The Somatics of Thought and Emotion: Working With the Mind and Heart Through the Body (JS1C24)

Registration will close at 9:00am (US Pacific Time) prior to the fourth class on March 15, 2024. A waiting list will be created if the program fills early. A recording* will be available within 48 hours following each class. Continuing Education Credits? (see details below)**

Description:
The body feels before the mind thinks. Embodiment allows us to sense thoughts and emotions as they are arising, before they captivate the heart. With this awareness is a sensitivity to attachment and aversion (upādāna) as bodily sensations. Feeling subtle contraction and shifts in the body and breath allows us to respond rather than react. This relaxation of the heart and softening of the body is a form of non-harming (ahiṁsā) that can be felt. As we become familiar with it, we can recognize its absence, and see when harmful states are arising. 

Preparing the heart/mind and body to meet life more gracefully creates the conditions for favorably meeting the world as it is. By balancing the nervous system, lightly controlling the breath, and practicing kind awareness, we lessen the conditions of anxiety and fear, and enjoy states of ease and openness as our natural state of being.

Class dates are: February 23, March 1, March 8, and March 15; all classes are held on Fridays from 10:00am – 3:00pm US Pacific Time.

Online Only: We are offering this program online via Zoom for you to join us remotely.

Sliding Scale: Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports the teachers as well as Spirit Rock, staff, and your fellow practitioners.

Benefactor – $1008
Sustainer – $500
Basic – $250
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, M/K) – $95

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

*Recording Note: If you would like access to the recordings, you must register by the deadline above. You will have ~90 days from the original program date to view the recordings of this program.

**Please Note for CEC participants: If you are interested in receiving continuing education credits (CECs), you must register and pay for CECs prior to the start of the program (no retroactive CECs will be given) and you must attend the live program. Please review the CEC information below.

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
At the end of the program you will better able to:

• Describe the benefit of cultivating a somatic sensing of thoughts and emotions, in support of the body’s sensations preceding cognitive awareness;
• Describe practices to develop the skill of identifying Upadana, attachment, and aversion as sensations in the body, enabling one to recognize and address these states before cognitive recognition;
• Compare and differentiate between the sensations associated with Ahimsa (relaxation of the heart, softening of the body) and its absence, enhancing one’s ability to recognize harmful emotional states as they arise;
• Describe practices to feel and interpret subtle shifts of contraction in the body and breath, supporting patients or clients to cultivate an early awareness that allows for a mindful response rather than a reactive one;
• Utilize, and share with clients, practices to balance the nervous system through somatic awareness, facilitating a state of ease and openness as a more natural and sustainable way of being;
• Describe breath practices as a means of fostering mindfulness, reducing anxiety, and creating conditions for a more relaxed and open-minded approach to life;
• Describe to patients or clients the relationship between somatic awareness and the development of skillful means in managing thoughts and emotions in various life situations;
• Utilized mindfulness practices to regulate thoughts and emotions with compassion and understanding rather than judgment, in ways that may be used to prevent burnout.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory

***Please note:

• Attendance Requirement: To be eligible for Continuing Education Credits, participants must attend at least 3 of the 4 classes, in full, and fulfill all requirements stated on the Continuing Education Credit information page.
• For full Provider information, and additional CEC information, including attendance requirements, cancellation, and grievance policies, please visit our Continuing Education Credit information page.
• For those with a different license than listed above, or with a license from a different board or association than listed on our CEC info page, please contact your licensing board or association directly to request pre-approval/acceptance of CE credits offered at Spirit Rock. Spirit Rock does not confirm applicability of credit for those with licenses different than those listed.
• Spirit Rock is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16905 for 12 contact hours.
• Credit is awarded for instructional time only and does not include extended silent meditation, if offered.