Classes

Day	Start Time	End Time	Type	Instructor	Class	Attend	Sign Up
Saturday	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	Meditation	Various Facilitators	Daily Unguided Meditation	In Studio	In Studio*
Saturday	9:00 AM	9:45 AM	Meditation	Jeff Goin	Medicine Buddha Prayers	Livestream	Register
Saturday	10:00 AM	11:15 AM	Yoga	Becky Glenn	Vinyasa Flow Yoga	In Studio, Livestream	Register
Sunday	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	Meditation	Various Facilitators	Daily Unguided Meditation	In Studio	In Studio*
Sunday	10:30 AM	12:00 PM	Dance	Various Facilitators	Ecstatic Dance	In Studio	In Studio*
Sunday	1:00 PM	2:15 PM	Yoga	Jim Charleston	Yoga For Creatives (4th Sunday of the Month)	In Studio	Register
Monday	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	Meditation	Various Facilitators	Daily Unguided Meditation	In Studio	In Studio*
Monday	8:30 AM	9:00 AM	Meditation	Jeff Goin	Monday Morning Dharma	Livestream	Register
Monday	11:00 AM	12:00 PM	Tai Chi	Kit West	Gentle Tai Chi	In Studio	Register
Monday	5:30 PM	6:45 PM	Yoga	Natalie Hall	Hatha Yoga	In Studio	Register
Tuesday	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	Meditation	Various Facilitators	Daily Unguided Meditation	In Studio	In Studio*
Tuesday	9:30 AM	10:30 AM	Yoga	Trish Buerger	Chair Yoga	In Studio, Livestream	Register
Tuesday	11:30 AM	12:45 PM	Yoga	Becky Glenn	Slow Flow Yoga	In Studio, Livestream	Register
Tuesday	2:00 PM	3:30 PM	Celebration	Community-wide	Gratitude Drumming Circle (February 25)	In Studio	In Studio*
Tuesday	4:30 PM	5:30 PM	Meditation	George Farmer	Thich Nhat Hanh Meditation & Teachings	In Studio	Register
Tuesday	6:00 PM	7:00 PM	Yoga	Brooke Cressler	Kundalini Yoga	In Studio	Register
Wednesday	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	Meditation	Various Facilitators	Daily Unguided Meditation	In Studio	In Studio*
Wednesday	9:30 AM	10:30 AM	Yoga	Susan Mittelstadt	Hatha Yoga en Español	In Studio	In Studio*
Wednesday	5:30 PM	6:45 PM	Yoga	Patricia Stone	Vinyasa Flow Yoga	In Studio	Register
Thursday	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	Meditation	Various Facilitators	Daily Unguided Meditation	In Studio	In Studio*
Thursday	9:30 AM	10:30 AM	Yoga	Trish Buerger	Chair Yoga	In Studio, Livestream	Register
Thursday	11:30 AM	12:45 PM	Yoga	Becky Glenn	Slow Flow Yoga	In Studio, Livestream	Register
Thursday	5:00 PM	6:00 PM	Yoga	Jennifer Olson	Donation Yoga	In Studio	Register
Thursday	6:45 PM	8:15 PM	Dance	Various Facilitators	Ecstatic Dance	In Studio	In Studio*
Friday	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	Meditation	Various Facilitators	Daily Unguided Meditation	In Studio	In Studio*
Friday	8:30 AM	9:00 AM	Meditation	Jeff Goin	Friday Morning Dharma	Livestream	Register
Friday	10:00 AM	11:00 AM	Tai Chi	Kit West	Tai Chi for Improving Memory	In Studio	In Studio*
Friday	11:30 AM	12:30 PM	Yoga	Brooke Cressler	Kundalini Yoga	In Studio	Register

Jim Charleston

Jim received his 200 hour yoga certification in 2009 from the Asana Studio in Golden CO. Living in Villanueva at the time there was limited opportunity for him to teach so he moved to Albuquerque where he held classes at the South Valley Community Center, the Albuquerque Friends meeting house, and Yoga Now.

His most rewarding practice has been with Vietnam Vets and Youth Diversion. In his practice, he has learned that all yogi’s and yogini’s go to the same spot in their practice, that of resistance. His belief is that what one does when they meet that resistance in their body determines whether they have a successful practice or not. If they beat themselves up because they can’t go as deeply into a posture as the person next to them then they will be less than successful. If they go to the place of resistance, acknowledge it, and breath into it he believes that they can then move beyond that resistance. Practiced enough Jim believes that this process eventually leads to the rewiring of neural patterns and when the yogini then meets resistance in their life outside of the studio they will automatically stop, acknowledge that resistance, breath into, and move beyond. This is the philosophy that Jim will be using in his class on Yoga for Artists, Creatives, Radicals and Community Organizers where yoginis will focus on moving beyond resistance and connecting with the source of their creativity.

Jim has a Mdiv and an MSW.

Yoga for Creatives

Jim Charleston

Yoga for Creatives follows the eight limbs of yoga as its guide. Extended time will be spent in each posture with a focus on how each posture informs the individual’s creativity. They will only move into the next pose once they achieve effortless breathing.

Yamas – to do no harm
Niyamas – self-awareness
Asanas – effortlessly aligning oneself with the universal Pranayama – effortless breathing
Pratyahara – shutting out the world
Dharana – focusing attention
Dhyana – absorption resulting from attention
Samadhi – non-judgemental self-realization

Kundalini Yoga

Brooke Cressler

Kundalini Yoga is known as the “path for householders.” People who are of the world, with familial responsibilities, societal duties and worldly concerns. Kundalini by nature is a spiritual practice as it asks us to commune with sensation, go beyond negative thought patterns and create change within. Kundalini is a revitalizing practice that includes breathwork, mantra and movement to stimulate the energy centers. Additionally, there will be movement medicine practices like body tapping, mobility exercises and playful core work to assist in resetting and rebuilding the nervous system. Join me for a variety of movement disciplines that can come home with you.

