Ink and Vein

Writing and Mindfulness Services

Upcoming and Past Events

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Upcoming Events

Playful Writing: Virtual Workshop

A deep pink background with boxes in blue and magenta containing text. In yellow writing at the top, it reads Playful Writing A Virtual Workshop. In a blue box light tan text describes the workshop (the text is repeated below this image) and the magenta box to the right provides date, time, and price, while the magenta box at the bottom reads "Ink and Vein Writing and Mindfulness Services is owned and operated by Jean Alger, PhD." In the bottom right corner, there is a picture of several differently colored pieces of paper. In the top right corner, is the Ink and Vein logo, a tree with blue leaves, green trunk, and purple and magenta roots.

This interactive workshop is all about play! Writing can be a serious task, and we often forget how fun it can be! In this three-hour workshop we’ll engage in activities designed to help you get playful, get creative, and get out of your head and onto the page.

Writers of all levels are welcome!

June 24, from 10am til 1pm Mountain Time.

$45-$60 price points; choose the price that is right for you!

This workshop will take place on Zoom. Please follow this link to register on Eventbrite and feel free to reach out to me with any questions either on Eventbrite or through my Contact form.

Past Events

Mapping Your Story

Image is a background of an antique map. All colors are beige, yellow, or blue. Top left corner has a business logo, a leafy tree blue leaves, green branches, and deep pink roots. The words Ink and Vein are in between leaves and roots. Text on the image reads, at the top Mapping Your Story: How Will You Tell Your Story. A box below reads: In this interactive workshop with Jean Alger, we’ll discover and outline key moments in your story so others can experience your journey. Whether you’re writing fiction or creating a narrative for your business or organization, this workshop will help you share your story. Below that, a box on the left reads: Sliding Scale Investment $45-$55; light refreshments included. A box on the right reads Saturday, May 20th, 10am-1:00pm Sweetgrass Therapeutics, 418 State Avenue, Alamosa a box centered at the bottom reads Register at inkinherveins.com/mappingyourstory

Each of us has unique experiences and perspectives that come together to create our story. How will you share yours?

Come join me, Jean Alger, at Sweetgrass Therapeutics for a workshop to help you discover and outline your unique story!

On May 20th, from 10am-1pm, this interactive workshop will take you through strategies to discover and outline key points in your story and set you on a path to composing a narrative.

Whether you’re writing fiction, nonfiction, or solidifying the messaging for your business or organization, this workshop will help you map out and communicate your message with others.

Writing is an embodied practice, so we’ll spend some time with meditation and light movement along with writing activities.

Light refreshment will be provided. Come prepared with a story you want to develop, and bring the writing implements you like best.

Sliding Scale Investment of $45 – $55.

Please register here: Mapping Your Story

How to Write Poetry

To finish the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative’s celebration of National Poetry Month, I’ll lead a workshop on how to write poetry, on April 28th from 6pm-8pm.

We’ll spend time talking about figurative language, imagery, and evoking emotion to help you get inspired and get your words on the page. We’ll play around with some different poetic forms as well!

Click here to register: How to Write Poetry

Writing Poetry

Come join me at the Ruth Marie Center in Del Norte, CO, for a poetry workshop to help you get inventive and expressive on the page.

On Friday, April 21, from 5:30-7:30pm, we’ll read some different types of poetry together and practice creating our own!

Light refreshment provided. $40 per person.

Register here: inkinherveins.com/writingpoetry

How to Read Poetry

April is National Poetry Month, and I’m helping them celebrate at the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative in Alamosa, CO.

Join us on April 1, from 6pm-7:30pm, to explore poetry together and learn some concepts for engaging with different poetic forms.

If you’ve ever felt like you just don’t get poetry, or if you can’t make sense of it, or if you’re just curious about it, this is the experience for you! We’ll explore poems from different eras and talk about ways to get into and understand poetic forms.

The event is free!

Click here to register: How to Read Poetry Event Registration

Welcoming Spring!

Join me at Sweetgrass Therapeutics for a 3-part workshop to welcome spring. On Sunday, March 19th, Jess Chacon and Angela Haynie will lead a workshop on ritual and its importance in our daily lives. On Monday, March 20th, Jess and Angela will take us through a collective tarot reading and yoga flow. And, on Tuesday, March 21st, Jean (me!) will lead a Spring Equinox poetry workshop and Jess will take us through Yoga Nidra and provide a sound bath to integrate the message of the poem.

Join us for one or all three of these special offerings! Register at sweetgrasstherapeutics.com/classes

On March 11, at 1pm, join me at Sweetgrass Therapeutics for a 3-hour workshop that combines mindfulness and journaling to help you get in touch and be with your present self.

We’ll do light movement, meditation, and writing to help us sense our emotions and bodily sensations and sit with them, instead of distracting from, analyzing, or rationalizing.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring your favorite writing implements. Light refreshment will be provided.

Sliding scale investment of $45-$60; register at https://www.sweetgrasstherapeutics.com/workshops

Join Jean Alger, PhD in an interactive writing workshop to guide you as you develop your fiction or non-fiction writing.

You’ll learn about organization, using context and detail, and have focused time to apply the concepts and share your writing.

We’ll meet on Zoom, so you’ll be able to work in the comfort of home and have all your favorite writing materials with you.

