Contemplative Yoga
Monastic Wisdom for Body, Mind, and Spirit
- Online retreat
- Self-study, start anytime
- Move at your own pace, in your own place
- Lifetime access
Registration Fee: $120 USD
Program Description
You are invited to explore the relationship between body, breath, mind, and spirit through a series of 20 yoga practices that were offered over a period of two years.
In our yoga classes Abbey Program Coordinator and yoga instructor Melinda Thomas blends principles of Benedictine and inclusive spirituality with gentle, fluid asanas (yoga postures) for an experience of contemplative movement. Each practice weaves a heart centered theme with deep breathing, skillful alignment cues, and plenty of modifications to cultivate harmony in your body, mind, and spirit. Themes are inspired by yoga principles, monastic wisdom, the Celtic wheel of the year, and rhythms of nature. Our contemplative yoga series seeks to honor the traditional spirituality of yoga in conversation with monastic and Celtic wisdom.
No prior yoga background is necessary. All experience levels and bodies are welcome!
What would it be like to relax into your breath and trust the wisdom of your body?
Do you long to embody the rhythm of the seasons?
Does the practice of yoga call to your spirit even if you don’t know where to begin?
What's Included
- 20, one hour long recorded yoga classes with Melinda Thomas in video and audio format that include
- 3 Yin yoga practices – Yin yoga is a series of gentle seated or reclining postures held for 3-5 minutes at a time to improve circulation, settle the breath, and ease the mind
- 2 Yoga nidra practices – Yoga nidra, which means yogic sleep, is a guided meditation experienced while lying down to promote deep rest and rejuvenation
- 15 well sequenced practices that include standing postures, gentle backbends, seated poses, forward folds, easeful twists, and accessible flows
- Modifications are offered throughout each practice. This is about cultivating a contemplative relationship with your body rather than performing a posture to match an external image.
- Recommended books and resources for further exploration related to the theme or style of the classes
You have immediate, life-time access to all of the material and can engage the practices at any time.
A yoga mat, two blocks, a strap or scarf, and a blanket are recommended. No prior yoga background necessary. All levels of experience and bodies are welcome.
*Wisdom Council member Jamie Marich is a guest presenter for one of the yoga sessions
Your Guide for the Journey
Melinda Thomas, E-RYT 500
Melinda Thomas, E-RYT 500 is the Program Coordinator for Abbey of the Arts providing program and logistical support, forum facilitation, and yoga offerings. She is an experienced yoga teacher and has been studying and practicing yoga for more than twenty-five years. In each of her classes and workshops Melinda weaves spiritual and contemplative themes into accessible, alignment based movement practice. Her aim is to honor the spiritual foundation of yoga in conversation with monastic and contemplative wisdom that offers participants a safe, inclusive, and integrated experience. Melinda is a writer and the author of Sacred Balance: Aligning Body and Spirit Through Yoga and the Benedictine Way. She lives in North Carolina with her son and their cat. She writes The Journal of Elements and Seasons on Substack. Visit her website >>
Praise for the Course
Registration
$120
Registration Fee
Terms and Conditions
Please consider your purchase carefully and review the many free materials we have on our website to make sure the program will be a good fit or get in touch with any questions.
We ask that you honor our work by not sharing the program materials with others who are not enrolled.
Please contact us for permission to quote in settings beyond the program
Some self-study retreats include video or audio recordings of sessions that were recorded in a live community offering of the retreat and may make reference to forums or other modes of sharing. Please disregard these as self-study retreats do not have these available.
Your registration implies consent to be added to our weekly email newsletter. You are free to unsubscribe or change frequency at any time. We never sell your personal information.
If you choose a payment plan and stop payment before fulfilling the commitment without contacting us to make other arrangements, your access to the program will be removed.
