Yoga/Mindfulness CPD workshop

2hr yoga CPD workshop, followed by 2hr mindfulness CPD workshop. Please come to both, or just one part.

Yoga

Finger Yoga – Mudras, Yoga and Zen

Mudras, or symbolic hand gestures, have been used for centuries throughout the Buddhist world as powerful tools for cultivating awareness, balancing energy, and expressing awakening. In Japanese Buddhism, particularly within the esoteric traditions of Shingon and Tendai, elaborate systems of mudra practice developed as a means of integrating body, mind and spirit. Less widely known is that mudra practice also influenced the development of Japanese Zen.

In this session we will explore these teachings and examine how simple hand gestures can be used to support meditation, regulate energy, and deepen awareness. Through a combination of teaching, guided practice and experiential exploration, participants will learn a series of traditional mudras, taught by Eisai and discover how they can be integrated into our practice.

Topics will include:

• The role of mudras in Buddhist and Zen traditions
• Zen Master Eisai’s teachings on health, energy and cultivation
• Mudras associated with the five major organ systems
• Using mudras to support meditation and emotional balance
• Integrating mudra practice into contemporary Zen and mindfulness practice

This workshop is suitable for both yoga and Zen practitioners and offers a unique opportunity to explore an often-overlooked dimension of Zen training.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness and Bodyfulness — The Embodied Dimension of Practice

Modern mindfulness is often presented as a primarily mental discipline: observing thoughts, emotions, and mental states with greater clarity and acceptance. Yet in the classical Buddhist traditions in which mindfulness emerged, awareness was never understood as merely a mental activity. Practice begins in the body, unfolds through the body, and ultimately transforms our relationship with embodied experience itself.

In this session we will explore the deeply embodied nature of mindfulness practice and investigate the role of the body both as the foundation and the fruition of contemplative training. Drawing on Zen, mindfulness, somatic awareness and contemporary research into embodiment, we will examine how the body serves not simply as an object of attention but as a gateway to presence, integration and awakening. Particular emphasis will be placed on developing what might be called “bodyfulness” – a direct, lived intimacy with bodily experience that grounds mindfulness in the reality of the present moment.

Topics will include:

• The body as the primary field of mindfulness practice
• The relationship between posture, breath, sensation and awareness
• The role of the body in emotional regulation and resilience
• From mindfulness to bodyfulness: inhabiting experience fully
• The embodied qualities of compassion, wisdom, and presence

Participants will leave with practical tools for bringing greater embodiment into meditation, daily life, teaching, and therapeutic work, along with a deeper appreciation of the central role the body plays in genuine contemplative transformation.