Mindfulness and Embodiment at the Boulder Shambhala Center (in-person)
with Janet Solyntjes, Erika Berland, Margot Iseman
Mindfulness and Embodiment at the Boulder Shambhala Center (in-person)
with Janet Solyntjes, Erika Berland, and Margot Iseman
Wednesdays January 15, 2025 through February 22, 2025 - 6:45pm to 8:45pm
Full price: $150
Sponsor: $180
Subsidized: $120
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: If you are in need of financial assistance or you have any questions about payment, please contact Colin Stubbert at [email protected]. We will NOT turn anyone away for lack of funds.
A series of live sessions joining somatic practices of embodiment with the view and practice of meditation to support meditation practitioners of all levels of experience.
Mindfulness of body is connected with the earth. It is an openness that has a base, a foundation. A quality of expansive awareness develops through mindfulness of body—a sense of being settled and of therefore being able to afford to open out.
—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, The Heart of the Buddha
About the Course
This is a participatory and highly experiential class, led by three senior Shambhala teachers with years of professional work as somatic educators. Some of the areas we will cover include:
- What is Mindfulness of Body and why is it key to our meditation journey.
- An introduction to a variety of somatic and embodiment techniques and approaches as they support your meditation practice as well as your daily activities.
- Greater skill at communication and social engagement through a deeper understanding of being embodied.
- An exploration of our bodies as not separate from the body of the earth and our natural world.
Erika Berland, is a Certified Practitioner of Body-Mind Centering (R), a Registered Movement Therapist and a senior meditation instructor and teacher in the Shambhala community. In 2004 she co-founded the MFA: Contemporary Performance Theater program at Naropa University (2004-2020) where she developed a 2-year training for performers, integrating meditation and dharma art principles into a somatic movement curriculum. Her book, Sitting: The Physical Art of Meditation, was published in 2017 and she has presented numerous programs on embodiment and the physical posture of meditation for the Shambhala community over many years.
Margot Iseman has an MA in Dance Movement Therapy from Naropa University (1989) and is aLicensed Professional Counselor (LPC) She has been teaching Body-Mind Centering(R) and Experiential Anatomy for over 30 years at Naropa University. She is a life long dancer and former dance teacher and she has been a Shambhala Training Director in Boulder, CO since the 1990’s.
Janet Solyntjes, MA, is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist community as well as a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher. She has been leading meditation programs and retreats since 1996 and has served on the faculty of Naropa University, the Center for Mindfulness, the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, and Mindful Leader. She incorporated yoga and other body-based practices in the spiritual path since she began practicing in 1984.