Brooke Cressler

Brooke received her 200-hour Yoga certification in 2013 at the Om My Yoga studio in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Since completing the program, Brooke has been on a continuing journey to learn about the social and emotional healing arts. Upon moving to Silver City in 2014 she studied Reiki, Shamanism, Emotional Intelligence, and continued delving into the Yogic practices of Kundalini. Brooke is a weaver when it comes to movement and the healing arts; she seeks out the teachers that inspire her, and designs classes based on the interweaving of many disciplines and lines of thought.

In Brooke’s personal practice, Yoga has become a sacred space for reflection, emotional awareness, and harmonizing her relationship to herself and others. Yoga offers a space for healing on all levels, and it is through her journey of exploration that Brooke is delighted to offer Movement Medicine; Kundalini Yoga.

Trauma-informed Yoga

When we have experienced traumatic events, the brain/gut vagal connection can sometimes “misfire.” In other words, we can “misread” situations moving us into defensive states without it even registering in our thought process. While much of this happens below our conscious awareness, we can learn to read the signs that tell us which type of nervous system state we are in: shut-down, flight-flight or calm and grounded in the present moment. As we become more familiar with these vagal states, we are better able to actively engage with them.

As a means for trauma recovery, yoga is an ideal practice for calming the nervous system while increasing self and body awareness. This workshop offered by Diane Smith will combine some best practices integrating polyvagal theory with yoga asanas, pranayama, chanting, and other eclectic strategies for trauma recovery to help us become more attuned and adept and recognize our vagal/nervous system state. Ideally, these tools can enable us to consciously shift into a place of feeling more grounded and safe in present-moment awareness.

Diane Smith, LCSW, CYT

Trauma has touched most of our lives in one way or another, either through our personal experiences or those of our loved ones. Its impact can be overt, as in full blown symptoms of PTSD, or more covertly can show up as low level anxiety, physical tension or hyper-vigilance. Often it leaves us with an anxious mind, or worse, feeling unsafe in our environment or in our own bodies.

In her trauma-informed yoga classes, Diane leads us in the practice of Hatha yoga including pranayama, mantra, chanting and asanas to move us toward feeling calm and reconnected with our deeper selves. In addition, numerous strategies to engage the parasympathetic nervous system are included, drawing from neuroscience, trauma therapy approaches and Polyvagal Theory (calming of the Vagus nerve). It is hoped that this combination of diverse approaches will give participants a wide array of calming and coping strategies to carry off the mat and into daily life.

Cacao Medicine Journey

A ceremonial Cacao Medicine Journey is a deeply somatic, lucid dreamlike experience that reconnects you to the essence of who you truly are as it heals mind-body-spirit-soul.

After we drink the cacao, which is pure, ceremonial cacao from Guatemala, hand selected for its high energetic vibration and blessed with loving intention, you will deepen into the experience through a guided meditation, shamanic drumming, Reiki energy healing and a sacred music playlist allowing you to fully receive the medicine you most need.

Nicole Gnutzman

Profile image of Nicole Gnutzman

Nicole honors the Cacao Spirit through shamanic practices and calls in the energies of the Directions and Elements, Spirit Animals and Guides, Ancestors and Star Beings in gratitude for their wisdom, guidance and healing.

Teresa Haggerson Lucero

Teresa is a New Mexico native and returned home to Grant County in 2000. She is a retired educator of 31 years. She taught eighteen years in Prescott Public Schools in AZ. After moving back to NM, she taught at Cliff Schools for 13 years. Her teaching career included high school and junior high school Health, Physical Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences classes. While teaching in Prescott, AZ, she also coached girls track and intramural sports, and sponsored the cheerleading squad.

Teresa is married to Steve Lucero. She has two grown children, five grandchildren. She is an avid hiker and loves the outdoors. She has been a devoted student of Yoga since 2002. The practice of Yoga has supported her physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It has provided her with tools to balance and embrace the challenges and joys of life.

Teresa is honored to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Lotus Center. She hopes her career and personal life experiences will make a positive contribution to the Lotus Center Board.

Heather Steinmann

Heather was an ashtanga yoga practitioner for over a decade before being asked to teach a class at her home studio. After teaching ashtanga for a year, she went on to study other styles of yoga to deepen her practice.

Heather completed her yoga teacher training in 2014 with Tanya Boigenzahn, founder of the Devanadi School of Yoga and Wellness. Rather than focusing on a single style of yoga, Heather’s classes incorporate asana and other mind/body modalities from classical, tantra, and modern yoga traditions.

Amita Schmidt

Amita (Amy) Schmidt LCSW is a psychotherapist and meditation teacher. She was the resident teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts for six years and she was the co-founder of Southwest Sangha Retreat Center in San Lorenzo, New Mexico. She is the author of “Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master.” She currently practices and teaches meditation from a non-dual perspective.

Susan Mittelstadt

Susan offers a bilingual yoga class where Spanish is the language of choice and English is used as needed. Susan started practicing yoga as a child in the 70s and continued dabbling while she pursued studies in karate and judo. Eventually she found her way to Mexico and studied a uniquely Mexican format she learned from Mayra Torres Toscano.

The style focuses on a thorough full body warm up and then asana practice. There are elements of Vinyasa and Hatha styles with a strong focus on breath. Susan practiced Iyengar for a time and uses that experience to incorporate props and adjustments where needed. She hopes you’ll join her on a yoga journey through language and cultures.

Kit West

I began to do Tai Chi while living on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala in the 90s. There was a generous but cranky Tai Chi master who offered free classes in his garden in the morning three days a week. He mixed basic Tai Chi with Qi Gong and Taoist wisdom. To this day I model my classes after his. I attended his classes for ten years.