This workshop will be the most productive for you if you already have a concept to work on. Come with an idea for a story, a nonfiction piece, or a poem. You don’t need to have everything about your piece planned out, but knowing some of the basics like themes, who some of the characters or important people are, and some information about your concept will be helpful.

We’ll begin with finding the story in your topic, and then move into drafting and making plans to continue developing your piece.

Prior to the workshop, I’ll send you some examples to read so we can discuss them during the workshop, and then apply the concepts to your own writing. Early sign up is beneficial, so you have time to prepare!

Reach out to me if you have questions, or register at the Eventbrite link, here: Develop Your Idea Registration

a pink background with text and a small picture of a coffee cup, glasses, and hands writing in a notebook. Text reads: Pause for Writing Join Jean Alger on Tuesdays for a writing accountability group. We'll open with a short discussion about writing practices and then have dedicated time to write in community with others. Tuesdays in October 7:00pm - 8:15pm. Sliding Scale $12-$20 or class passes. Sweetgrass Therapeutics, 418 State Avenue. Alamosa, CO 81101 Register at sweetgrasstherapeutics.com/classes

Join me at the lovely studio space at Sweetgrass Therapeutics in Alamosa, CO. Each Tuesday in October, we’ll meet from 7:00-8:15. I’ll give a short presentation of writing practices, and then we’ll have dedicated time to write in community with each other. Each week, we’ll touch base on your writing needs so the the accountability group best serves you. Some weeks, we’ll workshop each other’s writing and learn how to revise and improve a piece so that it meets the vision you have in your mind.

The class is offered on a sliding scale of $12-$20 dollars, or you can use a class pass for Sweetgrass Therapeutics. Go to https://www.sweetgrasstherapeutics.com/classes and select “Yoga Studio Schedule” to register.

Mindful Writing Series Online

In June, I offered a Mindful Writing Series in the beautiful space at Sweetgrass Therapeutics. I’m offering the series again, this time in virtual space. You’ll be able to come and practice mindfulness from the comfort of home.

In this four-week class, which begins on October 5, we’ll explore mindfulness techniques such as breathwork, object sensing, and body sensing and learn the ways that writing can also be a mindfulness technique. The class will provide practice in techniques to help you be calm and present.

The series is offered on a sliding scale, $45-$60, or $15 for a drop-in session. Please go to the EventBrite Series or Drop-in to register.

On October 8, 2022, please join me at The Roast, a local coffee shop in Alamosa, CO, for a 3-hour interactive workshop designed to help you develop your idea. We’ll work on organization, context, and detail, have dedicated time for writing, and a chance to share our work. In addition, you can book a 30-minute feedback session with me to get more suggestions for the work you produced during the workshop.

I’m offering the workshop on a sliding scale, to best suit your financial needs. The workshop ranges from $60 – $80 and includes a beverage of your choice from the talented baristas at The Roast. The add-on feedback session ranges from $12 – $20.

Visit the EventBrite link to register, and please do reach out with any questions!

Join me on Saturday, July 23, from 1pm to 3pm MDT for an interactive workshop!

Do you have an idea, and aren’t sure how to get it out on paper? Do you have a lot of writing and don’t know what to do with it? This workshop will take you through activities to help you find your idea, get it from mind to paper, and begin the drafting process. Writers of all levels are welcome in this interactive workshop.

Come in-person or attend online. Visit sweetgrasstherapeutics.com/workshopsandgroups to register.

Once you are at the website, click “register.” You will be redirected to Wellnessliving.com, where you will then click “Complete.” If you don’t have an account with the studio, you’ll be asked to create one. If you do, you can log in! Select the price option that works best for your life: $30, $45, or $50, and complete your purchase.

Feel free to contact me with questions!

Mindful Writing Series

Beginning on June 9th, I’m offering a four-week series on Mindful Writing.

Each week, we’ll learn and explore breathwork and meditation to encourage mindfulness and prepare us for writing as a mindfulness practice.

By the end of this four-week series, you’ll have tools to help you develop your own mindful writing practice, and some other mindfulness tools as well.

The class is being offered through Sweetgrass Therapeutics where I have the joy of teaching yoga every week, and where I offered my Playful Writing workshop. There is an in-person and a virtual option. If you’re local to the San Luis Valley, I’d love to see you! If you’re living elsewhere, I’d love to see you on screen.

If you have questions, reach out to me using my contact form. If you’d like to register, check out Sweetgrass Therapeutics. Once you follow the link, you’ll see a button that says “Register Here.” Click that, and you’ll see the course, at the top range of the sliding scale, for $60. If you need to select a different point on the scale, click “All Products.”

From there, choose “Workshops/Events” and you’ll see Workshops 6 through 9, with varying price points beginning at $45 and ending at $60.

You will need to create a profile to complete your checkout.

I look forward to sharing this series with you! Or, if this series doesn’t fit your schedule, keep an eye on this page as I will try to offer an all-virtual option, soon.

Playful Writing

In this two-hour workshop, you’ll be guided through writing activities to encourage playfulness and comfort with the written word. We’ll begin with writing prompts designed to spark your creativity for the first hour, and for the second hour we’ll progress through exercises to help you map out the structure of a narrative or poem. Writers of all levels are welcome, though this workshop will be particularly helpful for beginning and shy writers.

You can read my blog post about the workshop here and an example of one of the activities here.

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