About the Training

Weekend two of this recorded training is part of a series of three weekend trainings that are designed as continuing education for already authorized Meditation Instructors, as well as meditation practitioners who are interested in developing as Meditation Instructors. Each weekend is designed to support those interested in sharing the practice of meditation with others to cultivate the understanding and skills to assist others along their meditation path. 

You do not need to take all three courses. These weekend trainings are ideal for Groups and Centers to include within a mentoring program for those seeking a Meditation Instructor authorization at a local level. 

Recorded Weekends One and Two are open to all. Recorded Weekend Three is for authorized Meditation Instructors and those being mentored into the role.

Weekend One: On Shamatha/Vipashyana, with Dale Asrael and Gaylon Ferguson
Weekend Two: On Mindfulness and Embodiment, with Erika Berland
Weekend Three: On Trauma Sensitivity and Meditation, with Janet Solyntjes and Elaine Yuen

Weekend two focuses on embodiment—both generally and in meditation practice. The following topics are discussed, as well as how to convey a sense of the experience of embodiment to others and how to guide people towards being embodied in their meditation practice:

• An overview of Mindfulness of Body
• Discovering ease and joy in the physical posture of meditation 
• Connecting our bodies to the body of the earth and the elements of our natural world
• Feeling the energy of emotions in your body and holding your seat, with yourself and others
• Communicating with others from an embodied place. 
• Learning to work with physical discomfort through mindfulness of body
• Exploration and familiarity with the Four Postures of Meditation
• Tips on how to lead body-centered practices such as shamatha yoga with an emphasis on permission language and adaptations
• Bringing “mindfulness of body” into everyday life

Prerequisites

Open to all. Weekends One and Two are open to all. Weekend Three is for authorized Meditation Instructors and those being mentored into the role only. 

About the Teachers

Erika Berland has been a Meditation Instructor since 1986 and a Shambhala Training Director since 1989. She taught in the original Ngedön School in NYC and has been teaching in the Shambhala School of Buddhist Studies for many years and currently. She also presents on Shambhala Online, talks and podcasts on meditation and the body. She created and directed a two year Meditation Practicum for Naropa University’s MFA Contemporary Performance Program that integrated meditation, somatic movement training and dharma art principles from 2004-2020. Erika is part of the founding faculty of Naropa University’s Mindful Compassion Course, WELCOME, a secular training offered by CACE (Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education) and has been teaching in that program since its inception in 2017. She is the author of Sitting: The Physical Art of Meditation published in 2017 and has presented numerous workshops based on her book throughout the US including Boulder, Los Angeles, NYC, Chicago, Washington DC as well as Montreal, Canada. She also offers regular workshops and teaching on Zoom and information on these can be found both on beaversberlandworkshops.com and erikaberland.com. Her work has also been published in a number of books on performance training and movement as well as Discovering Sanity (Ratna Peace Initiative), a publication for the incarcerated.