Upon returning to the States in 2001, I, tragically, left Tai Chi behind, and it was only when the aging process forced itself on my attention that I returned to Tai Chi. Simultaneously, a local senior living facility lost their Tai Chi instructor and invited me to take his place. I discovered Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Health organization and became certified to teach Tai Chi according to his format: “watch me, follow me, show me.” I taught at the Good Samaritan Society Loveland Village for five years.

I have now been doing Tai Chi again for ten+ years, starting my day with Qi Gong and the salutation to the sun and then the Yang 24 and the Sun 73 styles of Tai Chi. I am now 66 and am evidence as to the benefits of Tai Chi for seniors as well as participants of any age.

Ecstatic Dance

Come for an hour and a half of free form dance where you can groove however your body wants, by yourself or with others. Bare your soles (and soul), surrender to the music and let your movement be guided by your body’s wisdom. There are no wrong moves. Doors open at 10:30 AM; dance starts at 11:00.

Contact Improv Dance Workshop

Contact improvisation is a form of dancing that has been developing internationally since 1972. It involves the exploration of one’s body in relationship to others by using the fundamentals of sharing weight, touch, sensation, and movement awareness.

Through touch, we perceive each other, give support, lead and get led, take the weight of another, or transfer our weight to them, we fall and we mitigate the fall, we give the energy to take off and fly. Sometimes Contact Improvisation is like children or puppies playing! It’s fun. It’s a healing dance form practiced all over the world. It’s made up as we go along. All bodies are welcome!

Cost: Sliding scale of $40 to $60 for both the afternoon and evening sessions.

Morning Meditation

Monday Morning Dharma is offered in-person at Lotus Center and via Live Stream from 8:30 to 9:00 AM. To register for live stream, please visit Lotus Center Classes.

No registration is required for in-person attendance; drop-ins are welcome! Each class will start w/ a 15-minute guided meditation, followed by a 15-minute teaching. Each class is self-contained; people of all meditation experience levels are welcome!

Please join us for Friday Morning Dharma, also from 8:30 to 9:00 AM. The format of these Friday classes is the same as the Monday classes. Donations are appreciated. For more information, please visit Lotus Center, or call (575) 956-6647.

The Habit of Power

This course teaches intentional, sustainable practices for working with energy. In a sacred space, participants will learn a process that helps them identify their default energy signatures and raise their energetic vibration. The course emphasizes repetition and practice to allow participants to build a repertoire of energy management tools. Special emphasis will be placed on learning the difference between power and force.

Blake Farley

Blake Farley is a business professional who found success when she began practicing the principles she now teaches. She is a gifted teacher, a clairvoyant, and a podcaster who believes she is on this planet to embody the qualities she wants to see in the world — and to help others understand how energy principles and consciousness work.

Scott Plate

Scott Plate is the co-founder of Native Heartseed LLC, based in Silver City. He is a certified coach, expressive therapist, end-of-life Doula, and published writer who has also enjoyed an award-winning career in the performing arts as an actor, director, and educator. His students and clients work at the highest levels of the entertainment industry, and as counselors, clinicians, educators, and clergy. Native Heart Seed

Jennifer Caldwell

Jennifer Caldwell is a passionate supporter of emotional health. After receiving her master’s
degree in counseling at the University of Wyoming, she forged a career as a counselor in
international schools around the world. During the summer of 2023, she made Silver City her
new home (a great choice to support mental health!) and decided to retire from education and to
begin working with adults. Helping others with their emotional well-being and nurturing their
hearts and souls is what she feels she is called to do, whatever the age! Life provides us with
many opportunities to grow – some more difficult than others – and she is excited to be able to
support others on their journeys.

Morning Meditation

Friday Morning Dharma is offered in-person at Lotus Center and via Live Stream from 8:30 to 9:00 AM. To register for live stream, please visit Lotus Center Classes.

No registration is required for in-person attendance; drop-ins are welcome! Each class will start w/ a 15-minute guided meditation, followed by a 15-minute teaching. Each class is self-contained; people of all meditation experience levels are welcome!

Please join us for Monday Morning Dharma, also from 8:30 to 9:00 AM. The format of these Friday classes is the same as the Friday classes. Donations are appreciated. For more information, please visit Lotus Center, or call (575) 956-6647.

Rock Vinyasa

In Rock Vinyasa, participants will be guided through a series of poses that smoothly transition from one to the next. Each movement is initiated and supported by the rhythm of breath and complemented by various types of Rock & Roll and other forms of contemporary music. Beneficial for the heart and lungs (cardiorespiratory workout), Rock Vinyasa targets different muscle groups, including the major muscles, so it improves fitness levels through regular practice.

Thanksgiving Day Yoga — Connecting to What Matters

We are delighted to let you know that Becky will be leading an all-levels yoga class on Thanksgiving morning. The theme of the class will be ‘Connecting to What Matters’.

Please note that this class will be offered in-person, at the center as well as via live stream.

Contact Improv Dance Workshop

Contact improvisation is a form of dancing that has been developing internationally since 1972. It involves the exploration of one’s body in relationship to others by using the fundamentals of sharing weight, touch, sensation, and movement awareness.

Through touch, we perceive each other, give support, lead and get led, take the weight of another, or transfer our weight to them, we fall and we mitigate the fall, we give the energy to take off and fly. Sometimes Contact Improvisation is like children or puppies playing! It’s fun. It’s a healing dance form practiced all over the world. It’s made up as we go along. All bodies are welcome!

Cost: Sliding scale of $10 to $20

Chant for Helping People When They Die

Chanting is different from singing. Both are the sounds of the Universe coming through you. Because we usually ‘live in our minds’, we are out of sync with the heartbeat of the Universe and life.

