COURSE DESCRIPTION:
You CAN calm a racing mind and stop being reactive. Systematic relaxation combined with meditation will help you relax a tense body, reduce stress, better navigate emotional challenges, and refine your mind.
Meditation is a systematic process that leads you from outside to inside—from the environment around you to the clarity, wisdom, & power of your own mind.
Meditation relaxes the nervous system, calms the senses, and focuses the mind. In meditation, body, breath, and mental states become integrated into one continuous process. This enhances energy because it lessens energy leaks, disturbances, & dullness, and enhances perception, discernment, & radiance. Scientific studies has shown that meditation lowers blood pressure, improves breathing, facilitates healing, and contributes to overall heath and well-being.
Come experience these soothing and empowering results firsthand!
3 Gems of Meditation ALSO offers you direct experience of the deeper aspects of yoga.
In addition to health benefits, when we lean into the vitality that the root of why meditation works, we can expand beyond individual benefits & start to experience how meditation expands our capacity & worldview, helping us see and be with compassion into the inter-relation of people, peace, and the planet.
Simply put, you make the world a better place as you become happier within.
Over the course of this 4-week series, we will explore profound yoga philosophy foundations through the light of THREE gems each session, to better understand and harness the innate power of your mind & potentials for peace:
- Three fundamental forces of nature & how to bring balance to your system;
- Three aspects of attentive focus & how to amplify their influence;
- Three poisons of the mind & their antidotes; and
- Three inner cities of the body & how to navigate masterfully.
Every week prior to the group instruction, each student receives a one-on-one energetic check-in with your teacher, Virginia. This individualized attention gives you time and support to ground, get really present, and see and be seen. This is called a "Gating Ceremony," and it helps you focus your mind, leave behind burdensome thoughts and tension, and, instead, gather your energies to focus on & nurture your well-being. It is a rare opportunity to really connect with an empathic person highly trained in holding space; in a hectic world that is often structured for disconnection, this is often a remedy. Plus, it makes the rest of our collective time rogether more potent!
Group practice then opens with a brief discussion of the focal point for the week. We then begin standing and do very simple movements and stretches to release tension in the body.
Every session includes practical guidance for a comfortable & steady meditation practice, including how to:
- Prepare the body and mind for meditation;
- Choose a sitting posture that’s just right for you;
- Practice smooth, relaxed breathing, and awareness of the flow of the breath;
- Using focus & vibration to provide a focus and resting place for the mind;
- Observe yourself and the thoughts that arise as you meditate; and
- Truly take the time and space to notice how you feel before, during, and after meditation.
In each portion of this 4-week series, you will receive guidance in ancient yoga philosophy, made EASY.
You will learn THREE GEMS each week, alongside practical ways meditation AND inner reflection improve your overall well-being and help you calm, clear, and empower the mind. Particular attention will be given to mindfulness, or the ability to observe yourself and STAY PRESENT, and concentration, the ability to rest your mind in its soft yet potent focus.
You will be guided through the 5 essential steps of Meditation:
1. Stillness - including how to make your meditation seat COMFORTABLE;
2. Relaxed and Effortless Breathing;
3. Systematic Relaxation while seated;
4. Breath Awareness at the Nostrils; and
5. Resting Awareness in the Sound of a Mantra.
We will also practice breath training to strengthen the diaphragm. This can be done seated or lying down, and often uses a weight on the abdomen. We will also work with breath awareness to ensure that you are breathing diaphragmatically. Each week we will review and practice the 5 essential qualities of optimal diaphragmatic breathing: smooth, deep, even, continuous, and quiet.
Then, we move into guided relaxation. This is an essential step that is often overlooked or not fully appreciated. Relaxation will occur as you lie on your yoga mat, using blankets, bolsters and other props as needed to ensure your comfort and support. Relaxation practices are traditional, systematic, and step-by-step methods. They are done lying down because this allows you to fully relax the body, soften nervous agitation, and quietly calm the mind.
Precise techniques are used to shift your attention from the outer world to your own body and become aware of the flow of your breath through techniques such as 61-points (Sithila Karani) and Breath Wave (Shavayatra) exercise. These methods help you soften and also enhance breathing and soothe the physical body.
You relax your body, breathing, nervous system, senses, and mind.
Meditation is sequential practice, with order and form. Understanding the process makes it more reliable and effective. But we all live busy and often harried lives. Understanding the "why" and lovely traditions of generations of meditators who have come before us, AND how yoga meditation must adapt to contemporary times, you also gain INSPIRATION. It is inspiration that will fuel your continued practice, making new habits to awaken your highest self and brightest happiness.
Come learn how to relax your body and breath, focus your mind, and sit resting in a place of stillness inside yourself, supported each week by THREE gems of practical yet profound insights.
With this deep dive into meditation techniques AND philosophy, you will have the tools you need to discover your own inner sanctuary.
At the end of our 90 minutes together, we will close our sacred circle, in order for you to learn how to take these improved states with you throughout your days. Your teacher, Virginia, will be available after sessions to answer questions, or simply to provide inspiration, encouragement, conversation, and – of course! – immense gratitude.
Gentle reminder to BRING A YOGA MAT: Yoga mats are REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE SESSIONS. Chairs, blankets, pillows, bolsters, hand weights, and other props will be provided.
Looking forward to seeing you. I am so blessed and delighted to be able to bring yoga meditation to our little neck of the beautiful woods; it could not happen without you, so thank you from my innermost heart.
In service,
Virginia Hill
AHA Yoga Meditation Teacher,
Awakening Magic Mentor;
Transformational Coach
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