Shantigar Foundation
in Western Massachusetts
Arts
Meditation
Nature
Jean-Claude van Itallie, Founder
1936 - 2021
Resting
a Mayday Weekend Meditation Retreat
with Marisa Viola
Friday - Sunday
May 1, 2 & 3
Even when we're as still as can be, we find that there is constant activity in the mind, the body and the environment. Often we respond to that activity with tension, fear, and over-analyzing. There is another way! We can relate to our experience with curiosity, openness and relaxation. The less we coil ourselves around fantasies of what "should" be, the more we can adapt and relax with our experience. Cultivating the ability to sit with perceived difficulties may just yield to greater depth of connection and the ability to maintain unconditional presence. Flowing with our experience, instead of resisting it, can make us more compassionate, resilient and skillful.
In this three-day home retreat via Zoom, we'll work with the body and the mind to cultivate open and compassionate awareness. We'll tune into our immediate environment, old habits, and opportunities to open up. Each day will include a talk, meditation, self-guided meditation, and a question and answer period.
Friday, May 1, 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm EST
Saturday, May 2, noon - 3:00 pm EST
Sunday, May 3, noon - 3:00 pm EST
Cost: $149 or what you can, no one turned away for lack of funds
Sample Schedule
Friday: Resting in the Body
welcome 7:00 - 7:45 pm
somatic meditation 7:45 - 8:30 pm
walking meditation or movement 8:30 - 8:45 pm
somatic meditation 8:45 - 9:30 pm
closing q&a 9:30 - 10 pm
Saturday: Resting in the Breath
welcome noon-12:15 pm
breath meditation 12:15- 1:00 pm
walking meditation or movement 1:00 - 1:15 pm
breathe meditation 1:15 - 2:30 pm
closing q&a 2:30 - 3 pm
Sunday: Resting in Awareness
welcome noon - 12:15 pm
open awareness meditation 12:15 - 1 pm
walking meditation or movement 1 - 1:15 pm
open awareness meditation 1:15 - 2:15 pm
closing q&a 2:15 - 3:00 pm
Marisa Viola is a meditation teacher based in Brooklyn, New York. She has been practicing since 2008, and has taken Refuge and Boddhisattva vows in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition with Venerable Robina Courtin. She has studied with Venerable Thich Nhat Hahn, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and many great teachers of various lineages.
Marisa has taught caretakers in hospitals, inmates in prisons, employees of small businesses & major corporations, the LGBTQI+ community, students at MNDFL in NYC, artists at Shantigar, and one-on-one. With a background in theater and film, she is interested in exploring the creative aspects of engaging with both the self and the world.
Marisa in the woods at Shantigar, photo by Jean-Claude van Itallie