Somatic Awareness: Meditating In and Through the Body

Somatic (body-centered) awareness explores and awakens an embodied intelligence, which is linked to emerging feelings, sensations, subtle energy flows that clear away energy imprints from stress and trauma, visceral consciousness, and awakening to our larger place in spiritual reality. These directly express our real state of well-being and can be harnessed for health and wellness. In somatic awareness, we pay attention to the mind of the body. This weekly class will focus on somatic and breath exercises, accompanied by a discussion of contemporary body-centered psychotherapy and embodied spirituality as transmitted within the ancient Taoist and Tibetan Tantric traditions (from a nonreligious point of view). The only requisite is an interest in exploring a deeper intimacy with ourselves (in-to-me-see). Our conventional state of relative disembodiment and mind-body split can be resolved.

Psychological individuation, integration, and “shadow” work generally explore the subconscious, for its wealth of knowledge about ourselves. Well, the body holds all of that in its own “darkened” (ignored) interior, which we have deliberately closed-off because of a biased trust in an ego-controlled, left-brain monopoly on knowledge. Somatic awareness must overcome this judgmental, prejudicial viewpoint, which limits human experience. We begin by openly exploring the great richness that ego has been denying because it doesn’t like what it can’t control. On the one hand, we might find unmediated raw experience, struggle, chronic disembodiment, and estrangement from our true Self. On the other hand, this wealth of unprocessed experience is just waiting to be disclosed and processed for its healing insights about ourselves, our relationships, and our place in the universe. That has always been the point of “meditation.” Practically speaking, the development of full yogic breathing and somatic awareness benefit everyone. Therapeutic benefits also address such common experiences as insomnia, stress, pain, anxiety, and depression.

Instructor: Lama Urgyan Zangpo
Pricing: $225 for entire 9 week series
Early Bird Pricing: $185 for entire series, sign up by December 15th