This workshop is offered for those who are interested in the Sola Advanced Studies Curriculum as well as those wanting a "sample" of how we work. During the weekend, we will touch upon the core foundations of our program: embodiment and somatic practices, contemplative disciplines, and the yamas as organizational principles. In the full (eighteen-month) program, we spend three days with each yama, working with its lessons through ritual (embodiment), movement (somatics), and contemplative practice.
The 5 Yamas: ethics as organizing principles:
In each of five sessions we will explore one of the yamas through somatic practice, embodiment, meditation, contemplation on the role of the teacher, practice in teaching techniques, creative practice and discussion. Our aim is not to define or solidify but to work with the questions that arise when we explore our relationship to each principle.
Friday 6:00pm to 8:30pm - Ahimsa: Nonviolence and Compassion
Saturday 10:00am to 12:30pm - Satya: Truth-telling
Saturday 2:00pm to 5:30pm - Asteya: Non-stealing
Sunday 10:00 am to 12:30pm - Brahmacharya: Respect of Sexuality and Creative Responsibility
Sunday 2:00pm to 5:30pm - Aparigraha: Non-grasping, Non-possessiveness
Embodiment and Somatic Practices:
The word "embodiment" is a term that is becoming increasingly popular, but what does it mean? To us, embodiment means the body-mind relationship that manifests as our thoughts and beliefs take physical form.
Somatic practices are sensation and body-awareness practices that we utilize to integrate mental learning and understanding.
Contemplative Disciplines:
Through consistent practice, bringing our awareness to what is arising in the present moment, we develop our ability to step away from the unconscious thought and behavioral patterns that keep us stuck in repetitive cycles of suffering. Meditation, felt-sense awareness, dialogue, and creative processes are all tools that we utilize to increase our capability to stay present in the moment and meet what is arising without reactivity yet with adaptability.