Connect with the deeper meaning of Lent by way of contemplative practice

Out of the Depths is a 6-week series of in-person practices rooted in yoga and contemplative Christianity, meeting weekly on Saturdays at 10am ET (90min) from February 21st to March 28th. This contemplative practice series is intended to help connect your life in a deep and meaningful way to the season of Lent, which can often lack attention in our busy, modern lives. This series is appropriate for all levels of experience with yoga, Christian mysticism, or a deeper exploration of faith, including beginners.

Lent is the liturgical season when we walk with Christ as He journeys toward death on the cross, preceding Easter. It’s a time when we can connect with Christ’s passion as a crucial step toward deeper growth and healing within ourselves and our world.

During this series we will make space to connect with the sacred role that suffering and surrender play in our lives, as we prepare to enter the season of rebirth: Spring and Eastertide. We will engage with yoga asana, a practice of embodied awareness, lectio divina, a practice of reading and reflecting on a sacred text, and terra divina, a practice of witnessing the sacred in nature, before sitting quietly for meditation and prayer. My intention is that by the end of the 6 weeks you'll have a deepened connection to the sacredness of the Lenten season, and feel more anchored within your contemplative prayer practice as you move forward in your life.

This class series is for those who would like to:

• deepen or re-connect with an authentic spiritual practice

• explore core principles of yoga and contemplative Christianity

• connect to the divine dwelling within yourself and the natural world

• Study the teachings of the Christian mystics in an approachable manner

• learn contemplative practices such as yoga asana, lectio divina and terra divina in accessible ways

• receive encouragement, support and care alongside others also fostering an embodied faith practice

• Please note: While we will be engaging with practices rooted in yoga and contemplative Christianity within our time together, you don’t have to know much or anything at all about these practices yet. As long as your intentions are earnestly rooted in a yearning for deeper devotion to and union with God, and you are willing to engage more with this longing and learn from mystics and traditions that offer direct guidance on this endeavor, you will benefit from this series.

With spacious time for practice, we will:

• explore yoga asana which supports awareness of your own embodiment

• practice lectio divina, a contemplative practice of reflection on a spiritual text

• reflect on New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton as our guiding text

• experience terra divina, a contemplative practice of witnessing the sacred in nature

• digest our experiences within stillness and quiet through meditation and prayer

• share insights and reflections of our experiences within the community we form together

The yoga asana practice we will engage with during the course of this series will be a slow paced sequence of accessible postures, suitable for beginners. If you are new to yoga or would like to ease back into your practice, now is a great time to start. We will explore foundational postures of yoga with a gentle approach. Variations will be offered for those who want either greater challenge or a lighter approach to the yoga practice.

If you can’t attend all of the classes:

Though you will get the most out of this series if you attend all of the classes, if you need to miss one or two:

• Continue to read along the text for the week, listed below

• Engage in your own practice at home using the framework of our previous classes together

What Participants are Saying:

I felt a need to deepen my personal relationship with God. My prayers had begun to feel rote. This practice of studying the mystics, contemplative prayer, meditation, and gentle yoga is helping me to gain the personal relationship with God for which I have been searching.

- Karen S.

Elizabeth’s natural, seemingly effortless leadership style takes us through a preparatory yoga practice, reading and discussing the life of a mystic, then invites us into silence, and in the end invites us into community through conversation. I have benefitted so much from this practice and find myself entering into meditation most days now, which calms my soul, heals my body, and allows me to shed anxiety and feel gratitude for every day.

- Melissa B.

Elizabeth holds space for the soul to seek what it needs. I have attended all of her contemplative classes and have found the work that we do to be both surprising and life changing. There are no words that could describe the experience. Indeed, if you feel the call, I encourage you to try it out. 

- Anonymous

Let us journey inward to prepare the way for Spring’s rebirth.

How to Register for Out of the Depths:

If you’d like to join this course, please do the following:

• Email Elizabeth at elizabeth@selkiemedicinals.com with confirmation of your spot for the series. 

• Make a payment of $150 on or before our first meeting (Saturday, February 21st). Please write "Out of the Depths" in the payment notes section. You can pay via one of these methods:

• Venmo: @selkiemedicinals 

• Cash or check payable to Elizabeth Gross or Selkie Medicinals LLC (Please bring this to our first class)

• Please note: No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If you need financial assistance, please email Elizabeth at Elizabeth@selkiemedicinals.com to inquire about financial assistance as soon as you are able.

• Add class dates & readings to your calendar (Please note: suggested readings are to be completed prior to each session):

  • Upon Signing Up & Receiving Your Book: Introduction, Preface & Author’s Note (p. vii-xix)

  • Session 1: Saturday, 2/21 10-11:30am / Ch. 1-6 (p. 1-46)

  • Session 2: Saturday, 2/28 10-11:30am / Ch. 7-13 (p. 47-97)

  • Session 3: Saturday, 3/7 10-11:30am / Ch. 14-20 (p. 98-149)

  • Session 4: Saturday, 3/14 10-11:30am / Ch. 21-26 (p. 150-198)

  • Session 5: Saturday, 3/21 10-11:30am / Ch. 27-33 (p. 199-244)

  • Session 6: Saturday, 3/28 10-11:30am / Ch. 34-39 (p. 245-297)

• Ensure sure you have access to the following materials:

  • A journal and your favorite writing utensil

  • A copy of New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton, Introduction by Sue Monk Kidd (linked here)

  • Optional:

    • Your own yoga mat and additional suggested yoga props: a bolster, 2 yoga blocks, a yoga strap and blanket. Yoga mats and props will be provided if you do not have your own. 

    • Access to the podcast Turning to the Mystics with James Finley: Season 1 on Thomas Merton (first episode can be found here), which can be listened to as our sessions progress in order to help further break open our guiding text.

Elizabeth Stanger (BA, CATP, CYT) is a contemplative care practitioner based in Bloomington, NY. Elizabeth helps individuals navigate life and death transitions as journeys towards deeper self awareness and reverence for the mystery of life. Elizabeth weaves her training as a Thai yoga therapist, yoga and meditation instructor and end-of-life doula into many of her offerings. Elizabeth’s Catholic upbringing and adult reclamation of her faith through its mystical and contemplative teachings, as well as her devotion to the yogic path, greatly influences the way she approaches her work with clients and students. Elizabeth also runs a small business called The Little Way Natural Caskets, through which she handcrafts willow woven caskets, burial trays, and naturally dyed shrouds for local natural burials.

Have a question about this series?

Ask below! Please allow for 1-2 business days for a response. Thank you.