BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick Shambhala Meditation Center, located at 19 Mason St., will offer a threeday retreat for knitters and meditators in June.
“Breath, Hand & Spirit: Cultivating Mindfulness One Stitch at a Time” will be led by meditation teacher Elaine Yuen and knitwear designer Rebekah Younger.
“This program combines three days of knitting and contemplative practice in beautiful Mid-coast Maine,” states a news release. “The teachers will guide participants through exercises that synchronize mind and body and heighten awareness to enhance one’s experience of knitting and the world. It will also be a time to train in mindfulness using knitting as the object of meditation. The retreat will explore how to bring this cultivated awareness into selection of fiber, color and garment shape and is for the beginner or advanced knitter. Participants may work on an unfinished project or create something new as they investigate the meditative mind. Trips to the beach and Halcyon Yarn, along with social time with fellow knitters, will balance the retreat.”
Yuen is a senior meditation teacher at the Philadelphia Shambhala Meditation Center. She is also an interfaith chaplain and professor of public health at Thomas Jefferson University, and was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer writing about the lifestyles of 20th century Buddhist practitioners. An avid knitter, Yuen has taught workshops on meditation and contemplative art, end of life issues, and cultural diversity in local and national settings. She enjoys discovering synergies between contemplative practice, creativity and social engagement; and hosts a “Knitting to Sitting” group at her local Shambhala Meditation Center.
Younger has been designing fine art knitwear as Younger Knits for more than 20 years. Sold nationally in fine craft galleries, her garments have been featured in two museum retrospectives on the Art to Wear movement and in cover articles for Ornament and The Crafts Report magazines. Rebekah designs not only knitwear, but interiors as inSite Contemplative Design and is a photographer and painter. She teaches art and meditation, creating and contemplative photography classes in addition to knitting. She is active as a meditation instructor and Shambhala Art teacher within the Mid-coast Shambhala Buddhist community.
The deadline to register is May 7.
The session will begin June 1 with orientation from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the center at 19 Mason St.
From June 2 to 4, sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an optional knitting circle for socializing on Saturday night. The costs is $175, which includes a brown bag lunch on Saturday. Scholarships are available.
For more information contact Younger at 443-8649 or rtyounger@comcast.net. Register online at www.shambhalabp.org.
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