East Van Wisdom School

staying human in complex times

In a time of speed, distraction and uncertainty, many of us long for places to slow down, listen more deeply and explore what it means to live wisely.

We have more information than ever, but fewer places for reflection, creativity and meaningful conversation.

East Van Wisdom School was created in response to this need.

Today, EVWS is a collective of practitioners, facilitators and community members exploring practices that help us live with greater awareness, creativity and care in a changing world.

Wisdom is not something we acquire through information.
It grows through lived experience, reflection and relationship.

We create spaces to cultivate these capacities together.

Connection. Collaboration. Cross-pollination.

Because wisdom is created together.

Meet the Collective

DELIA BRETT

Authenticity/ Discovery / Waking up

Delia Brett is a transformational coach and facilitator whose work is rooted in embodiment, creativity, relationship and a lifelong practice of yoga and dance.

With more than three decades in the arts and a deep history in Contact Improvisation, she brings a finely tuned understanding of the body, creative process and the intelligence that emerges when we learn to listen differently.

Delia creates welcoming spaces that are deep and grounded in trust — trust in ourselves, in each other, and in what can happen when we bring our curiosity, our bravery and our listening together.

Her work is about awakening: reclaiming, rediscovering and embodying our authentic selves. Through coaching, workshops and programs such as Play Fully Awake, she invites people to reconnect with their bodies, creativity, intuition and deeper knowing — and to discover what becomes possible when they begin to live from there.

Explore Delia's work →

ALIX DUNHAM

Mindfulness / Brain Health / Emotional Resilience

Alix Dunham is an educator, facilitator and certified meditation teacher, and the founder of Grit Workshops. She brings more than 25 years of teaching experience to her work, helping people understand their brains, build resilience and support their mental wellbeing.

Grit uses mindfulness and neuroscience to explore brain health and emotional resilience for kids, youth, and adults. Alix's workshops are practical, interactive and light-hearted, offering accessible tools for regulation, resilience and navigating the chaos of life.

At the heart of her work is the belief that understanding how our brains and bodies work can give us more choice in how we respond to ourselves, stress, and one another.

Explore Grit →

LISA GIBSON

Zen / Aliveness / Compassion

Lisa Genki Gibson Sensei is a Zen teacher, coach and facilitator and the founder of Dragon Moon Zen. She has been practicing in the Soto Zen tradition since 2008 and received Dharma Transmission in 2023.

Lisa is passionate about the potency of Zen practice to deepen our experience of wisdom, compassion and joy in everyday life. Her work invites us to become more intimate with our lives — to slow down, pay attention and discover the aliveness that is here in each moment.

Her offerings weave together Zen practice, embodied awareness, interpersonal practice and creative inquiry, creating spaces to awaken, deepen and unfold together.

Lisa's work invites us to meet this life more fully and bring our growing awareness into how we live, love, work, and participate in the world.

Explore Dragon Moon Zen →

What we're Creating

East Van Wisdom School isn't a school in the traditional sense.

There are no grades. No exams. No single way of knowing.

We are creating a space where different practices, perspectives and people can meet — a place for curiosity, reflection, creativity, conversation and lived experience.

Our offerings may be a single gathering or unfold over several weeks, giving ideas, practices and relationships time to deepen.

We learn as much through experience as through information. We move, reflect, listen, make, question and talk. We learn from one another.

We’re interested in what happens when different ways of knowing come together and cross-pollinate.

And where wisdom can emerge between us.

We each bring something to the collective.

WAYS INTO WISDOM

There are many ways into wisdom.

Through the body. Through creativity. Through stillness. Through conversation. Through relationship.

We might move, make, meditate, reflect, listen, question or play.

These practices help us notice what we usually miss, loosen habitual ways of thinking and see ourselves, each other and the world with fresh eyes.

Wisdom is lived. Wisdom is relational. Wisdom is something we practice.

Join the East Van Wisdom School Community for invites, offers, and insight.

RECEIVE

UPCOMING OFFERINGS

grey MATR

grey MATR is a practical look into how we use the science of body + brain to boost our mental health and help us achieve a sense of overall well-being. Through the neuroscience of mindfulness and meditation, we explore techniques for regulation and resilience and build a strong, steady foundation to help ride the chaos…

EAST VAN WISDOM SCHOOL: sampler

LAUNCH & COMMUNITY GATHERING Come meet us. Come play. Come be part of something new. Something is taking shape at East Van Wisdom School, and we want to celebrate by bringing people together. We’re joining forces in the spirit of connection, collaboration and cross-pollination. East Van Wisdom School is now the shared home of Delia…

COURAGE TO MATTER

From self-abandonment and disconnection to self-authorship and embodied confidence. An 8-week in-person group coaching experience rooted in embodied and collective practice. What if, instead of trying to optimize, strategize, minimize or cope with your life, you learned to actually be with it? To listen to your body. To follow your breath. To notice what is…

BECOMING NOW

Meditation, Yoga and Creative Practice for Letting Go and Coming Home With Lisa Gibson Softly the rain kisses my cheeks, my lips wanting nothing back. What if you could move through your days with a clearer mind, a steadier heart, and a renewed sense of energy? What might open up if you slowed down just…

BECOMING NOW

grey MATR

EAST VAN WISDOM SCHOOL: sampler

COURAGE TO MATTER

Delia Brett

Founder, East Van Wisdom School — I created East Van Wisdom School ...

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Alix Dunham

Alix is passionate about boosting our collective mental well-being. She started Grit ...

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Lisa Gibson

Lisa Genki Gibson Sensei is a Zen teacher, longtime yoga practitioner, and ...

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This is not just another class. This is an invitation to be part of something greater—a movement toward a wiser, more connected way of being. If you feel the call to deepen your understanding, to engage in meaningful practices, and to be in community with others who share this vision, we invite you to join us.

JOIN

Come, take a seat in the circle. Let’s cultivate some grassroots wisdom – together.

Join us at East Van Wisdom School and hear about how you can participate in upcoming programs.

RECEIVE