Awakening Through the Body: A Five-Session Class on the First Foundation of Mindfulness
Schedule
Tue, 18 Feb, 2025 at 06:00 pm
UTC-07:00Location
1800 E 3rd Ave, Ste 109, Durango, CO, United States, Colorado 81301 | Durango, CO
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Awakening Through the BodyA Five-Session Class on the First Foundation of Mindfulness
with Kate Siber, Yong Oh, Chris Benitez, Juliana Sloane and Katherine Barr
Tuesday Evenings from 6:00-7:45 p.m.
February 18 and 25 + March 4, 18, and 25
IN PERSON
In this fast-paced, heady world, it can be easy to live in our thoughts and forget the body, take it for granted, or run it ragged while trying to keep up with the pace of modern life. But cultivating mindfulness, kindness and a wise relationship with our bodies—just as they are—can be a profound gateway into deeper peace, wisdom and compassion.
Join us for a five-session course exploring the fundamental and liberating gateway of our very own bodies. We'll incorporate both Buddhist teachings on mindfulness of body and contemporary wisdom on embodiment. We'll explore how to be present with both pleasant and unpleasant experiences, health and sickness, pain and pleasure, change and stability, uncertainty and the process of aging that affects us all. Our hope is that our explorations will lead us more deeply into what it means to be fully present in body, heart and mind, here and awake to the beauty and mystery of our lives.
Through a lens of what brings both personal and collective peace, we'll also investigate the concepts, judgments, stories, cultural narratives and assumptions about our own bodies and the bodies of others that limit our perceptions. How can we free ourselves from the delusions that prevent us from seeing our own and others’ true nature?
This class is intended for ALL bodies. Come just as you are.
Dharma leader Kate Siber will coordinate the class and be at every session. Yong Oh, Chris Benitez, Juliana Sloane and Katherine Barr will each come to one class and share what has been rich and meaningful in their own practices. We also aspire to co-create this class with you. What are your own curiosities, discoveries and challenges?
The course will include short dharma reflections and guided meditations as well as time for questions and responses, discussion, optional opportunities to connect with one another in small groups, and writing inquiries. You are welcome to engage as socially or as privately as you comfortable in this course. Beginners are welcome.
COST: The Dharma Center operates on the gift economy and the cost of this class is on a two-part sliding scale. The fee that you offer through the registration system ($66, $98, $138, or $174 or scholarship options of $33 or $0) supports our non-profit, which pays the costs of the website, administration, building, etc. In keeping with our 2,600-year-old tradition, the teachers are not compensated but rather share the teachings freely. In turn, you are invited into the practice of dana, or generosity, a gift economy system that has been alive since the time of the Buddha. You are invited to make a donation or donations at any time throughout or after the class to support the teachers in continuing their valuable work. Donations in any amount whatsoever are gratefully received, and the practice of generosity is always elective.
DATE: Tuesday Evenings from 6:00-7:45 p.m., February 18 and 25 + March 4, 18, and 25
LOCATION: Durango Dharma Center, 1800 East 3rd Ave, Ste 109, Durango, CO 81301
QUESTIONS: If you have questions, please reach out to Kurt at [email protected] or at 970-426-8983.
ABOUT THE TEACHERS:
KATE SIBER: Kate serves as a dharma leader on the Dharma Council for the center. She has been practicing meditation since 2012, when she first attended a Monday night talk, following by a beginner class and Next Gen, a group for people in their 20s and 30s. Kate participated in the sixth iteration of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader Program and completed her training with an 11-month Dharma Mentoring Program with Erin Treat and Pamela Weiss. She is also among the 24 leaders from across the country invited to join the 2025-2028 retreat teacher training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society. Spending time in wild nature has been a dharma gateway for Kate. She is a freelance writer, a correspondent for Outside magazine and a bestselling children's book author. You can learn more about her writing work and sign up for her newsletter on her website.
YONG OH: Yong serves as a teacher on the Dharma Council for the Durango Dharma Center and is a core teacher for Sacred Mountain Sangha. He is also a visiting teacher for other community centers across North America. He teaches retreats at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Big Bear Retreat Center, and Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center. Yong is a retired acupuncturist and is passionate about practicing in and with nature. You can check out more of his retreats and classes and sign up for his newsletter on his website.
CHRIS BENITEZ: Chris has been practicing meditation regularly since 2012. He has practiced with a number of different schools of Buddhism including Zen, Tibetan, and eventually Insight Meditation and Early Buddhism. His doorway into the Dharma has been through the dukkha of addiction and incarceration. Chris participated in the sixth iteration of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader Program and completed his training with an 11-month Dharma Mentoring Program with Erin Treat and Pamela Weiss. He is a co-founder of Misfit Sangha in Albuquerque.
JULIANA SLOANE: Juliana first set foot on the path as a teenager, encountering many of the beauties (and the complexities!) of practice during that time. After a number of years away, she returned to practice in 2012. Juliana has since participated in Buddhist Chaplaincy training with the Sati Center and spent many years teaching meditation classes and staffing retreats for teens through Spirit Rock’s Family Program. Juliana participated in the sixth iteration of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader Program and completed her training with an 11-month Dharma Mentoring Program with Erin Treat and Pamela Weiss. Today, she leads a sitting group for those who identify as women and also works with individuals as a Depth Hypnosis Practitioner and Shamanic Counselor. Juliana lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she has, with great joy, had the opportunity to spend time at Vallecitos Mountain Retreat as a retreat manager. You can check out her website and sign up for her newsletter by clicking here.
KATHERINE BARR: Katherine has been practicing Buddhist vipassana meditation since 1995. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Community Dharma Leaders (CDL) program, which trains leaders to share the dharma in their communities, as well as the Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP), a course of deepening study of the Buddha’s teachings for devoted practitioners. For many years, she served on the Dharma Council for the sangha. She continues to serve as a cherished elder, support our Sen Gen group, and offer Sati Sundays.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: https://www.durangodharmacenter.org/events/#!event/2025/2/18/awakening-through-the-body-a-five-session-class-on-the-first-foundation-of-mindfulness-with-kate-siber-yong-oh-chris-benitez-juliana-sloane-and-katherine-barr
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Where is it happening?
1800 E 3rd Ave, Ste 109, Durango, CO, United States, Colorado 81301Event Location & Nearby Stays:
