Continuing Education for Meditation Instructors: Weekend Two

May 4th—May 5th

Date details +

    Continuing Education for Meditation Instructors: Weekend Two
    Shambhala Online
    with Erika Berland

    Saturday & Sunday, May 4th & 5th
    10am to 1pm Mountain Time

    You are invited to join this Shambhala Online program online.  All registrants will receive a Zoom link.

    When you register, please select the Boulder Shambhala Center as your center, so that BSC benefits from revenue sharing with Shambhala Online.

    Information & Registration through Shambhala Online HERE

    About the Training

    Weekend two of this training is part of a series of three weekend trainings that are designed as continuing education for already authorized Meditation Instructors, as well as meditation practitioners who are interested in developing as Meditation Instructors. Each weekend is designed to support those interested in sharing the practice of meditation with others to cultivate the understanding and skills to assist others along their meditation path. 

    You do not need to attend all three weekends. These weekend trainings are ideal for Groups and Centers to include within a mentoring program for those seeking a Meditation Instructor authorization at a local level. 

    Weekends One and Two are open to all. Weekend Three is for authorized Meditation Instructors and those being mentored into the role.

    Weekend 1 with Dale Asrael and Gaylon Ferguson, April 13-14, 2024
    Weekend 2 with Erika Berland, May 4-5, 2024
    Weekend 3 Janet Solyntjes and Elaine Yuen, June 22-23, 2024

    Weekend two will focus on embodiment—both generally and in meditation practice. The following topics will be discussed, as well as how to convey a sense of the experience of embodiment to others and how to guide people towards being embodied in their meditation practice:

    • An overview of Mindfulness of Body
    • Discovering ease and joy in the physical posture of meditation 
    • Connecting our bodies to the body of the earth and the elements of our natural world
    • Feeling the energy of emotions in your body and holding your seat, with yourself and others
    • Communicating with others from an embodied place. 
    • Learning to work with physical discomfort through mindfulness of body
    • Exploration and familiarity with the Four Postures of Meditation
    • Tips on how to lead body-centered practices such as shamatha yoga with an emphasis on permission language and adaptations
    • Bringing “mindfulness of body” into everyday life

    Prerequisites

    Open to all. Weekends One and Two are open to all. Weekend Three is for authorized Meditation Instructors and those being mentored into the role only. 

    About the Teachers

    Erika Berland has been a Meditation Instructor since 1986 and a Shambhala Training Director since 1989. She taught in the original Ngedön School in NYC and has been teaching in the Shambhala School of Buddhist Studies for many years and currently. She also presents on Shambhala Online, talks and podcasts on meditation and the body. She created and directed a two year Meditation Practicum for Naropa University’s MFA Contemporary Performance Program that integrated meditation, somatic movement training and dharma art principles from 2004-2020. She is part of the founding faculty of Naropa University’s Mindful Compassion Course, WELCOME, a secular training offered by CACE (Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education) and has been teaching in that program since its inception in 2017. She is the author of Sitting: The Physical Art of Meditation published in 2017 and has presented numerous workshops based on her book throughout the US including Boulder, Los Angeles, NYC, Chicago, Washington DC as well as Montreal, Canada. She also offers regular workshops and teaching on Zoom and information on these can be found both on beaversberlandworkshops.com and erikaberland.com. Her work has also been published in a number of books on performance training and movement as well as Discovering Sanity (Ratna Peace Initiative), a publication for the incarcerated.