Fall Workshops at the Patchogue-Holbrook, Long Island YMCA will be be posted soon.

Winter Workshops in St. John, Virgin Islands

                         Swimming Meditation Workshops and retreats will be offered next Winter, 2008-2009 at beautiful Estate Concordia, St. John Virgin Islands, overlooking the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.  There will be several different workshp options - check the Registration page in the coming months for details.  The workshops involve both land and water instructions.  Each session begins with a discussion and instruction in mindfulness meditation.  We practice sitting meditation on land first.  After the basics of sitting meditation are understood by everyone in the group, we will then discuss the specific applications of meditation to swimming.  This includes an appreciation for the healing power of immersion in water, breathing techniques unique to swimming meditation, and specific practices. We move from land to water, using both the swimming pool and the open waters of the Caribbean, in order to practice this newly created and original form of meditation.  Increasingly more advanced instruction and refinements to the practice will be offered as the week proceeds.

Participants will learn how to develop a Swimming Meditation practice.  Swimmers will learn an entirely new focus for their swimming exercise; meditators will learn how to apply meditation to swimming in a way that will accelerate and deepen their meditation practice.  The combination of swimming and meditation is synergistic, each enhancing the other.  This practice actively engages both body and mind in a way that improves health, increases focus, concentration and awareness.

The workshop is intended for all levels:  beginning and advanced meditators, beginning (must know how to swim) and advanced swimmers.  Learning is mostly experiential, both on land and in the water, with some instruction in meditation and time for questions and group discussion.  Because the group will be small, there will be time for individual instruction and consultations.  There is ample opportunity to practice in the various swimming locations on St. John and to gain confidence in developing a swimming meditation practice of one's own.

 If you have any questions about the workshop, do not hesitate to contact us at swimmeditation@aol.com.