“Chanting involves rhythmic, repetitive singing or speaking of sounds and phrases either vocally or mentally. It is practiced globally in many different cultures and for a multitude of functions such as strengthening communities, healing illness, or overcoming psychological and emotional difficulties… Yogic traditions believe that chanting practices are a way of reaching states of consciousness beyond the disturbances of the mind.” NIH

Whispering is the language of the intimate, speaking is the language of humans, chanting is the ‘cry of the soul.’

Structure of the class: First we will relax the shoulders, ribcage and lungs. Then we will experiment with different levels & speed of sounds, utilizing the following egs.

MA….a chant to activate the power of the Heart Center

HAR…a chant which gives energy & positivity

“AKAAL” …which creates a sound current that is said to help carry people’s consciousness/spirit/soul from the Earth through the Ethers after death.

Community Kirtan

Join Manda Jost and her “Kirtanistas” for an evening of musical chanting and singing to the ancient melodies of Classical India. It’s easy and it brings peace! No experience necessary; everyone is welcome! Donations appreciated.

Gentle Tai Chi for Beginners, Seniors, and Children

Gentle Tai Chi will cover the basics of Tai Chi in a slow, flowing manner much like the practice itself. We will begin with the essential Tai Chi principles of posture, balance, breath and imaging as well as the Taoist-based philosophy of Tai Chi. Our ultimate goal being the understanding of the Yang 24, we will pull forms out of the progression and learn them first as walks, then we will fold that understanding into the learning of the entire Yang 24. The class will always go forward with an awareness of every participants’ abilities, the idea being to learn with joy, so that with joy we can gradually integrate Tai Chi into our daily lives.

Hatha Yoga en Español

Susan offers a bilingual yoga class where Spanish is the language of choice and English is used as needed. The style focuses on a thorough full body warm up and then asana practice. There are elements of Vinyasa and Hatha styles with a strong focus on breath. Susan practiced Iyengar for a time and uses that experience to incorporate props and adjustments where needed. She hopes you’ll join her on a yoga journey through language and cultures.

Daily Unguided Meditation

There’s no substitute for sitting by yourself. There’s also no substitute for sitting with others.

Sit with fellow meditators from 7:00 — 7:45 AM; Seven days a week, 365 days a year.

No charge.

Strengthening Your Spiritual and Emotional Immunity w/ Amita Schmidt

During Covid you might have realized the importance of bodily immunity. Now more than ever, it is also important to have a strong emotional and spiritual immune system. Can you continue to love even if the world is in anger or fear? Can you live the essence of who you are rather than your worries? This talk will inspire you to practice a deeper level of emotional and spiritual presence.

No pre-registration necessary; drop-ins are welcome!

Nanette Robinson

Nanette Robinson, choreographer, somatic educator and dancer is co-founder and artistic director of ZUZI! Dance in Tucson. She holds a BFA in Dance from Temple University. She is an introductory and ongoing certified instructor of Skinner Releasing Technique and a certified yoga instructor. Nanette has been strongly influenced by the somatic practice of Releasing and Alexander technique over the years. One of her mentors, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, has informed the ZUZI’s visionary approach in relationship with multigenerational dancers and community outreach with non-dancers.

Radiant Body Yoga

Join Beth Cable for this guided, playful blend of a variety of yoga styles (Vinyasa, Hatha, Kundalini). This all-levels class combines asana (postures), pranayama (breathwork), creating intentions, meditation and occasional kriyas. The practices are intended to build physical health, strength and openness, vitality, clarity of mind and spiritual connection. Please come with an open mind and a smile!

Beth Cable

SLUM

SLUM studied at the Globe Institute of Sound and Consciousness in 2016 where he became certified in this field. He’s done many sessions, one-on-one as well as group oriented. A sound bath consists of a various range of instrumentation as well as different tones and song, all designed to assist in restoring ones’ vibrational balance.

Vinyasa Yoga

An energetic class that synchronizes breath (pranayama) with specific postures (asanas) that builds, in gradual stages, toward a peak within a class session. This flow class is all about continuous movement and breath. The class builds strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. Through the practice there is a natural alignment of the body, mind, emotion and spirit that leads to an experience of peace, power and flow both on and off the yoga mat. Some experience of yoga is helpful but not necessary, as modifications are offered for different levels.

Advanced-beginner/Intermediate

Vipassanā (Mindfulness) Meditation with Alan Cooper

Join Allan Cooper and other meditators every Wednesday for a 45-minute meditation and 30 minute discussion about both the practical and theoretical aspects of being a meditator in everyday life . Our practice together and discussions will support our formal meditation practice, our meditative lifestyles and will offer opportunities to learn more about our neighbor’s and the Buddhist way of life.

Vipassanā (Mindfulness) Meditation with Allan Cooper
Wednesdays, 3:30-4:45 PM (beginning January 25)
Appropriate for all levels of practice.
Donations encouraged

Peak Pose – Intermediate/Advanced Yoga Series with Heather Steinmann

This 3-session series is for yoga practitioners who can complete a Level 2/3 yoga class without needing many cues for primary poses and wish to deepen their practice with more advanced poses. Each class in this series will work the physical and subtle body in preparation for a more advanced “peak pose” near the end of class.

January 16: Forearm Stand
Jan 23: Bird of Paradise
Jan 30: Inverted Staff

Peak Pose with Heather Steinmann
Three Consecutive Mondays Beginning January 16
5:30 – 7:30 PM
Cost: $10 Drop-in; $8 w/ a Lotus Class Card

Tantra: History, Values and Contemporary Practice

Tantra – the science of liberation from ignorance – formed its roots over 7,000 years ago. Its mystical traditions and practices have mixed with the ancient Vedas and have influenced the growth of Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and modern yoga and meditation practices so prevalent today.

