Meditation 101

Course Number: 101
Title:  NYTT-Meditation 101 (30 CEUs)
Term: January
Instructor:  Sonia Osorio
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will explore meditation as a practice of awareness and awakening: in-class as we practice or teach, and outside the classroom in our daily lives. Meditation instruction will include seated and walking practices, as well as dyad and group explorations. We will also examine the inter-relationship of meditation, breath and asana to better understand how body, emotions, and sensations can bring us deeper into any practice form. Various forms and practices will be explored, helping each student find an approach that works best for them.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

To better understand the practice of meditation and its relationship to breath, movement and stillness.
To explore sitting meditation to understand stability (shamatha) and insight (vipashyana).
To explore moving meditation in walking practice and within the yoga asanas.
To explore our own patterns of emotional reactivity and understand how to work with these.
To understand some key terms and concepts within the Buddhist meditation tradition.
To understand the difference between attention, mindfulness and awareness, and how to cultivate these qualities.
To examine how one can integrate meditation principles in a teaching setting and in everyday life.

REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED READING:
Meditation 101 Manual, article hand-outs,  and selections from various required NYTT texts (Breath by Breath, Inner Tradition of Yoga, The Yoga of Breath).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Reading all required assignments and maintaining a daily meditation practice. Keeping a practice journal and in-class notes, and discussing practice-related questions.