Embodied Mindfulness Practice Session
Details
• Now in the "Back Studio" (directly behind the front entrance on Central -- in the rear entrance to Maple Street Dance Space. Must go around building to the rear.
• Now on the 1st, 3rd & 5th Saturdays of each month from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
• No Fee. Voluntary donations are welcome in any amount.
• No previous meditation or movement practices experience is necessary.
• If you have not previously sent us your email address, please do so. Please put the phrase "Albuquerque sessions" in your email, along with your name, so we can contact you if necessary. Send this to James at jrivermartin@gmail.com
These Embodied Mindfulness sessions, which will repeat twice monthly on Saturdays (every other Saturday), combine a primary focus on both sitting meditation and movement meditation. Both the sitting and the movement practice draw their primary inspiration and approach from the writing and teachings of Will Johnson (http://www.embodiment.net/#!about/c1b2w).
Our movement practice is to open to and allow (and sometimes to "follow") spontaneous, improvisational movement. Your movement may vaguely resemble dance, tai chi, chi gung, yoga ... but there is no expectation of form whatsoever. It is free and open movement, be it slow horizontal rolling on the floor or fluid and graceful dancerly abandon. You could spend the open movement segment alternating between stillness and stretching, hopping, walking, skipping, or just slowly exploring the movement of a finger, hand, arm or leg.... It's total openness to whatever happens, and all is welcome (so long as no one is harmed). A special emphasis will be placed on exploring outside the familiar of your movement habits and tendencies with lively, open-minded curiosity -- "beginner's mind". Even more so, you are encouraged to explore the relationship between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the habitual and the non-habitual.
James Martin, Kevin Williams (and others), of Mindful Somatics Institute, have been developing this approach to movement as meditation which essentially takes Will Johnson's guidance and principles on the meditation cushion (sitting) and folds most of those principles into movement as meditation. Both on the cushion in sitting and on the floor in movement, we will explore "kindling sensation," "surrender," (letting go), and an ever deepening exploration into the relationship of breath, movement and sensation -- all of which nurture our capacity for greater aliveness, presence and embodiment.
These sessions will repeat twice monthly for a few months, then go to weekly, as Albuquerque-based facilitators are prepared to lead these sessions.
Those who commit to regular participation in these sessions will get the most out of them. For those with a sincere commitment, we highly recommend reading from Will Johnson's slim volumes on meditation practice in the order provided below -- at least the first three volumes in this list. If purchasing these books is not possible for you, talk with James about borrowing books from MSI.
• The Posture of Meditation (http://www.shambhala.com/the-posture-of-meditation.html)
• Aligned, Relaxed, Resilient (http://www.shambhala.com/aligned-relaxed-resilient.html)
• Breathing Through the Whole Body (http://www.innertraditions.com/breathing-through-the-whole-body.html)
• Yoga of the Mahamudra (http://www.innertraditions.com/yoga-of-the-mahamudra.html)
Please wear clothing which allows for freedom of movement, and bring a water bottle.
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Interview of Will Johnson by Mary-Charlotte of Santa Fe Radio Cafe
(audio podcast)
http://www.santaferadiocafe.org/sfradiocafe/2015/04/30/will-johnson/
What is mindfulness?
Embodied Mindfulness Practice Session