Join the FIT Community - people dedicated to physical and mental wellness...
This is a hybrid program (Live and on Zoom )
Click on the Zoom link above to join us online.
- There is no charge.
- This is open to vaccinated individuals only.
- Please bring your own chair or cushion.
- There is limited capacity!
- Please use this form to attend in person and get reminders.
We respect your email privacy.
Every Sunday
9:45 am-11:15 am PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)
FIT- Annex at 600 Fremont Ave, Los Altos, CA
Beginners and Advanced Students are welcome.
Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) are welcome.
People of various pronouns are welcome.
People who have a religious or spiritual practice are welcome.
There will be a guided meditation followed by a talk and discussion of Pema Chodron's book-
HOW TO MEDITATE
A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind
More and more people are beginning to recognize a profound inner longing for authenticity, connection, and aliveness. Meditation, Pema explains, gives us a golden key to address this yearning.
Comments from our last program at FIT (pre-COVID):
"I can't begin to tell you how much the FIT Classes have helped me navigate some difficulty in my life right now. I look forward to continuing the journey!”
“Both in-person and online/zoom sessions with Fern have been invaluable to my happiness and growth in the past 2 years. Meditation has been one of the most transformative practices in my life, and Fern is amazing at guiding us non-judgmentally and with kindness. It’s also been great to connect with others in the group, especially during a difficult time this past year.”
“My yoga has changed. I am more present for my own personal life experiences. And caring about the path I share with others”.
“I'm grateful for her organizational skills, devotion to the teachings, and inclusion in all sharing personal check ins, and appreciation for all those who show up."
“Fern’s explorations on meditation techniques & teachings are taught and explained clearly using Zen, Tibetan Buddhism and the evolution of western religious teachers in the last fifty years.”
“Integrating Fern’s sitting and dharma teaching on zoom have been gifts during covid. I developed more patience, wisdom, and compassion in my life. This need for awareness and desire for flexibility going forward working with myself and others in difficult situations.”
Meet Your Instructor:
Fern Alix LaRocca has over 35 years experience as a meditator. She has studied with Kwong Roshi of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, Pema Chodron, Jack Kornfield, Ethan Nichtern and more. She is an authorized Shambhala meditation instructor.
There is no charge but participants may donate a *Heart Gift. Your generosity in heart offering is not only the virtue that produces peace, it directly supports teachers continuing to help others.
*A Heart Gift - Heart gifts are an act of generosity. They are an expression of appreciation to the teacher.
"When something is bothering you-a person is bugging you, a situation is irritating you, or physical pain is bothering you-you must work with your mind, and that is done through meditation. Working with our mind is the only means through which we'll actually begin to feel happy and contented with the world that we live in." —Pema Chödrön
This step-by-step guide shows readers how to honestly meet and openly relate with the mind, embrace the fullness of our experience, and live in a wholehearted way as we discover:
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The basics of meditation, from getting settled and the six points of posture to working with your breath and cultivating an attitude of unconditional friendliness
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The Seven Delights—how moments of difficulty can become doorways to awakening and love
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Shamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises
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Thoughts and emotions as "sheer delight"-instead of obstacles-in meditation