In this six-week series we will explore the ancient roots of Tantra from the time of Shiva when order was brought to a chaotic time in pre civilization and the subsequent rise of the large and peaceful Harrapan civilization. We will also explore the enduring teachings, moral values, and practices that make tantra so applicable to contemporary life. Marc will also offer teachings on the spiritual practices of tantra, the role of preceptor or guru in tantra, and finally (and most importantly), the role and application of tantra during times of great societal change upheaval as we come into a new era for humanity and the planet.

When you complete this series you will have an understanding of how tantra has birthed or influenced most of the mystical traditions known today, and have the opportunity to learn a meditation practice based on the ancient tantra practices.

Six Consecutive Tuesdays Beginning January 3

5:30 – 7:00 PM

Cost: $10 Suggested Donation

Marc Nevas (Acharya Bhavananda)

Marc has been teaching meditation techniques based on ancient Tantra for 26 years. He began his meditation practices over 50 years ago and has traveled to India for advanced training from his teacher Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. He completed over 1,000 hours of formal training and received his ordination as an Acarya (meditation teacher) in 1998. This training enables Marc to give individualized lessons with individual mantras and give initiation with transference of spiritual energy (Shaktipat).

Marc founded a center for Meditation and Yoga and later was the builder and co-director of the Sanctuary Retreat Center both in Northwest Montana. He has also been a presenter at meditation retreats in Italy, Finland and numerous locations in the United States.

Kirtan with Ishan Das

Participants in kirtan at Lotus Center will be welcome to participate by sitting, standing, or dancing with traditional steps, and playing hand cymbals which will be supplied and played in sync with traditional mridanga rhythms. The word “kirtan” means glorification. Kirtan is glorification of the power of the universe that becomes available to us in the form of transcendental sound vibration. By chanting and hearing this transcendental sound, we gradually become more in harmony with ourselves, with each other, and with the world we live in. Please come and engage in kirtan with Ishan das.

Qigong with Ishan Das

In 2018, Ishan was introduced to the ancient Chinese cultivation of Qigong, and has studied with several recognized masters. Their teachings deeply impressed upon him the understanding that inner peace can be purposefully cultivated by learning how to open and soften our hearts through meditation in movement. This ability to soften the heart blessed Ishan with the revelation that the spiritual sense of loving reciprocation with life is ever-present, and can be brought into focus as we cultivate the ability to open our hearts. This was the key that enabled Ishan to begin to realize more profoundly the teachings of Bhaktivedanta Swami. Today Ishan lives in the Gila wilderness beside Little Walnut Creek. His growing sense of purpose is to share what he has learned, with others who yearn for a sense of connection with life, saturated with the flavor of love.

Slow Flow Yoga

Beginner Friendly. Emphasis on moving with the breath in a slow, conscious way: incorporates modified sun salutations, along with other standing and seated postures for increased flexibility, stamina, balance, and strength. The intention is to go slow enough for you to adjust your practice in a way that really fits for you.

Lucid Movement Dance

Lucid Movement Dance w/ Nanette Robinson
Four consecutive Wednesdays beginning on October 12
Times: 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM

Come explore the magic of movement! Men and women of all ages and abilities are invited to participate.

In this class we will look at the internal landscape of the body and how it relates to the external landscape of our world. We will move to encourage lightness to our felt (kinesthetic) movement experience to explore and expand. Be prepared for some deep listening to the rhythms of the body and playful, spontaneous explosions of movement. Bring your curious self! Open to a new way of inhabiting your precious body in mindfulness and awareness. This class holds the space for nurturance in safety and trust.

Cost: $10 suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds.

Lotus Center is proud to partner with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Silver City to offer a weekend Nonviolent Communication (“NVC”) training. Karen Starz, a certified NVC trainer, will be coming over from Truth or Consequences to lead the training.

Here are dates of the training . . .

Friday, November 11 — Early evening mixer at the UU Fellowship Saturday, November 12 — A full day of training to be held at the UU Fellowship Sunday, November 13 — An early afternoon NVC “Practice Group” meeting (Note: The creation of an ongoing weekly Practice Group is one of the objectives of conducting this training)

Goddess Energy

This four-class series celebrates the Divine Feminine by moving our bodies, telling stories, making use of healing sound . . . and more. A perfect way to make your weekend special and empowered!

In these hour-long, drop-in classes, Lynda Aiman-Smith will facilitate our integration of sound and movement, using her years of experience of celebrating the Divine Feminine. Both men and women can benefit from Goddess Energy!

Attend one, some, or all four classes in the series.

By donation.

Karen Starz

Karen Starz, MA, MAEC, and CNVC Certified Trainer, is a consultant, coach, speaker, and facilitator. Her background spans many areas, from interpersonal relationships to businesses and non-profit organizations. Other services she provides include mediation, conflict resolution, and curriculum writing.

Karen is a leader who models both success and failure with courage and integrity. Her passion is in the exploration, discovery, and integration of processes which help humans live as they were meant to- in peace. She loves working with communities to find the points of disconnection and bring them into connection through communication, spirituality, and continual learning opportunities. Her favorite quality of being is “congruence.”

Her approach to Nonviolent Communication is based on embodying the whole of nonviolent consciousness to create an automatic, empathic, somatic response, and awareness. Her studies of the Great Books from both Eastern and Western thought have supported the belief system that we are all interdependent, which is the same belief system that nonviolent practitioners assume. The connection with Marshall Rosenberg’s work and NVC came naturally and piqued further, ongoing exploration into the foundations of NVC.

For more information on Karen and her work, please visit Karen Starz Ripples Makes Waves…

Belly Dance

This series will be introducing how to belly dance with a veil.

Join Zoe Wolfe and find out at her new six-class belly dance series starting September 13th to October 25th!

Zoe Wolfe

Dance has played a major part in my life, strengthening and balancing my body, mind and spirit.

As a belly dance instructor, I draw from decades of practice, including movement meditation and improvisation.

