Relax Into Presence: A stress reduction and meditation course

Class starts on Tuesday, March 19th. In person option at Pilates Central Wellness on Tuesdays at 7pm. Register on this page and email me to let me know if you will be participating online or in-person.

Would you like to be more calm and present in your life? Have you been wanting to learn about meditation?  Or maybe you tried but gave up because you can’t quiet your thoughts?

I learned over the years after many attempts to develop a meditation practice, that relaxing the nervous system is a key ingredient that is often overlooked or missing from other meditation courses.

I developed “Relax into Presence” to combine the latest science in neurobiology with contemplative practices that lead to true relaxation, connection with your whole self and alignment with the present moment.

It takes just 6 weeks of daily meditation to change the brain’s response to stress and literally grow the area of the brain that allows for greater resilience, creativity, problem solving, insight and empathy. This means that in just 6 weeks your responses to life’s challenges may begin to shift which will allow you to experience the benefit of being fully present to yourself, your experiences and in your relationships.

Week 1:  Intro to Presence.  Practices will include ways to relax the nervous system and guided breath awareness meditation.

Week 2:  Intro to the Vagus Nerve as the key for finding calm and quieting the mind.  Practices will include ways to turn on the vagus nerve and a meditation to foster breath, sensory and somatic awareness.

Week 3:  Intro to the 3 centers of intelligence: Gut, heart and mind. Practices will include grounding and a meditation and breath practice focused on relaxing and sensing the gut center/lower belly.

Week 4:  Intro to the heart center, befriending yourself and emotions that can come up during meditation and other times. Guided meditation will focus on the heart center and self-compassion.

Week 5:  Intro to the mind or thinking center, how to deal with an overactive mind and the behavior change concept of “simply noticing”. Guided meditation will be the Wheel of Awareness

Week 6: Integration – Living from Presence and establishing a meditation practice. Guided meditation will be an integration of various practices we have learned.

Possible benefits from taking this course:

1. Reduced stress
2. Improved focus and mental clarity
3. More energy
4. Improved relationships
5. Improved sleep
6. Kindness to self and others
7. More enjoyment from life!