Continuing Education for Meditation Instructors: Weekend Two (Online)

2024 Continuing Education for Meditation Instructors is 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. 

Prerequisites: Weekends One and Two are open to all. Weekend Three is for authorized Meditation Instructors and those being mentored into the role only. You do not need to attend all three weekends.

 Weekend Two 

Weekend Two will focus on embodiment—both generally and in meditation practice. The following topics will be 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

Location: Shambhala Online will offer this weekend live via Zoom. It will also be recorded. Depending on our local registrations, we may have the option to gather in person at the Denver Center to view the live program.

 Registration 

This course / retreat is in collaboration with Shambhala Online. When you register, you will be given the option to select a Center and enter a Revenue Share code. The Philadelphia Shambhala Center will then receive 50% of the net revenue. You do not have to be a "member" of the Philadelphia Center to share with us.

Registration is through the Shambhala Online website. Please use the link(s) below and enter:

Center: Philadelphia
Revenue Share Code: 2024CONTINUING50

Weekend 1 with Dale Asrael and Gaylon Ferguson, April 13-14, 2024
Weekend 2 with Erika Berland, May 4-5, 2024
Weekend 3 Janet Solyntjes and Elaine Yuen, June 22-23, 2024

Price per person: $108.00

The Philadelphia Shambhala Center and Shambhala Online are committed to making the Dharma accessible. If you are experiencing financial hardship, there is a link to request a discount before you register.

About the Teacher - Weekend Two

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. She 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 erikaberland.com and  beaversberlandworkshops.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.