Proper alignment, isolations, choreography and one’s personal expression are paramount.

Joy and laughter are a constant.

Those experienced and those new to dance are welcome to participate: Come challenge yourself in discovering new ways to move, while enjoying the company this ancient dance embraces.

Sound Bath

A Sound Bath is a positive, focused, intentional, full body listening experience that uses sound to invite gentle yet powerful therapeutic and restorative processes to NURTURE YOUR MIND AND BODY. The experience begins with each person lying down or seated in a comfortable position, often with a blanket and an eye mask.

Patricia Stone

Patricia Grijalva Stone was born in Silver City, raised in Bayard, and has recently returned home after 30 years. Her discovery of yoga has positively impacted all areas of her life, so much so that she became a registered yoga instructor in the Vinyasa flow style. Her passion is to share the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of a regular yoga practice. On a physical level, yoga helps improve flexibility, strength, balance and endurance; and on a mental level, yoga teaches how to cope better with stress by cultivating a sense of ease in both active and passive poses. On a spiritual level, yoga helps to cultivate awareness by allowing the space to connect deeper within yourself. She creates a warm, welcoming environment for students of all levels to come unwind, relax, energize, heal, and strengthen their body, mind, and spirit. Her classes incorporate breath (pranayama), movement (asanas), core strength (bhandas), flow, and music.

Jeff Goin

Jeff has been teaching and leading non-denominational meditation in Silver City, on a volunteer basis, since 2008. His classes provide practical ideas and methods for improving relationships, overcoming anger, dealing with stress and, in general, establishing and maintaining a peaceful state of mind.

Jeff is a co-founder of Single Socks, a non-profit thrift store in Silver City that donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to anti-hunger programs in Grant County, New Mexico. He is a practicing Mahayana Buddhist since 1999.

Mary Ann Finn

Mary Ann trained with the World Laughter Tour and Sebastian Gendry of the American School of Laughter Yoga. Mary Ann has been leading laughter clubs/laughter yoga sessions since 2007. Mary Ann strongly believes that laughter is the antidote to stress and that stress is responsible for/or aggravates many of our modern health issues. Laughter decreases our stress hormones, boosts our immune system, relaxes our muscles, increases the oxygen levels in our blood and calms our minds.

While not laughing, Mary Ann can be found exploring Boston Hill, cooking with her solar oven or finding joy in her backyard – a world of opportunity.

Allan Cooper

Allan has practiced vipassana and samatha meditation practices since 1974. His primary teachers are the Burmese meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita, his student, Sayadaw U Vivekananda, Abbot of Panditarama International Vipassana Meditation Center, Lumbini, Nepal, and Joseph Goldstein, co-founder of Insight Meditation Society, Barre, MA, USA. Allan is a retired hospice and mental health RN and has been teaching meditation and leading retreats for many years.

His book, A Householder’s Vinaya, is available for free download at householdersvinaya.com or for purchase at amazon.com in both eBook and paperback formats. All royalties are donated to Buddhist Global Relief Fund.

Ballet for Adults

Ballet for Adults with Victoria Stinez
Wednesdays 9:30 to 10:45 AM
In-person, Indoors at Lotus Center (no pre-registration required)

Adult ballet is a beginner friendly/intermediate paced class focusing on the basic principles of classical ballet. It will involve stretching, warmups, barre work, and center work. As the class progresses, we will do more choreography as well. The goal for this class is to enjoy the art of ballet while also working on the technique aspect individually. This class will be steady paced, and any level of dancer is welcome.

Attire: ballet shoes, bare feet, or socks
Clothing: Dancer’s choice, anything easy to move in and what you feel comfortable in
Cost: $10 drop-in; $8 w/ a Lotus Class Card

Victoria Stinez

Victoria resides in Silver City, NM with her husband and two daughters. Growing up as a Military child, she has lived and danced in many states with 20 years of experience trained in classical Ballet, Pointe and Contemporary. Her training started in Honolulu, Hawaii at Leeward dance school at the age of four, followed by Spring City Ballet CO., Ballet Repertory Theatre NM., Chamber Ballet/I Dance VA., Children’s Center for Dance Education IN., and Ballet Society CO. She has attended summer intensives at South Carolina Ballet Conservatory, Richmond Ballet, Ballet Society, Jillana’s Summer Intensive, and Ballet West. Victoria has performed in The Nutcracker, Giselle, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Alice in Wonderland, Paquita, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Carmina Burana.

After graduating high school, she trained for a year at the Joffrey Ballet in New York City on scholarship. After she attended Santa Fe University of Art and Design on scholarship as a Dance major then transferred to school at UNM as a Dance Major as well. With taking a few years of a break Victoria feels so blessed and thankful to share her passion of dance with others and guide them to their dreams.

I am so thankful I can always run to dance. It impacts my mental health more than I could ever imagine. Dancing through your art is so special and rare. There is a perfect balance of structure and letting go. After every class there is always a release. Whatever you were holding onto so tightly, it’s free now, and so are you. That is a GIFT and I love to share that with other dancers. — Victoria

Insight Meditation Simple, Clear and Practical The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path with Allan Cooper

Insight Meditation. Simple, Clear and Practical

The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path with Allan Cooper

It is said that happiness is being content with whatever enters our life. Identifying and learning contentment with ‘whatever’ is the Path. Teaching oneself how to embrace the ‘whatever’ is the process.

The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path offers everyone a self-reliant and accessible step by step ‘how to’ with which we can transform our everyday lives into our spiritual practice. The nine-class series, Insight Meditation. Simple, Clear and Practical; The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, offered by Allan Cooper at Lotus Center, will offer a special opportunity for study, meditation, and practice of this path. The result will be you acquiring tools with which you can transform whatever you’re doing — right here, right now — into your spiritual journey.

