Hello and Happy New Year
To all my fellow somanauts, yogis, yoginis and explorers of the bio-cosmic fields of consciousness and ultimate mystery: the next series of Zoom classes is coming up and want to let you know the themes.
Embodying Presence involves deep dives into the two primary modes of exploring consciousness.
The first and primary is articulated by Patanjali in sutra I-3, the Seer stably abides in its own True Nature.
In modern terms, resting in and as the infinite Stillness. In Embodying Presence we use the Zen practice known as just sitting, or shikantaza.
This is a both very simple and very difficult multi layered exploration of embodied Being. The urge to do’ something’ is a deeply engrained habit, especially in those of us who have been doing a somatic practice for many years. It gets easier as the vibrancy of the body increases, but this needs a simultaneous dropping of the mental chatter, the ‘cittta vrttis’, so this first section is also PYS I-2, citta vrtti nirodha, restraining the urge to analyze, judge and comment on everything in a seemingly non-stop stream. There are gaps in the stream, and we find them and rest there, awakening the stillness and open heartedness of the Ground of Being.
Ground of Being is always and already present, but it is usually not recognized or ‘realized’ because our attention is habitually attracted to what is moving within the Stillness; usually thoughts, emotions and sensations. As the mind settles, the vastness of the unbounded open heart begins to reveal itself.
The second is somatic samadhi, or deep absorption into and exploration of the energy fields of the body to bring increasing coherence and vibrancy to the cellular and organ levels of consciousness. Here attention is not invested in thought but feeling and the inherent intelligence of the organism. Attention rests in our innate bio-physiological aliveness and not the mental chatter. Poses used are primarily sitting and restorative, but each student is encouraged to discover and explore the postures and movements that best support their own process of awakening.
As the organic intelligence awakens and expands, it allows the emotionally dysfunctional mental activity to slowly be transformed/dissolved and integrated into the organic intelligence. This allows the ever-present Ground of Being to more clearly reveal itself and for our separate sense of self to dissolve. This is Awakening.
This happens both individually and collectively and as we are in a major shift in collective human consciousness, with the deep pathologies being released like the opening of Pandora’s Box (Greek) or the Churning of the Milky Ocean (Vedic). All hands on deck are needed to help heal the old cultural wounds and clean up the mess we have created on the planet.
The somatic Theme for the winter is awakening and stabilizing the Center. When the center fails to hold, the whole system begins to break down. This is happening in America and in countries and cultures around the world. We will use Western, Taoist and esoteric anatomy to find some fun and important ‘centers’ to explore.
The liver will be a major one! The classic Taoist text on medicine and philosophy, the Nei Jing, says ‘the liver is the foundation of curtailing extremes’.
How perfect for our moment!
The classes also have ample time for questions, group conversations and community building. The fall class series worked well with this format. A video recording of all the classes will be available, so you do not have to worry about missing one or two.
Feel free to call me if you have questions about the structure of the classes. 805 272 8573
or email me at yogarthur@aol.com
There are two sets of classes:
3 Saturday classes: January 22, February 12 and March 19.Time : 9 – 11 am PST, 12 noon – 2 pm ESTTuition: All 3 classes $75, individual classes $35Registration: direct payment to me through Venmo, Paypal or personal check.
Tuesday series: 12 consecutive weeks beginning January 11.Time : 9 – 11 am PST, 12 noon – 2 pm ESTTuition: $300, no single classes
Class Size limited to 20
Registration: direct payment to me through Venmo, Paypal or personal check.
with much love,