Let’s gather for the last workshop of 2018 to practice meditation, enjoy like-minded company and work on whatever unresolved questions and inner challenges remain at the end of the year. This will be the first L11 workshop without a set theme – the themes we engage with will be determined on the day by the needs of the group. You can either bring a question or inner dilemma to work on, or come with an open mind and see what emerges for you on the day.
Author Archives: Valera
Sat 27th October – Meditation Workshop – Relaxing Deeply
The pace of modern life is becoming more stressful – more projects to do in less time, more people to keep in touch with via more communication mediums, more choices to consider, more activities to do… and less rest.
Having lots of things on the go can make our minds very busy – constantly solving problems, evaluating options, trying to predict the future. This results in stress, which in turn causes the body to tense up and enter the physiological state of “fight or flight”. Being in this state for too long can cause irritability, exhaustion, low moods and negative outlook on life.
Sat 8th September – Meditation Workshop – Rolling With Reality
A great deal of life’s upsets have to do with things not going how we want them to go. It is common to have a desire for control – desire to influence reality to be the way that we think is best. This involves many positive and fruitful aspirations. But things don’t always go our way and some aspects of our reality are very difficult if not impossible to change. In this workshop we will explore ways of using meditation and movement to peel one layer of our suffering – the inner resistance to parts of our reality that we want to change but can’t. Continue reading
Stress and Rejuvenation
According to the Western medicine, core functions of the human body such as digestion, heart rate, blood flow and oxygenation are regulated by the autonomic nervous system that operates mostly outside of our direct conscious control. It consists of two parts: sympathetic and parasympathetic. Continue reading
Wastewater Overflows in Laingholm
Many Laingholm residents are now aware that Laingholm Beach is unsafe to swim due to poor water quality resulting from fecal contamination. The Council web site www.SafeSwim.org.nz lists Laingholm Beach under the category “Long term water quality alerts – we recommend you don’t swim at these spots”. Action definitely needs to be taken by Watercare and Auckland Council, but the purpose of this article is to look at our individual contribution to the problem and look at how our everyday actions at home may be contributing to the contamination of Laingholm Beach. Continue reading
Workshop at Earth-Beat Harvest Festival
I will be offering a 2-hour workshop called Direct Experience of the Present at this year’s Earth-Beat Harvest Festival. This will be an experiential meditation workshop focused on giving participants practical methods for entering the state of conscious presence – the “how to” of being present. The workshop is scheduled to take place in Yoga Shala at 9:30AM on Saturday the 2nd of April (but double-check the festival programme in case there are any changes).
Sat 12th March – Meditation Workshop – Being There For Yourself
Every life has its share of challenges accompanied by difficult emotions – fear, anger and sadness. Most of us were never taught how to be with and move through these difficult emotions and how to embrace their gifts. The common approach is to “toughen up”, avoid unpleasant feelings and distract ourselves with work, entertainment, shopping, drugs or chocolate. If we use this approach and accumulate internal emotional baggage, is it any surprise that we find it difficult to be alone with ourselves, to open emotionally to another person and to feel love?
Sat 18th July – Meditation Workshop – Moving Into Your Inner Dance
In this 3-hour experiential workshop we will step beyond the dominance of our thinking mind and re-connect with the fluid intelligence of our physical body. We will focus on getting in touch with our inner movement impulse and learning to follow it, releasing the weight of the physical tension that no longer serves us, and exploring the natural rhythm of circular movement in our body.
Sat 2nd May – Meditation Workshop – Being in the Present Moment
In this 3-hour experiential workshop we will focus on bringing our attention into the present moment and learning to just “be” – without having to do, fix or change anything. The participants will be guided through a series of meditation techniques that help to overcome the mind’s constant need to solve problems, worry, dream and be entertained, uncovering the state of conscious presence underneath. There will be multiple opportunities to ask questions that come up during the practice. This workshop is not religious and is not centered around any specific tradition or guru.
Sat 28th March – Meditation Workshop – Going Beyond the Rational Mind
In this 3-hour experiential workshop we will focus on bringing our attention into the present moment, accessing the healing intelligence of our body and experiencing awareness that is beyond our thinking mind. The participants will be guided through a mixture of sitting and movement-based (body-based) meditation techniques and there will be multiple opportunities to ask questions that come up during the practice. This workshop is not religious and is not centered around any specific tradition or guru.