A Snapshot

What

A free Introductory talk followed by a nine-class series on The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path

What is the Noble Eightfold Path?

Right View/Understanding
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration

When: Free Introductory Talk: Thursday, September 15, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM & an Eight-class series over nine weeks (with a one-week break) on consecutive Thursdays, beginning on September 22; 5:30 to 6:45 PM

Where: Lotus Center; 211 W. Broadway, Silver City. In-person attendance only

Cost: $80 suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds

Overview of the Eightfold Path:

Theravada Buddhism, the orientation of this class, is known as the School of the Elders, or the Southern School, and in the Mahayana world as Hinayana or the lesser or small vehicle. Theravada is the oldest extant school of Buddhism dating from approximately the 3rd Century BCE and is common to Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Laos, among other countries.

Common to all schools of Buddhism, Theravada honors the Four Noble Truths at its center of study and practice. Part of the Four Noble Truths is Noble Eightfold Path, the ‘way to the end of suffering’. This practice path offers anyone, regardless of religious belief or spiritual leanings, a practical method to train the mind towards wholesomeness, and when applied to its deepest meaning, it can liberate the mind/heart from all mental reactivity, to freedom, to spiritual liberation.

What to Expect:

Each class will consist of 30 minutes (or so) of guided meditation, and 45 minutes (or so) of a Dhamma teaching.

Commitments:

This class offers the attendee an opportunity to scratch below the surface of what we know, and what we think we know about meditation and about Buddhism. As a class we will meet weekly for guided meditation and discussion about the week’s study and meditation assignments.

The series will draw from two different texts which will be made available for purchase or for free loan. The End of Suffering the Noble Eightfold Path by Bhikkhu Bodhi, and The Heart of Buddhist Meditation by Nyanaponika Thera. Both books are easy and accessible to read. Bhikku Bodhi’s book is a succinct 119 page booklet detailing and explaining the Noble Eightfold Path, and The Heart of Buddhist Meditation is a look see at how and why meditation and the Noble Eightfold Path can work to retrain the mind towards spiritual and everyday happiness.

More information:

For questions regarding class content, please write Allan at nama1rupa1@gmail.com

For questions regarding registration, payment, and other administrative matters, please write Lotus Center at info@LotusCenterSC.org

What
A free Introductory talk followed by a nine-class series on The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path

When
Introductory Talk: Thursday, September 15, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM
Nine-class series: Nine consecutive Thursdays, beginning on September 22; 5:30 to 6:45 PM

Where
Lotus Center; 211 W. Broadway, Silver City.
In-person attendance only
Cost: $80 suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds

Medicine Buddha Prayers Meditation

During these times of great challenge and great opportunity, support and empower yourself with this powerful practice. Join Jeff Goin this Saturday for a guided meditation during which we draw on the healing, purification, and protection powers of the Healing Buddha.

Ecstatic Dance — Dance Church

Come for an hour and a half of free form dance where you can groove however your body wants, by yourself or with others. Bare your soles (and soul), surrender to the music and let your movement be guided by your body’s wisdom. There are no wrong moves. Doors open at 10:30 AM; dance starts at 11:00.

Sign Up

For in-studio or outside attendance, no pre-registration is needed.

Myssage

Myssage uses movement under pressure to soften and re-hydrate the connective tissue. The pressure is created by your own body weight. The method uses massage balls to penetrate deep into fascial junctions and awaken the nerves which can then stimulate strong signals of healing.
Please note that this class is scheduled using Mountain Time. If you are in a different time zone, be sure to indicate this when registering.

Vinyasa Flow Yoga

Emphasis on moving with the breath in a more continuous flow (and with less instruction): incorporates sun salutations, along with other standing and seated postures for increased flexibility, stamina, balance, and strength. This class is more vigorous than the Slow Flow class – recommended for those who have a regular yoga practice (or know how to modify their practice to fit their body) or for those who are familiar with yoga (or similar practices) and are in good physical condition.

Intermediate level

Intermediate Hatha Yoga

The Sanskrit word, Hatha, translates literally as “force.” Hatha yoga translates to “the yoga of force,” or anything that we do with the physical body to attain the state of Yoga, which is the blissful true form of the Self. Hatha yoga includes postures (asana), breathing techniques (pranayama), mudras and bandhas (hand or full body gestures), and kriyas (cleansing techniques).

In this Intermediate Hatha Yoga class, students experience some or all of these physical practices. A typical class incorporates relaxation of the mind and body before and after pranayama and postures, which include sun salutations to warm and strengthen the body, followed by a series of traditional asanas with some intermediate level postures and variations. The practice is performed more slowly than in a vinyasa flow style class. It is helpful to have some prior knowledge of yoga and/or be in moderately good physical condition.

Benefits of Hatha yoga include strengthening and increased flexibility of the body; improved awareness of the internal and external state of the body; cleansing of the internal organs, cardiovascular, and nervous systems; and calming and clearing of the mind. These physical and subtle benefits help one towards the attainment of Yoga.

Kundalini Yoga

Each class contains a kriya (a series of coordinated movements, postures and breath work), mantra, meditation, and relaxation. Our intention for each class of Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, is to share this knowledge system in order to elevate the individual and improve the quality of life for all who attend. We will modify poses to best serve our bodies, develop the consciousness to become our own best teachers, and uplift each other.

Chair Yoga

Chair yoga is a gentle form of yoga that is practiced sitting on a chair or using a chair for support during standing poses. Yoga is all about moving life force energy (called prana). When living energy reaches every part of our being we experience less pain, more relaxation, and a general state of well-being. Chair yoga helps increase flexibility, lung capacity, circulation, and strength, improves balance, and relieves stress. The class incorporates breathing exercises, stretching, and yoga postures.

