Workshops taught by Atava Garcia Swiecicki


What Atava offers are time-tested, natural alternatives to an increasingly synthetic world. Herbs are an important part of our heritage, things our own ancestors knew and used with great success. I appreciate the wisdom embodied by this course. I sincerely hope others will be able to take advantage of the opportunity- we can all use this information.


Roberto Paez

School of Medicine

UC Davis

Visit this page regularly for an updated schedule of Atava's upcoming classes.

flower essence

Making a chaparral flower essence

Atava regularly teaches classes throughout Northern California. Her classes include An Introduction to Herbal Medicine, Flower Essence Therapy, Herbal Medicine Making, Indigenous Science, Dreams as Mythic Metaphor, and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Healing. Her teaching venues include UC Berkeley, Naropa University Oakland, the Northern California Women's Herbal Symposium, the Bay Area Herbal Symposium, and The Ohlone Center for Herbal Studies. Atava always welcomes new teaching opportunities. Please contact her if you are interested in having her teach at your school or university.



Upcoming Classes


The Healer's Essential Toolkit: Practical Healing Skills to Empower Everyone: August Evening Sessions

Date: 8 Tuesdays, October 12th- November 30th

Time: 10am- 12:30 pm

Location: The Goose Sisters Healing Center, 3798 Grand Ave, Oakland

Back by popular demand, his class is designed to teach practical, hands on holistic healing skills to help yourself and your loved ones. The intention of this class is to empower participants to take charge of their own basic health care.

Topics include:

* Essential herbs for home and family use
* Cold and Flu season herbal remedies
* Herbal Medicine Making (Tinctures, Salves and Syrups)
* Herbal Holiday Gifts
* Flower Essences and Herbs for Spiritual and Emotional Healing
* Jin Shin Jyutsu® & Acupressure for Common Complaints

Cost: $300-$375

To Register: Class size limited. $100 deposit required to save a space.

Herbs as Spiritual Allies Intensive Retreat

Date: September 18-19

Time: 10 am- 5 pm

Location: private home in East Bay

Plants are our ancestors. We depend on them for the air we breathe, for food, shelter, clothing and medicine. Plants can also support our emotional healing and spiritual development. Since the beginning of time, many sacred plants have been used to help people in ritual, ceremony, prayer and healing.

In this class we will develop and explore our spiritual connection to plants in both the waking and dreaming worlds. We will meet, taste and smell many of the world's most sacred plants including frankincense, copal, mugwort, palo santo, cedar and sage.

Topics covered include:

*Connecting with your Healing Plant Allies
* Dreaming with Plants
* Meditation and Journeying with Plants
* Plant Spirit Healing

Cost: $175-$250

To Register: Class size limited. $100 deposit required to save a space.

plant meditation

Meditation with plants in the desert

teaching in poland

Atava teaching Slavic Ancestral Rememberance in Poland

making essence

Finishing our flower essences

circle in Poland

Workshops at Klub Gaja in Poland