Please note, the Grounded and Spacious retreat has been rescheduled for September- we will have the specific date soon. Best, C and E
Grounded and Spacious:
A Retreat In Movement and Stillness
With Erin Geesaman Rabke and Carl Rabke
Online
Saturday,
July 8th
Sessions are:
7-9 am
1-4 pm
7-8:30 pm
(all times are listed in Mountain Time - our home time zone.)
Cost $95
Please join us for an online retreat in movement and stillness where we will learn to deepen the qualities of groundedness and spaciousness both in how we sit in meditation and in how we move in the world.
In this retreat, we will explore how our embodiment, how our connection with the Earth beneath us, and our access to spaciousness can provide a refuge in challenging times. Not in a way that bypasses our struggles, but in a way that deepens our intimacy with life as it is and offers resources for our showing up whole-heartedly. We will explore how the sitting posture of meditation can help deepen access to those qualities, and how that posture can be more aligned, comfortable, and natural than we ever imagined.
"Erin and Carl Rabke are two of the most awake, compassionate, and embodied practitioners I have worked with. Both of them bring inspiration, subtlety, and exquisite nuance to their instruction. They are deeply in touch with their audience and I would entrust anyone to their reliable hands.” -Diane Musho Hamilton Roshi, author of Everything is Workable and The Zen of You and Me
Over the course of the day, we will alternate between sessions of sitting meditation and guided Feldenkrais movement lessons and other embodied explorations.
Movement and stillness, each deepening and enriching the other.
The movement lessons are specifically designed to support you in experiencing greater comfort, ease, alignment, naturalness, and embodied presence in your sitting posture. Whether you sit in a chair, a kneeling bench, or on a cushion, whether you are new to meditation or have practiced for 40 years, regardless of the particular meditation tradition, these lessons can improve the ways you sit in meditation for the rest of your life.
" I meditated for years, but find that the level of awareness required to notice the subtle difference in session when I rotate my pelvis with a relaxed jaw versus clenched jaw is taking my mindfulness to a whole new level. The absolute best part of the lessons is Erin and Carl. Their infectious enthusiasm and curiosity about the movement of the body keep me coming back. They have an impressive depth of understanding of anatomy, kinesiology, spirituality, and social justice which they weave into the lessons in a strikingly beautiful way. Even though I have yet to meet them in person, I feel deeply connected and seen by them. They offer clear explanations and guidance while leaving plenty of space for my own experience and explorations. " Linda Raven, Radical Life Coach
"I have known Erin Geesaman Rabke and Carl Rabke for about ten years as students, friends and colleagues. They integrate deep somatic understanding with their devoted meditation practice in ways that are very helpful for both very experienced and novice meditators.
Speaking as the founder of The Embodied Life School, with more than 45 years of experience as a Feldenkrais teacher and a nearly 50-year practice of Zen meditation, I can wholeheartedly recommend their teachings. I can also attest to their integrity as both teachers and human beings." -Russell Delman Founder, The Embodied Life™School
Many meditative traditions refer to our “natural mind” or the “natural state.”
What if the posture of meditation could feel like you sitting in your most natural, uncontrived body? Your most authentic self, at ease?
As the Zen teacher, Suzuki Roshi said, the posture is not something that just supports the practice of meditation, but the posture is none other than the practice itself.
When we are fully inhabiting the posture and our embodied selves, we are fully inhabiting our meditation and the expanse of being.
Join us!
Saturday, July 8th
Sessions are:
7-9 am
1-4 pm
7-8:30 pm
(all times are listed in Mountain Time.)
All sessions will be recorded and will be provided to all registrants. You're welcome to sign up even if you are unable to attend each one. All registered participants will receive recordings.
Cost $95
(Scholarship spots are available for those in need, please email carl@embodimentmatters.com to apply)
Please read our cancellation policy here
That felt sense, I suppose, which holds the entry to the present moment. ...or clears the obstructive fog from clouding the present moment.
"With daily responsibilities lifted, in centres embodying the spaciousness of awakened hearts, retreats in beautiful settings have a definite place in embodied living. Equally, Erin and Carl’s retreat provides an incredible and rare opportunity to come face to face with our own embodiment in our daily routines, gently opening and encouraging new layers of insight and awareness. Held in the presence of two spacious awakened hearts, practising from home at intermittent times throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening, this retreat provides profound and lasting insight into our embodiment in our daily routines. With the combination of movement, sitting, teachings through poetry, readings, and Erin and Carl’s own poetic
imagery, we are offered a gigantic, gentle, sweeping, and playful push on the swing of deep exploration into the spaciousness of embodiment. As we share our felt experiences, our connections with others deepen, and our creativity becomes more alive. I highly recommend these teachers and their offerings."
-Leana Shantz, Alberta, Canada