With Mark C. Taylor
At Pittsburgh Buddhist Center
111 Route 908, Natrona Heights, PA 15065
January 31, 3:00 – 5:30 pm:
“Balancing the Three Brains”
Contemporary science is reaffirming the ancient wisdom that cultivation of loving kindness towards oneself and others is essential in meditative practice, and for well-being. Furthermore, traditional awareness and mindfulness practices have been enhanced by new research on the intrinsic neuro-endocrine intelligence of the heart, gut, and brain itself. In Balancing the Three Brains you will use somatic techniques of movement, experiential anatomy, breath, and touch to initiate or deepen your practice by embodying the relationships among these centers of wisdom. In doing so, you will have the opportunity to experience and generate more loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
March 21, 3:00 – 5:30 pm:
“Supporting Peace Within: Exploring the Autonomic Nervous System”
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the part of your nervous system that functions beneath your conscious awareness, facilitating the involuntary activities of your body through your parasympathetic and sympathetic systems. The ANS regulates your body’s organs, maintains internal functions, and supports homeostasis—the tendency of your body to seek an internal equilibrium. As humans, that balance can be challenged by not rising to the occasion when we need to be active, or by failing to relax once we have been stimulated. Conscious movement, meditation, and mindfulness all require balance in and attention to the autonomic nervous system. In Supporting Peace Within you will explore the natural movement and fluctuation between the deep restfulness of your parasympathetic nervous system and the relaxed alertness of your sympathetic nervous system—both in meditation practice and in daily life.
Mark Taylor has attended Wednesday meditation at the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center for many years. He directs the Center for BodyMindMovement, which provides certification programs in Somatic Movement Education, located in Pittsburgh PA, Eugene OR, and Mexico City. He has been influenced by his history as a dancer, choreographer, and dance company director, inspired by being the parent of a developmentally disabled son, and supported by thirty-seven years of meditation practice. He is a board member of the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA).
Suggested Donation Range: $20 – $50 for each workshop
(Donations will go to the Meditation Hall Building Fund of Pittsburgh Buddhist Center)
Information: 724 295 2525 or info@pittsburghbuddhistcenter.org