Yoga and Meditation as an Integrated Path

Many of us have a complicated relationship with the body. In its vulnerability to aging and illness, we tend to think of our body in ordinary or even pejorative terms. Yet many meditation masters of the past have taught that the body is a temple, a mandala, a profound source of wisdom. How do we reconcile these two perspectives?

In this six-week course, participants explore the body as a domain of practice and wisdom, diving deep into the physical, energetic, and cognizant dimensions of experience. Through dharma instruction, contemplative yoga, and study, participants will learn how to bring awakening from the realm of ideas into the truth of embodiment.

Two-hour live weekly meetings with Lama Willa include

• Dharma Instruction
• Guided meditation and Vajravinyasa yoga (45 minutes of yoga each session)
• Live discussion, alternating with occasional peer sections (breakout groups)

Lama Willa encourages participants to commit to daily practice (a minimum of 15 minutes per day) for the six-week duration of this course.

Resources include

• Course Syllabus with weekly reading assignments from The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (Shambhala Publications 2022)
• Bibliography for further exploration of embodied practice
• Guided Meditations (pre-recorded), available on SoundCloud
• Access to pre-recorded yoga videos

Required Course Reading:

• The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom by Willa Blythe Baker (Shambhala Publications 2022)
• “Embodiment,” 2022 article by Willa Blythe Baker