Meditation for Everyone! with Jeff

While the coronavirus pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime event, it’s also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for growth. By undertaking a thorough examination of the recent changes in our world – and, most importantly, our own reaction to those changes – we have an opportunity to transform these times of COVID into a path of healing, growth, and awakening. No meditation experience is necessary. By donation.

Becky Glenn

Becky is a registered yoga teacher (RYT) by Yoga Alliance in the vinyasa (flow) style of yoga – receiving her initial teacher training from Stephanie Keach at the Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, NC, in 2006. Ever since, Becky has been consistently teaching multiple yoga classes each week – first at the popular intown yoga studio in Atlanta, Yoga Samadhi, then in Silver City after moving here in 2009.

Becky teaches various classes, ranging from gentle to vigorous. In all classes, Becky emphasizes listening to one’s own body and following the breath. Becky brings a tender-hearted, playful spark to the yoga practice, creating an environment to support each student’s intentions and needs . . . while having FUN!

Trish Buerger

Trish is YogaFit I and YogaFit II certified, receiving her training in 2001 and 2003 in Wilmington NC. Trish has her B.S.E in Recreation and Leisure Studies and her M.S.E. in Health Education from SUNY Cortland in NY. Since 1992 she had taught Community Health (now Public Health) classes (Nutrition, Stress Reduction, First Aid, Health and Aging etc.) and various exercise classes ( yoga, step aerobics, water aerobics, weight training etc. ) for the Physical Education program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Trish also developed and taught exercise classes in Wilmington and surrounding counties for the aging population and disease- specific functional movement classes in various exercise studios, churches, senior centers and wherever else there was a need.

Health and fitness has always been a huge part of her life. In 1982 she was involved in a traumatic auto accident which resulted in a brain stem injury, various fractures and over a month in the ICU. She credits great Doctors, the love from family and friends and the fact that she practiced a healthy lifestyle. It is through the journey of recovery that she feels that she can understand and relate to the various abilities of those participating in her classes.

Trish and her husband both retired from UNCW in 2015 and are now loving their life in Silver City. She is very excited and happy to be teaching at the Lotus Center.

Natalie Hall

Natalie is a registered yoga teacher in the Sivananda school of yoga. She was attracted to Sivananda yoga for its medical foundation (the guru, Swami Sivananda Saraswati, was a medical doctor), its consistent and structured asana and pranayama components, and its strong attention to yoga’s traditional roots. A typical Sivananda yoga class incorporates opening and closing chants (Bhakti yoga), pranayama (breathing exercises), and asana practice built around 12 basic postures with variations, and with relaxation between postures.

In addition to Sivananda yoga Natalie is a member of a growing movement of rehabilitation professionals working to “bridge the gap” between traditional allopathic or Western medicine and the ancient knowledge of yoga. She brings this intention to her work as a physical therapist for Gila Regional Medical Center’s outpatient rehabilitation department. Likewise, she is able to help her yoga students work with sensitive or injured areas in their yoga practice in order to achieve more complete movement.

Juniper Bowers

Juniper Bowers is the creator of Myssage, a technique of self-massage based on the principles of deep myofascial tissue release. Juniper was trained as a Rossiter Coach and in Thai Massage and worked for many years as a body worker before synthesizing her expertise into a form of self-massage that can be taught in a class. Juniper has been a teacher for 20 years and a Yoga instructor for 15 years.

Juniper began her training in the tradition of Iyengar Yoga, which places a heavy emphasis on correct alignment. She has since then gone on to study Vinyasa flow and Anusara Yoga and Feldenkrais, hoop for health and balance auditory visual exercises (Bal-a-vis-x). Her style is a unique combination of all of the above. She has taken the best parts of all of the modalities that she has studied to create an experience that is deeply transformative and informative. Juniper expertly blends and offers, an awareness physiology, traditional Yoga poses, correct alignment, techniques for brain and body balancing with a light hearted and playful approach to creating lifelong wellness skills that are accessible for everyone. At the Lotus Center Juniper offers a weekly Myssage class and occasional workshops of Hoop for health and Bal-A- Vis -X. myssage.com

Heart Conversations

1st and 3rd Sundays; 2:00 to 3:30 PM

That these times are unprecedented is something everyone understands.

While there’s been a lot of challenge and suffering, it’s also been a great opportunity to reflect and contemplate. Many of us have had the time and mental space to think about and experience things like uncertainty, forgiveness, and being alone. Heart Conversations are an opportunity for us to get together, share our thoughts about some of these important topics, and support each other.

The sharing circles will follow a format similar to that of 12-step recovery meetings. Personal sharing, rather than academic or philosophical views, will be encouraged, “cross-talking” will not be allowed, and all that is shared will be retained in confidence.

All sharing circles will be held outdoors, in the back garden of Light Art Space. Donations are welcomed, but not expected or required.

Please note that these gatherings are in-person, not online; registration is required.

To access, please enter through the big gate (with the Light Art Space sign) on Arizona between Broadway and Spring Streets.

Judith Kenney

Judith Kenney started practicing yoga at age 17 and it has been a source of joy, stability, and confidence in her life ever since. She trained and taught in the Iyengar tradition, which was the core of her practice for many years, and is now fully engaged in Kundalini Yoga and Meditation as taught by Yogi Bhajan. Judith’s teaching focuses on the principle of experiencing the body as a field of non-violence and integration. She is continually learning and growing on this path and wishes to share this wonderful technology with others.

Judith has worked at the Silver City Food Co-op for many years, and loves walking in the woods with her dogs and reading.

Laughter Yoga

Easiest. Join us for a journey of playfulness, breathing, and meditation with the practices of laughing, breathing and clapping. Each session is a bit different and is adapted to the folks who attend. Participants may be invited to enjoy laughter milkshakes, speak in gibberish, laugh in different styles, or play laughter games. The physical act of laughter can decrease stress hormones and provide many health benefits!