Whole Body Awakening - Mindful Yoga & Meditation

Gavin Milne and Helen Stephenson taught this retreat together. You can view the full list of recordings (including Helen Stephenson's) here: https://gaia.dharmaseed.org/retreats/6746

Yoga and meditation are natural partners on the journey to wholeness. Yoga opens the door to within; starting with awareness of body and refining our ability to sense and feel all that we are. Meanwhile the Buddha said, “In whomever mindfulness immersed in the body is developed, is pursued, Mara [the counter force to liberation] gains no entry and no foothold.”

So a robust and functional freedom is an embodied one. But for many of us, our body is not a familiar abiding, nor an easy place to bring our awareness. And this is especially so when we are caught up in the busyness of our day-to-day lives, and accompanying habit patterns. As such, awakening can remain a pursuit of our heads over our hearts and bodies.

So during this practice weekend, we engage in periods of formal meditation and mindful yoga, sensitively approaching the temple of our body in a way that is wise and compassionate for us. Through small, slow, simple and unhurried movements, in harmony with breath and our capacities, we develop an attitude of kind presence wherever we go; experiencing life through the body more, managing thoughts and emotions through our body, and releasing them through the body. Releasing the past and plans for the future, and remaining in the present moment with a greater sense of ease.