East Bay Meditation Center

People of Color Sangha
2018-08-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-08-02 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-07-26 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-07-19 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
The People of Color Sangha is a growing tribe of people of color waking up and getting free!
Thursdays
7:00 – 9:00 PM
For more information, visit the: POC SANGHA WEBSITE

People of Color Yoga
2018-08-09 18:00 - 19:00, 2018-08-02 18:00 - 19:00, 2018-07-26 18:00 - 19:00
Weekly Yoga Practice for Self Identified People of Color led by Satya de la Paz
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Build strength and flexibility while cultivating mindfulness in this all levels hatha yoga class. Each class has a unique, inspiring theme and personalized instruction that will leave you feeling joyous and rejuvenated.
No registration required. No mat or special clothes required.

Teen Sangha Outdoor Summer Series
2018-08-08 19:00 - 20:45, 2018-08-01 19:00 - 20:45, 2018-07-25 19:00 - 20:45
Join us for our first Teen Sangha Outdoor Summer Series! For five Wednesdays this Summer, July 11 – August 8th, we will walk to Lake Merritt from EBMC and explore the beauty of mindfulness practice outdoors.
For this series, we will be investigating the beauty and wonder of mindfulness practice while utilizing the naturally stimulating outdoor realm. Our focus will be on creating deeper relationships with ourselves and each other, having fun, getting real and supporting each other. Learn mindfulness meditation and explore the dharma (Buddhist teachings) in creative experiential ways. No experience necessary. We are committed to maintaining a sangha (community) that is welcoming to people of all identities, cultures and backgrounds.
This group is for teens, ages 14-19. We will meet and end at EBMC as usual. Outdoor practice will be weather permitting. Dress in layers and be ready for fun!
Led by the EBMC Teen Sangha Team: Raúl Kahlil Betancourt, Anthony “T” Maes, Sarwang Parikh, Nirali Shah, Syra Smith, and Sara Oakes.
Registration: Registration is encouraged and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process)
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Midday Sangha
2018-08-08 12:00 - 13:35, 2018-08-01 12:00 - 13:35, 2018-07-25 12:00 - 13:35
Midday Sangha at EBMC Wednesdays at Noon!
Join our peer-led multicultural sangha for silent meditation practice and community building.
Every Wednesday
12:00 – 12:45 Silent sitting, standing or lying down meditation with optional walking meditation.
12:45 – 1:35 Potluck lunch with facilitated conversation about our practice and being the dharma in the world
Midday Sangha Coordinating Committee:
Abe Doherty, Jenn Biehn, Kam McCallum, Karen Jackson, Manuel Vasquez, Preston Justice, Shawki, Yvette Flores

Alphabet Sangha
2018-08-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2018-07-31 19:00 - 20:30, 2018-07-24 19:00 - 20:30
A meditation group for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Same-Gender Loving, and Two-Spirit communities. Because that’s such a mouthful, we call ourselves the Alphabet Sangha.
Tuesdays
7:00 – 8:30 pm
For more information, visit the ALPHABET SANGHA WEBSITE

Dharma in Motion: Tai Chi Chih Joy Through Movement
2018-08-07 18:00 - 18:50, 2018-07-31 18:00 - 18:50, 2018-07-24 18:00 - 18:50
Access Stillness in the Midst of Activity
Tai Chi Chih – Joy through Movement® with Paul Ciske
Tuesdays 6:00 – 6:50 pm July 3 – August 28, 2018
T’ai Chi Chih® is a moving meditation consisting of 20 easy-to-learn, accessible movements. A form of qigong, T’ai Chi Chih® circulates and balances the chi or energy of the body with the intention of bringing stillness and calm to the heart mind in the midst of activity.
For the past 25 years, Paul Ciske has taught and practiced Tai Chi Chih (TCC) – Joy through Movement. His profession revolves around the body as a neurologic body worker, movement trainer and coach, and Conscious Embodiment facilitator. Paul was the original host of Larry Yang’s LGBTQ East Bay sitting group before EBMC existed and is a long-time member of Alphabet Sangha.
Dharma in Motion is a weekly offering of access-centered movement practices for all ages and abilities. Teachers and modalities will rotate every 5-6 weeks. Drop in format, no experience necessary. Please wear clothing that allows for gentle movement.

Every Body Every Mind Sangha
2018-08-05 18:00 - 19:30, 2018-07-29 18:00 - 19:30, 2018-07-22 18:00 - 19:30
Every Body Every Mind Sangha is a weekly practice group for people living with disabilities, limitations, differences and chronic illnesses.
Sundays
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Please come and take part in this time to meditate, share our lives and support with each other, and learn more about the dharma. There is no need to register for these weekly meetings, just come and share this path together!
Teachers include Charlie Johnson, Deb Kerr and others.
For more info, visit the Every Body Every Mind Sangha Website.

