Body of Sādhana
From a body of stress to a . . .
LIVE November 23, 2024 | 10:00am EST | Recording Available
Break Free from the Chaos and Discover the Power of Daily Sādhana in this 4-Hour Live Event
It seems like, no matter where we look, the world is moving a mile a minute. What was once a relatively slow trickle of information meted out through daily newspapers or the nightly news (if you can remember such things) has become a torrent of media, news, images, TV shows and advertisements all clambering for our attention.
In the modern age, our attention is a precious resource. If we give it away too easily, we might go bankrupt. Like the spendthrift who consumes extravagantly without balancing the books, we may often find that our energetic wallets become depleted by too many cat memes, rabbit holes, and doom scrolls.
For some of us, this can be a vicious cycle. The more we enculturate ourselves to the speed and intensity of modern life, the more we tend to put off the practices that support our sanity and our mental health. The more we habituate ourselves to obsessing over the to-do list, the more our mind becomes the micro-manager of our life – the task-master who piles on more and more stuff and never permits us sufficient time to rest.
Getting off the householder hamster wheel for a couple of carefully curated moments every day has become increasingly important. We could say that the rise of meditation reflects a necessary response to the trend of scheduling every fleeting moment of our lives with something to do, with some way to “be productive!” Meditation and contemplative practices in general are timeless and found throughout the world’s wisdom traditions, but perhaps at no other time has its benefits been so exhaustively in demand.
But which form of meditation is right for me? And what about the rituals and practices that one does before and after meditation? What is the point of these other “limbs” of practice? How do I fit meditation in when my day is already completely full to begin with?
On Saturday, November 23rd, we will be hosting a 4-hour event called “Body of Sādhana”, which will be equally split between practice and presentation.
The benefits of transforming meditation from an occasional practice into a central pillar of your life.
In this half-day workshop, you'll learn . . .
A cycle of practice that takes you from the “gross” body (light postural yoga) to the subtle body in meditation.
The theory of sound and vibration in yoga, and how it relates to practice.
A number of Sanskrit chants that you can incorporate into your personal practice.
A journaling reflection exercise that helps to integrate the experience of meditation.
The philosophy and science of nāda yoga (the “inner sound”)
The practice of uccāra (the “upward enuncation” of mantra)
The practice of nyāsa (the practice of “placing” mantras on the body)
Workshop Schedule for November 23, 2024
10:00-10:30am: Introduction: The Yogic Theory of Vibration (Spanda)
10:30-11:00am: Japa Practice: Learn a Sequence of Chants
11:00-11:35am: Gross to Subtle Meditation Cycle
11:35-12:00pm: Creative Contemplation - Journaling and Reflection
12:00-12:45pm: Breakout Room Discussions (followed by a short break)
12:45-1:45pm: Exploring the Practice of Nāda Yoga with Mary Reilly Nichols
In this workshop, Jacob Kyle will be joined by the lovely Mary Reilly Nichols, who is going to lead a one-hour workshop on the theory and science of nāda yoga. In Mary’s usual interdisciplinary fashion, she will take us on a wide-ranging intellectual and experiential journey of the “inner sound” and how to embody this principle in our practice and in our lives. See below for more on this special talk and workshop.
1:45-2:45pm: Learning Uccāra, Nyāsa, & A Closing Meditation & Intention Ceremony
Nāda Yoga, the yoga of sound, is proclaimed in yogic texts as an easy means to still the mind and to become immersed in the ecstasy known as samādhi. Using simple postures, prāṇāyāma, and guided meditation, we will experiment with ways to discern the “unstruck sound” in some of its sublime varieties. Connection with the vibrational substrate of reality can become a core transformative practice to be evoked at any time of your choosing.
Exploring the Practice of Nāda Yoga with Mary Reilly Nichols
SPECIAL GUEST TALK & WORKSHOP
Talks and Workshop Facilitated by:
Jacob Kyle
Jacob Kyle is a meditation teacher, writer, philosophy educator, and the Founding Director of Embodied Philosophy. His guiding mission is to re-imagine the modern function of the yoga teacher in alignment with the teachings, texts, and traditions of yoga's profound history. Jacob is a doctoral student at the University of Oxford.He holds an MPhil in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford (2023), an MA in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research (2017), and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics (2007). Jacob is a passionate advocate of Kashmir Śaivism and a devoted practitioner of the Śaiva-Śākta Darśana.
A yoga and meditation teacher for over 40 years, Mary Reilly Nichols offers yoga instruction emphasizing breath awareness with insights gained from neuroscience, evolutionary biology as well as from the philosophy of the Upanishads, Advaita Vedanta, and the Tantric methods of Kashmiri Shaivism. Director of the Nalanda Institute’s yoga teacher training program, she teaches courses for the Embodied Philosophy online platform, the Tibet House in New York City, the New York Open Center and is a keynote speaker at international symposia sponsored by the Wonderstruck Webcast and Harvard Divinity School. Mary holds a BA in anthropology from Harvard University, and completed five years of residency in meditation ashrams both in India and in the US.
Mary Reilly Nichols
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Body of Sādhana: Half-Day Seminar & Workshop
$79
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