Month: March 2016

Radical Self Healing: A Conversation with Charley Cropley, N.D.

Published by Travis Newbill

According to Charley Cropley, N.D., bodily sickness, like all suffering, has real, discoverable causes. The cause is not cancer, colitis, weak adrenals, or a lowered immune system. The cause of our health problems is the innocent misuse of our own body and mind. In this interview, Charley discusses his path for connecting with our ability to eat, think, move, and relate. Through our exploration of these four essential activities, he says, we will learn how to skillfully imbue our daily lives with care and free ourselves from habits that repeatedly cause harm. In this interview, Charlie explains his approach and offers inspiration for those of us who wish to take responsibility for feeling good in this life.  Watch our interview with Charlie below, or scroll down to stream/download the audio. If you’d like to download the audio file, CLICK HERE and find the “Download” button. Otherwise, you can stream the audio below. Shambhala Mountain Center hosts Radical Self-Healing with Charley Cropley, N.D., May 20-22, 2016. *NOTE: This post originally appeared on the SMC Blog August …

Watch: Chapman University at SMC

Published by Rachel Becker

This January, a group of students from Chapman University, a liberal arts school in southern California, visited Shambhala Mountain Center for a course titled: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Madness: Mind, “Self”, and Society in Tibetan Buddhism. This collaboration between Chapman and SMC began in 1992, established by Michele Kiloran, which makes this most recent visit the 24th year. The majority of the course is held at Chapman’s campus, with the pinnacle being the ten-day retreat at SMC. Students have the opportunity to learn about traditional Tibetan Buddhism as well as the more secular teaching of Shambhala, with activities ranging from Ikebana, calligraphy, Kasung practice, yoga, Kyudo, and other aspects of Shambhala culture. There is also a fundamental emphasis on meditation and mindfulness practice. As a recent Chapman graduate myself, it was interesting to see this course in action and to experience the integration of these two worlds. Film student Jason Segal created the beautiful video montage above documenting the Chapman experience. You can visit his website here to see more of his work.    

Kay Peterson Discusses Mindful Hiking, Nature, and Meditation

Published by smcblog

Like trees in the forest or fish in the sea, we have an innate ability to live in greater harmony with our environment. While trying to navigate our busy, high-tech world, we can develop habits of mind that leave us feeling disconnected and unfulfilled. Delving deeply into the practice of mindfulness/awareness in nature, we turn our attention toward the subtle interplay of our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and sense perceptions and rediscover how we can open to our fundamental interconnection to all things. Rather than always needing to change where we work, live, or who we love, we can change our relationship to these aspects of our lives in a way that brings us greater happiness and contentment. This coming June, psychotherapist, wilderness guide, and Shambhala meditation instructor Kay Peterson will be leading a wonderfully nourishing retreat here in the powerful natural environment of Shambhala Mountain Center.  Check out the video below to hear Kay discuss the importance of tapping into the natural world, and how doing so can benefit our daily lives. Shambhala Mountain Center hosts Waking up to …

Mindfulness in Lila Yoga

Published by smcblog

We’re thrilled to have the wonderfully skilled Yogacharya Erica Kaufman returning to SMC this June to lead Lila Yoga Mindfulness Retreat.  And, also very glad to be able to offer you a glimpse into her brilliance as a teacher and the profundity of the practices that she’ll be leading here on the land next month. Please take a few minutes to enjoy this lovely video which explores the mindfulness aspects within the Lila Yoga practice. Erica describes and defines how mindfulness is an intricate part of our learning process and how it is woven into this style of yoga. Shambhala Mountain Center hosts Lila Yoga Mindfulness Retreat, May 26-29, 2016 — click here to learn more and to register. ~~~ Yogacharya Erica Kaufman is the founder of Lila Yoga® and the owner of Lila Yoga Studios. Since 1984, she has taught ancient wisdom as a daily practice and holds the highest level of Registry with Yoga Alliance. Her teaching expertise and sophisticated gutsy openness awarded her Yoga Journal’s Karma Credit and features in publications such as The Times …