Meditation is often practiced in solitude, yet the presence of another can act as a powerful catalyst for deepening awareness. These workshops offer a space to explore relational meditation — a practice that uses the shared field of presence to reveal dimensions of experience that are often harder to see when we practice alone. In this shared field, what one person touches can support and deepen the same in the other.
We warm up gently, starting by practising what it’s like to shift awareness from ourselves, to another person, and then to the shared space that includes us both. From there we explore sharing simple experiences — getting used to how it feels to meet our own direct, embodied experience in the presence of another. From this foundation, we move into various meditative directions: the cultivation of compassion, wellbeing, embodied awareness, and insight into the nature of experience. We may also explore chanting or embodied movement as ways of deepening the shared field.
Each workshop will take a different path through this territory. The direction will depend on the group and what feels alive on the day, so no two sessions will cover the same ground.
The workshops are standalone — you’re welcome to come to one or both, in any order. No prior meditation experience is needed, though you’ll get the most from it if you bring a willingness to be present with whatever comes up, and an openness to practising with others.
What to expect
Each workshop runs for three hours with a break in the middle. We’ll start with some movement and guided meditation to arrive into the space together, before moving into guided relational practices. Sessions might include guided meditation, shared awareness exercises, chanting, embodied movement, or periods of silent practice together. There’ll be time for reflection and questions between practices, but apart from that we’ll try to keep a container of silence and stillness to support our meditative awareness to deepen uninterrupted over the hours together. There’ll be a break for tea and so on — bring snacks if you need them. Yogasara has plenty of cushions and everything else you need, but feel free to bring your own meditation cushion if you like.
