Developing a Daily Meditation Practice
A 5-Week Online Series
This five-week offering is an accessible and empowering introductory exploration into developing and maintaining a meditation and spiritual practice.
During our time together, we will co-create a space informed by Buddhist wisdom—including practicing foundational meditation techniques, community building, and contemplative inquiry. Participants will be invited to engage with and live the questions that support a wholehearted life, on and off the cushion.
Throughout the course, we’ll be asking questions like:
What is Buddhism?
Where do we start?
What does daily practice look like?
How do we align and engage with the world in a meaningful way?
“Don’t meditate to fix yourself, to heal yourself, to improve yourself, to redeem yourself. Rather, do it as an act of love, of deep warm friendship to yourself. In this way there is no longer any need for the subtle aggression of self-improvement...Instead, see meditation as an act of love.”
Format: This offering is online, taking place on Zoom each week.
Teachers & Facilitators: Gavrila Abramson, Teresa Todoroff
Dates and Times
Wednesday nights, 8:00pm - 10:00 pm EST
September 13, 20, 27, October 4, 11
An optional extended practice day (half-day retreat) on October 27 from 4:00 - 7:00 pm EST
Structure of Sessions
Opening ritual
Grounding
Check-ins
Dharmette (short talk)
Break
Longer meditation practice period
Q&A & Discussion
Check-outs
Closing ritual and dedication of merit
Facilitators
Gavrila Abramson
Gavrila is a daughter and sister, a devoted dhamma practitioner, a singer, and contemplative dreamer. Getting to know grief and the complexity of being human led her to study suffering and its end, bringing her to teach mindfulness over the last decade and step into the role of somatic psychotherapist. Having the great benefit of working with folks of all ages, identities, and ancestries, Gavrila knows that embodiment and mindfulness can be accessible to all and is devoted to finding the entry point for each unique person. Guided by the cultivation of awareness, the unfolding of ancestral wisdom, and the honoring of innate wholeness, Gavrila collaborates with those seeking transformation. As a trained somatic psychotherapist, she is part of the growing Relational Somatic Healing community, bringing touch into psychotherapy as means to healing developmental trauma, as well as offering Somatic Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. As co-founder of the Trauma Aware Mindfulness Collective and mentee of David Treleaven, Gavrila trains and facilitates mindfulness with the global trauma-sensitive mindfulness community. She teaches the Middle School Meditation Series at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and participates in long meditation retreats regularly to inform her teachings. Based in California, Gavrila identifies as a queer, Ashkenazi Jewess. For more on Gavrila's therapeutic work visit connectedrootstherapy.com. For more on her trainings and writing, visit wholecompleteperfect.com.
Teresa Todoroff
Teresa began her contemplative inquiries as an adolescent, coordinating her first retreat for her sophomore high school class while serving as "Spiritual Coordinator." In her twenties, she began to explore the complexities of belonging and suffering, which led her to discover the Buddha's Four Noble Truths. Upon returning to the states in 2013 after 3 years living in Latin America, she began meditating more intensively and felt a deep sense of homecoming in the Theravadan lineage. She has since sat over 200 nights of silent retreat and supported international youth service programs, retreat centers, and diverse educational communities across the US, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil. Her life's work and path is dedicated to growing in wisdom, compassion, and community. Teresa finds inspiration and meaning when working with young folks, supporting monastic sanghas, and serving yogis in the depths of their healing. As a bilingual educator, mindfulness teacher, and retreat cook and manager, Teresa joyfully revels in the precious opportunity to practice and serve the dhamma in this very life.