Osho was an Indian mystic who created a number of "active meditations." They are active in that each session includes simple movements, breathwork and vocalizations to prepare for stillness, the state of meditation. I facilitate Dynamic Meditation and Kundalini Meditation (descriptions below).
"These are not really meditations. You are just getting in tune. It is like... if you have seen Indian classical musicians playing... for half an hour, or sometimes even more, they simply go on fixing their instruments. They will move their knobs, they will make the strings tight or loose, and the drum player will go on checking his drum - whether it is perfect or not. For half an hour they go on doing this. This is not music, this is just preparation.
"You are preparing your instrument. When it is ready, then you stand in silence, then meditation starts. Then you are utterly there. You have woken yourself up by jumping, by dancing, by breathing, by shouting - these are all devices to make you a little more alert than you ordinarily are. Once you are alert, then the waiting. Waiting is meditation. Waiting with full awareness. And then it comes, it descends on you, it surrounds you, it plays around you, it dances around you, it cleanses you, it purifies you, it transforms you." - Osho
Dynamic Meditation
This practice is a preparation for meditation. If you try to just sit down, be still and meditate, there's a good chance you'll feel like you're going mad. Dynamic invites you to use your breath, your body and your voice to release held tensions - then guides you into stillness, meditation, and finally a dance of celebration. You will create "internal chaos". You will scream your head off. You will activate your true center, creating an upward flow of energy. You will watch what's happening to you, inviting the witness (mindfulness) to be present... and you will move in a free-flowing dance of joy. It's a challenging, freeing, and powerful practice, one that will bring you to a higher state of awareness.
The practice lasts for one hour. I like to leave time for transition and group reflection afterward.
Please wear clothes you can move in, come with an empty stomach, and bring a blindfold if you have one. Blindfolds are optional.
Cost is $10-15 per person (sliding scale)
Kundalini Meditation
Kundalini Meditation is designed to help you release any tension accumulated during the day, moving you into a sweet state of peace and gentleness for the evening. It shakes the sticky tensions right out of you, then invites freedom, joy, ease and stillness. It's surprisingly refreshing, and both relaxing and invigorating.