Dharma In Motion with Master John Ellis
2018-08-03 18:00 - 18:45
Master Ellis will lead the Dharma in Motion class series on each Friday in August and will focus on Five Realms Meditative Movement. Five Realms will help us explore how to create and maintain greater mindfulness and spiritual balance throughout the day. Movements are taught standing, sitting, and reclining, and are appropriate for people of diverse abilities. Participants who attend at least four sessions in August will receive a certificate. Master Ellis has more than 30 years of meditation practice in Christian, Zen, Vipassana, and New Though traditions; and has written about martial arts, spirituality and alternative health for major media. Master Ellis currently leads Ananda Martial Arts & Fitness Academy in Oakland.

Love: Supported by the Four Divine States
2018-08-01 19:00 - 20:30, 2018-07-25 19:00 - 20:30
Open to All expressions of love: friends, partners, siblings, parent/child, roommates, etc.
with Rev. Liên Shutt
We all want love.
And, having and holding love and loving feelings can be challenging. Join us in exploring how love can be when expressed in conjunction with the qualities of the Four Divine States of Equanimity, Kindness, Compassion, and Inclusive Joy.
While grounded in these teachings and meditation practices, the course will also be framed by readings from bell hook’s All About Love: New Visions; offering a blend of fierce feminist social criticism to ask us to transform our challenges into strength, manifesting the love and caring we want in our lives here and now.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Cultivating Joy: Living from the Overflow
2018-07-29 10:00 - 13:00
with Spring Washam
This half day class will be followed by a “Until We Meet Again” Going Away Celebration & Potluck for Spring Washam from 1:00 – 4:00PM
In the Buddhist tradition Joy is an essential ingredient on the spiritual path. It is one of the seven factors of enlightenment and one of the four Brahma Viharas, often translated as the four “heavenly abodes”. Joy is not only a mind state but also a quality of the heart that celebrates the good in us and in others. We can learn to cultivate this precious quality and practice living a more joy filled life. All our welcome to come and join this half-day class.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Compassionate Dharma Deep Refuge: 8 Step Recovery Buddhist Meeting
2018-07-28 13:00 - 15:00
The last Saturday of every month at EBMC, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Beginning Saturday, February 24th, 2018, and continuing on the last Saturday of every month, EBMC offers a Recovery, Deep Refuge Buddhist meeting with a focus on ways to heal addiction. Based on the Eight Steps to Recovery developed by Dr. Mason-John M.A (hon.doc) and Dr Groves, we believe this inclusive approach can build a solid foundation for those at any level of recovery and for those who have yet to seek help.
Through these practices we hope you gain a practice that can sustain you in your recovery.

We ask that you attend sober on the day with respect for others that may be active in recovery. Open to all in Recovery.

Advance Registration is not required.
For additional information, please contact:
Shahara Godfrey slgvibing@earthlink.net

Maha Sangha Dharma in Motion: Yoga for Healing
2018-07-27 18:00 - 18:45, 2018-07-20 18:00 - 18:45
Join us for Maha Sangha Dharma in Motion with
Jess Dene Schlesinger – Yoga for Healing
Rather than expecting you to adapt to a fixed sequence, Yoga for Healing is a trauma-informed and access-centered class that is catered to your specific needs. Each class begins with a check-in where you are invited to name your needs—with this knowledge, we create a unique sequence, offering trauma and pain support through dynamic and bilateral movement (shown to support our nervous systems), gentle alignment, connection to the elements, and energy work. Many of us become disconnected from our bodies as a result of trauma and pain. Slowly and gently reconnecting with our bodies is a vital part of reducing these flare ups and, ultimately, healing.
Jess Dene Schlesinger began practicing yoga 18 years ago in an attempt to manage the physical and emotional pain resulting from various disabilities and traumas. She found, however, that most yoga classes she attended were not accessible for her needs. Jess continued to practice yoga on her own and explored various spiritual, psychological, and physical tools for healing personal and sociological trauma. For three years she has been offering Access-Centered Yoga, which combines trauma-informed language, a Disability Justice framework, and her lived experience as a sick and disabled queer.
Dharma in Motion is a weekly offering of access-centered movement practices that facilitate an embodied experience of the Dharma and align with EBMC’s mission of being radically inclusive. Teachers and modalities rotate every 4-8 weeks.
DROP IN FORMAT. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.
Fragrance Free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
Cost: The teachings are regarded as priceless; they are offered with no fee. You are invited to support the teachings by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of Dana) for center expenses and support of the teachers.

ONLINE: Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
2018-07-23 18:30 - 20:00
Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
Fourth Mondays (online over zoom)
6:30-8pm PM PST
This deep refuge group is by and for trans/gender-expansive people. Our goal is to provide a welcoming community space for trans/gender-expansive folks who are interested in exploring meditation and other aspects of Buddhist practice. Both beginners and experienced practitioners welcome!
To be added to the email list, please email tgedeeprefuge@eastbaymeditation.org with a quick note about your interest in the group. We look forward to practicing with you!
