"Don’t meditate to fix yourself, to heal yourself, to improve yourself, to redeem yourself; rather, do it as an act of love, of deep warm friendship to yourself." Bob Sharpels
Taking one of Neal’s all-time favourite quotes about meditation as a guide, in this workshop we use the practice of iRest® Yoga Nidra to awaken and embody a felt sense of safety, sanctuary, kindness and compassion.
The root word for kindness, cynde, an old English word, which means native, innate, natural, born of a particular nature, and derives from a sense of family and belonging. So kindness brings us a natural sense of self and of belonging. It is a connecting force, bringing us together. We will enquire into what kindness is, and how might kindness have a physiological effect on our bodies.
Research indicates that acts of kindness can elevate levels of oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine, neurotransmitters in the brain associated with feelings of happiness and contentment. Central questions we may consider during our Yoga Nidra practice are what, where, and how do we experience these feelings in our body when:
You are kind to someone / some being?
You receive kindness?
You witness kindness?
The second part of the workshop will orientate around compassion. We will discuss what compassion is, what empathy is, and we will practice Yoga Nidra as an invitation to experience compassion for others and for ourselves.
“Compassion is the daily practice of recognizing and accepting our shared humanity, so that we treat ourselves and others with loving-kindness, and we take action in the face of suffering.” Brené Brown
INVESTMENT: $49
Neal Goshal
Neal has been practicing yoga for over twenty five years and teaching since 2003. He sees Yoga as a guide to restoring our place and understanding of who we are and how we can live peacefully, happily and completely fulfilled.
Neal’s teaching focuses on exploring and refining natural movement and alignment principles – learning to embody these principles in a way that takes our spiritual practice into our everyday lives.
“My aim in teaching is to create a safe and inviting space in which to learn and discover Yoga as a balance between effort and effortlessness, structural alignment and organic fluidity, mindfulness and spontaneity.