter how well you watch what you eat or how much you exercise your weight is just not budging? Your inability to lose weight probably has more to do with hormone levels than anything else. Until imbalances are corrected, trying to lose weight will be like shoveling sand against the tide. In this online workshop, we'll discuss which hormones are involved and what can be done to correct imbalances; concrete solutions for controlling appetite and cravings; major sources of hormone mimicking chemicals and how to get rid of them; what HRT or birth control pills have to do with weight gain; how to have your hormone levels checked reliably; what steps need to be taken to safely break the vicious cycle of hormone related weight gain.