Join the workshop at any time in March or April
Do you struggle with feeling overwhelmed and anxious and may not know why?
Do you get angry looking at the news?
Do you experience conflict and resentment in relationships?
Has the pandemic been difficult for you?
Are you looking for practices to help you find more ease and happiness in your life?
How Buddhist principles can help with these issues
The Buddha’s teachings are all about suffering and how to put an end to our suffering. We do this by learning how to understand and accept the truth about ourselves and the world. The practices taught by the Buddha can bring more joy into your life and provide insights about the challenges that you face.
These ancient practices allow us to settle our minds and look deeply into our anxieties, fears, frustrations, and biases. We see and disidentify with these mental formations in order to transform them into greater compassion, joy and more skillful action.
By looking deeply into our own lived experience, we can find the next wise step in our life. We more easily and authentically find the purpose in life we are longing for.
Understanding what the Buddha taught and practicing together can change how we respond to our internal reactivity and to other people and situations. Our challenges won’t ever entirely end, but we can learn how to respond to life without panic or rumination.
Here’s how this workshop helps
I created this 12-week class to offer you time to learn some of the basic teaches of the Buddha and time to practice in a welcoming online community of other people. We practice in minimally challenging environments like this one in order to be prepared for the more challenging moments in our lives. This class will be a refuge where we work on our practice over time and support each other’s transformations.
By committing to this one hour per week, you will begin to notice a difference in your daily life, finding more clarity and ease in facing daily challenges. Over time these teachings can help you to be a kinder, more open, generous, and compassionate human being.
What you’ll learn
You will learn about some of the basic practices taught by the Buddha including the Four Noble Truths, the Eight-Fold Path, the Five Hindrances, Metta (Loving-Kindness) Meditation and Applied/Engaged Buddhism. You will deepen your understanding of mindfulness, and how to use mindfulness to settle into the moment. When you settle deeply, you allow the nervous system to rest and gain needed energy and insights into yourself and the world. You may find that you more often act in alignment with your deepest values of caring for yourself and others.
What to expect every week
Each week we will gather online and explore one of the basic Buddhist concepts or practices that will help you process whatever is happening in your life that week -- whether it’s the news, or in your personal life.
We will also enjoy a guided relaxing meditation each time we meet, and usually a break out conversation with one or two other practitioners. There will be time for questions and insights as well. Everything we do will be applicable to daily life, not simply theory.
The teachings of the Buddha that we will learn came from Annie’s experiences with many Buddhist teachers (some of who are still teaching) including Thich Nhat Hanh, Roshi Joan Halifax, Sharon Salzburg, Jack Kornfield, Suzuki Roshi, Bernie Glassman Roshi, and many others.
Schedule
March 8 - June 14
(12 sessions)
Mondays 4-5pm ET / 1-2pm PT
What others have said about Annie
BIO
Annie Mahon (she, they) is a white, Armenian-American, ordained layperson in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh (2009), founder of Circle Yoga Cooperative (2003), DC Community Yoga and DC Yoga Week (2005), the Pink House Foundation (2010)—a grant-making organization supporting the development political and social capital for marginalized groups in the United States, moving land, wealth, and power to historically oppressed groups, Opening Heart Mindfulness Community (2014), and most recently Making-Visble (2018), an ongoing webinar series grounded in mindfulness and led by those most impacted by issues of social injustice, internal biases.
Annie has been a student of mindfulness since the early 1990s. Her book, Things I Did When I Was Hangry: Navigating a Peaceful Relationship with Food was published by Parallax Press in 2015.
Annie holds masters degrees in both Computer Science, from the University of Michigan, and Religious Studies from Howard University and became a licensed massage therapist in 2011. Her first yoga teacher training was with Suzie Hurley at Willow Street Yoga Center in 2004, and she was one of the country’s first certified Children’s Yoga teachers. She is a certified Focusing professional, Trauma-informed Clinical Practice, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and many other modalities.
Read more about Annie here.
FAQs
I’m not a buddhist. Why should I join?
You don’t need to have any particular spiritual or religious identity to join this class - all are welcome. We will simply be using buddhist practices to bring more mindfulness to your life. Also, many people think of Buddhism as a philosophy or a practice and not a religion. So there is no conflict with your current religion, if you have one.
What are the Four Noble Truths?
The Four Noble Truths are a set of teachings - the first teachings that the Buddha gave immediately after his enlightenment experience. They have to do with the nature of suffering.
What is the Eight-Fold Path?
The Eightfold Path is the path that leads from suffering to non-suffering, and is the fourth of the Four Noble Truths.
What is Metta?
Metta just means loving-kindness, and metta practice is way to develop more friendliness toward ourselves an others and is the doorway to understanding interdependence or inter-being.
What are the Five Hindrances?
The Five Hindrances are a list of ways of reacting that the Buddha suggested are what prevent us from being present. They are desire, aversion, weariness, nervousness/worry, and self-doubt.
Do I need mindfulness training to attend this workshop?
No experience is needed. If you have no experience or a lot of mindfulness experience, you will find something new and have time set aside to practice each week. You will also enjoy making new friends on the path.
FEES FOR
This is it: Buddhist Wisdom today
This workshop series is a offered live on Zoom through the Circle Yoga website, so please click button below to sign up on their site.
$260.00
Scholarships are available.
$240.00 with Circle Yoga Membership.
Not a member? Option to become a member is on the Circle Yoga webpage when you click below.