We started a “Meditation Book Group” in which we incorporated periods of gentle movement, sitting meditation and discussion.
In our last series in June we read Michael Stone’s book: Yoga for a World Out of Balance.
The 4 week, 90 minute format offers wonderful opportunity to learn/practice meditation and participate in poignant discussion on this easy-to-read, life-changing book including:
11:30-12:00pm: Gentle yoga (optional)
12:00-12:30pm: Group Meditation w/ instruction
12:30-1:00pm: Book discussion
About the meetings: I lead the optional gentle movement session intended to help establish stability and ease during the seated meditation. The meditation instruction covered simple variations of mindfulness practice. Weekly discussion and “homework explorations” were drawn from the writings in book. Students were encouraged to purchase the book and read the introductory chapter prior to our first meeting. Whole hearted participation was greatly appreciated.
About the book:
Each week, we discussed readings from Yoga for a World Out of Balance by Michael Stone. For missed meetings students could access a summary of the discussion and suggested homework resources by perusing the blog posts categorized as Yoga for a World Out of Balance on this site. Michael Stone is a psychotherapist, yoga teacher and Buddhist teacher, author and activist. He has written four books which center on bringing the practice of mindfulness into conversation with contemporary culture. Michael explores how yoga can be relevant to culture, ecology and politics, and he does this by examining how yoga’s traditional philosophical guidelines can help us meet the challenges of participating in modern life. The book is a reminder to breathe, practice, feel, reflect ~ and then act. It affirms yoga’s potential. We are encouraged to look at the world with clarity, reflect on our response to it, and then respond to life situations from a clear, centered state of mind.
This course offered us an opportunity to give each other encouragement and support in the practice of mindful movement, stillness and engaged life experience.
Previous Studies
You can access a summary of our discussion and suggested homework resources for our previous studies by perusing the blog posts categorized by the links below:
Our first read was Taking the Leap: Freeing ourselves from Old Habits & Fears by Pema Chodron. You can access the material by reading the blog posts categorized as “Taking the Leap Meditation Book Group.”
In our second four part series we studied Kelly McGonigal’s The Willpower Instinct How Self-Control Works, Why it Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It.
In our third series we read Pema Chodron’s new book: Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change.