PRACTICE- Guided Meditation
PRACTICE is our signature class—suitable for beginners and experts alike. Practice is grounding, and deeply effective, especially for people who have overactive minds, people who have struggled with meditation in the past, or people who are brand new to the practice. Long time practitioners will know exactly what to do to make the time their own.
Because you cannot have deep meditation without deep relaxation, each session begins with connecting to the energy of the body, and quieting the mind with guided meditation. You are welcome to meditate in whatever position is best for your body, today. Seated, laying down, standing, mindfulness meditation isn’t as much about the position of your body, as it is about the attitude of your mind.
Mid way through the class you are invited to change position and do some gentle stretching, if you feel called too. You can also just remain where you are. After the optional gentle movement break, we get comfortable again in our chosen position and the class flows through some gentle breath-work (often guided by drum), and a long slow guided to silence subatomic body scan.
The entire class class will be accompanied by live gongs, chimes, bowls and drums (occasionally accordion) and ends with a guided-to-silence meditation, leaving you to drift in the liminal space of open awareness where you are invited to explore your energy further.
The hour you spend at Practice will touch every other hour of your week.
Our Practice class is a 90 minute guided meditation class, steeped in the science-based Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practices, Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism, Reiki, as well as other ancient wisdom from all over the world.
Tucked away in a secluded setting, where Nature & your comfort have been prioritized. We provide all the props you need. Just show up, don’t rush, and experience for yourself if the class might be of help to you. With the support of a group, what is impossible alone, becomes possible together.
Please note, we use sound bowls, aromatherapy, and percussion in this class and on occasion, our mindfulness mascot OooNa, the giant baby house bunny, will join us to Practice.
UPCOMING PRACTICE EXPERIENCES
What is Practice?
Mindful Movement
The first part of the hour is mindful movement (think slow, easy, stretching) that is accessible for every BODY— ALL ages, shapes, sizes, and mobilities.
Breathwork
Then, we move into breathing exercises, guided by drum
(4-7-8 is popular one around here).
Meditation
The class concludes with 20 minutes of guided-to-silence, open awareness meditation.
Come Practice with us!
There are several opportunities every week to join us for Practice. This deceptively simple Practice, done on a semi regular basis, has the potential to change your life in every way.
Doors to open 30 minutes before Practice and you’re invited to stay up to an hour after class to roam, spend time with the animals, and help yourself to the free tea and adaptogen bar.
Dara is the owner, program director and lead guide at Zoetic. She has been practicing meditation, mindful movement, breathing exercises, silent and guided meditation for twenty years and teaching for five.
Dara’s classes incorporate movement and stillness and focus on cueing breath with movements to seamlessly connect mind and body. Known for the accessibility of her teaching, she invites students with or without mindfulness experience to meet the challenge with a Beginners Mind.
Dara also has a passion for the science and philosophy of meditation, and peppers her classes with useful information about HOW and WHY the mind/body connection is the key to well being and true freedom.
Meet Your Guide
PRIVATE PRACTICE
If you prefer to receive private one on one instruction to familiarize yourself with meditation, or If you would like to Practice at Zoetic with a teacher to guide you in a more in depth way, please reach out to schedule a Private Practice. We will meet one on one to discuss expectations and anything else you may want to discuss on the topic of meditation and then practice together. After you are welcome to enjoy the animals, art, and nature for as long as you like.
COUPLES PRACTICE
At the beginning of the pandemic my husband and I embarked upon the adventure of practicing meditating together. I had 20 years experience practicing and teaching meditation, my husband had zero experience, and was highly skeptical. The results were undeniable and profound. If you and your partner can commit to sitting together 3 min a day together, the instructions for couples practice has the potential to expand your relationship, and eliminate co dependency. The experience of connecting on the level of consciousness with another human being will reveal wisdom it is impossible to learn through just a solitary practice. There are some mysteries that can only be unlocked with another person. You may have already tried counseling, or reading relationship books, this is different. This is a new way of connection, Non Verbal, and it’s simple to learn.