Exploring Aging as a Spiritual Practice

In our youth-obsessed society, aging has gotten a bad rap. Indeed, getting older can bring challenges as well as losses. However, if we focus only on maintaining or glorifying youth, we miss some of the best parts of growing older. Not only is there robust evidence that individuals become happier as they grow older, aging also offers a powerful opportunity for spiritual growth throughout all stages of life.  

Aging is one of the most potent somatic and symbolic tools we have for deepening our relationship with ourselves and divinity. As we move through the years, our bodies and minds transform, and we are afforded an opportunity to experience the world from different positionalities. 

Join CIIS faculty Anna I. Corwin and Annette Williams for a transformative in-person workshop at Urban Adamah Farm, a beautiful oasis nestled within Berkeley, California. This workshop is for anyone of any age seeking to develop reflective and active practices to age with intention, community, and joy. Dr. Corwin—an aging and well-being expert—and Dr. Williams—an expert in spiritual power and agency initiated in the Yorùbá Ifá tradition—offer a unique workshop integrating ritual, learning, and reflection.  

In this workshop participants engage in guided visualizations, exercises to promote well-being, reflective journaling, and sharing in community. Participants are introduced to some of the science behind happiness and fulfillment in midlife and beyond. Leave with tools to integrate into your daily life to help foster acceptance, well-being, and the sacred into the process of living and growing older. Discover tools to shift from denial to acceptance, learn how to approach pain as an opportunity for spiritual deepening, and gain knowledge of how to create ritual practices to embrace aging as a spiritual tool.  

Wherever you are in your life journey—whether you’re considering retirement, caring for an adult parent, or are just becoming a parent yourself—Dr. Corwin and Dr. Williams invite you to join them for a day of relaxation and exploration within the tranquil garden setting of Urban Adamah.


Dr. Anna I. Corwin is the author of Embracing Age: How Catholic Nuns Became Models of Aging Well as well as a number of peer-reviewed publications. She received her PhD from UCLA and is a recipient of fellowships from the National Science Foundation and The National Endowment for the Humanities for her research. An Associate Professor in Women’s Spirituality and Anthropology at CIIS, Dr. Corwin has spent the last fourteen years researching how everyday practices shape individuals’ experiences of well-being as we age.


Dr. Annette Williams is Associate Professor and Chair of the Women’s Spirituality department at CIIS.  She holds a doctorate in Philosophy and Religion with a specialization in Women’s Spirituality. A primary research interest is women’s spiritual power and agency within the Yorùbá Ifá tradition. Among others, she has authored “The Divine Feminine in Yoruba Cosmology” found in Goddesses in Myth, History, and Culture, and “Wisdom of the Primordial Feminine, Wisdom of Women: Odù Ifá and Yoruba Religious Tradition” in Philo-Sophia: Wisdom Goddess Traditions, edited by Debashish Banerji and Robert McDermott.