Discover the basics of a successful meditation practice and the many gifts it will bring to your everyday life through this 108-minute Mindfulness Meditation seminar. Mindfulness meditation practice connects us to the present moment by observing the integration of our breath, mind, body and environment.
Discover the basics of a successful meditation practice and the many gifts it will bring to your everyday life through this 108-minute Mindfulness Meditation seminar. Mindfulness meditation practice connects us to the present moment by observing the integration of our breath, mind, body and environment. Once we quiet the mind, we are able to reconnect to the nature of our true self. We learn to observe our inner and outer experiences with acceptance, patience and compassion. Over time, as we deepen our meditation practice, we are able to carry the stillness and peace of our practice into our daily lives so that we are able to change our habitual response patterns and act with greater clarity and focus.
The seminar will be taught in two parts. In the first portion, we will learn to use breath to quiet the thinking mind and develop better concentration. In the second half, we will expand our awareness beyond the breath to the fluctuating sensations of the body as it is influenced by both our thoughts and the external world.
During the seminar, participants will learn meditative techniques interspersed with opportunity to practice meditation in a brief group sit. Questions will be answered throughout the seminar as well as during a question and answer period at the end. The seminar is open to anyone wishing to begin, maintain or deepen a meditation practice. No experience required – simply the desire to explore the depths of our inner world.
Contentment, wisdom and happiness await!
Josh Cohen
After completing law school in 2002, Josh travelled through India where he enrolled in a ten day silent retreat that greatly influenced his understanding of the mind/body connection. The following year, after completing his yoga teacher training at Downward Dog, he began sharing the principles of yoga and meditation to his many students (ranging in age from 12 to 101 years old) through workshops, classes, and discussions at studios, athletic clubs, hospitals, and retirement homes throughout Toronto. He is particularly proud of his work with the Baycrest/Wagman senior community and with war veterans and psychiatric inpatients at Sunnybrook Hospital. Albert Einstein once said that you only truly understand something if you can explain it to your grandmother. Josh has taken this advice to heart as he focuses on simplifying the teachings of various mindfulness and insight-based styles. He specializes in teaching beginners the principles of establishing a meditation practice and he cherishes the opportunity to share from his own experience how these techniques have better equipped him to balance life’s challenges.He explains the meditative process by using concepts found in physics, philosophy, and psychology in an effort to give students a broad spectrum for reference. Along with Downward Dog, Josh leads the meditation component of 889′ Yonge’s Living Yoga Program and he currently practices law in Hamilton and Toronto.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to present this meditation seminar in support of take it to the mat. Unwanted and difficult events inevitably arise in our lives. Meditation assists us in learning how to accept the reality of our situation and by doing so, minimize the suffering associated with our circumstances. Whether it is the person who has an illness or the friends and loved ones who support them, meditation can be healing balm for the challenges they face.”
