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Embodying the Elements with Awareness (hybrid: in-person)

Program Type:
Teacher:
Time:10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Date:Sunday - June 9, 2024
Sessions:1
Registration for this program is closed.

This program will be hosted both in-person and online (hybrid). This is the registration page to join Éowyn Ahlstrom in person at our Center in Cambridge. (Register here if you prefer to attend online.) Please bring a vegetarian lunch or plan to go out during the lunch break. Masks will be optional.

Join us for a day-long immersion in mindfulness, embodiment, and connection with the environment. This workshop offers sanctuary and sangha for deepening awareness with both internal and external anchors for attention -- our human bodies and the world around us. Participants will be invited to explore their embeddedness in our environment as a gateway to a deeper understanding the Buddha's liberating teachings on the nature of reality and existence.

Key elements of our day together:

  • Mindfulness Practices: Throughout the day, participants engage in guided sitting, standing and reclining meditations, all aimed at cultivating present-moment awareness and inner peace.
  • Embodiment: This workshop emphasizes embodiment, encouraging participants to explore the sensations and wisdom of their bodies as a gateway to deeper mindfulness.
  • Nature Connection: Immersion in nature serves as a central theme, with the recognition that we are nature and nature is readily available as a meditation subject, even if we are in an urban environment like CIMC in Cambridge.
  • Community and Reflection: Opportunities for communal sharing and reflection provide a supportive environment for participants to integrate their experiences and insights from the workshop.

This program is appropriate for beginners and experienced practitioners alike. Everyone is welcome. Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program.

Éowyn Ahlstrom brings decades of experience, serving as a skilled teacher and practitioner in the healing arts. With a seamless integration of mindfulness, meditation, movement, contemplation, and engagement, she designs clear, personalized, and engaging programs suitable for individuals and groups at all levels of experience. At the core of her own practice and work is the embodiment of awareness and compassion, with a dedication to imparting these qualities to others. She holds a master’s degree from the American College of Education, specializing in health and wellness and is the author of a volume of poems titled Mindscapes: Practice Poems.

There are no prerequisites for this program. Everyone is welcome.

Workshop

Attending an In-Person Workshop at CIMC (see below for attending online workshops)

  • Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to check-in and to find a comfortable place in the meditation hall.
  • While at the Center all phones, pagers, beeping watches and other electronic devices must remain completely turned off at all times.
  • Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest taking public transportation to the Center whenever possible.
  • Lunch will not be provided. Participants are invited to bring their own vegetarian meal to the Center or may buy lunch in the neighborhood. A list of local restaurants and food stores will be available.
  • Food and beverages, including water, are not allowed in the meditation halls.
  • We strongly recommend you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation hall will vary throughout the day. The hall thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature range; however, please give yourself a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.
  • Please leave shoes on the shoe shelves on the first floor and keep your valuables with you at all times.
  • CIMC provides zafus (round cushions), zabutons (large mats), meditation benches, blankets, and chairs for your use. At the end of the program, we request that participants brush off their zabuton and plump up their zafu. All other items should be returned neatly to where they were found.
  • CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those who may have chemical sensitivities, please avoid using scented products—lotions, deodorant, after-shave, hair products, perfume, clothes laundered with scented detergent, or dryer sheets—before you come to the Center.

Attending an Online Workshop

  • We will be using Zoom for this workshop. Before your workshop begins, be sure to download Zoom and familiarize yourself with using the program, including the chat feature. Specifics about how we will be using Zoom during your workshop will be covered at the beginning of the workshop; however, we are not able to provide technical support during the workshop.
  • We ask that you treat our virtual meditation hall as if we were together in person, in the same room. The teachers and other yogis benefit greatly from your full presence and careful attention.
  • Join each session of the workshop a few minutes early. This will support the teachers and your fellow participants.
  • Ideally, power off phones and smartwatches for the entire time scheduled for the workshop on each day. Please don’t check your devices during breaks. We suggest that you put an “away” message on your email and voicemail and leave your devices in another room during your workshop hours.
  • Please keep your video on during our time together as much as you can. This supports a sense of connectedness and sangha.
  • Closed Captions for CIMC Programs are generated through “live streaming” via Rev.com. CIMC programs are not live-streamed to any other platform for any other use.
  • You will receive a welcome email from CIMC a day or two before your program that will include the zoom link and further information.