Step away from the busyness of the holiday season and make space for quiet and reflection.

Holy Dark is a 5 week series of in-person contemplative practices rooted in yoga and Christian spirituality, meeting weekly on Saturdays at 9am ET (90min) from November 29th to December 27th. This series is for you if you want to connect with the deeper meaning of Advent by way of contemplative practice.

Advent is the liturgical season when we reflect on God as nestled in the holy dark womb of The Blessed Mother, awaiting birth at Christmas. It’s a time when we can sit in the dark womb of our own lives to connect with our hopes and dreams, longing to be revealed to ourselves and the world.

During this Advent contemplative practice series we will make space to connect to the healing and sacred nature of quiet and stillness during the darkest weeks of the year, leading us through the return of light: The Winter Solstice and Christmas. We will spend our time engaging 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, so you can experience a well rounded, reflective practice during our time together. My intention is that by the end of the 5 weeks, you'll have a deepened appreciation for Advent and feel more connected to your body and the natural world as the dwelling place of God.

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, nature, and the holiday season

• 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 yoga and Christian spirituality within our time together, this series is open to all. It’s quite common to engage with observances and practices rooted in various spiritual traditions as a means of developing your own unique spiritual path, without necessarily needing to ascribe entirely to those specific worldviews. 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.

  
  

What we will be doing during our time together:

This contemplative practice series is intended to help connect your life in a deep and meaningful way to the season of Advent, which can often lack attention during the busyness of the holiday season. This series is appropriate for both beginners to yoga, Christian mysticism, or a deeper exploration of faith.

With spacious time for practice, we will:

• reflect on The Showings by Julian of Norwich as our guiding text

• explore yoga asana which supports awareness of your own embodiment

• practice lectio divina, a contemplative practice of reflection on a spiritual 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, which will be listed below before we begin

• 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 Simon

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 Bauman

Let us wait in quiet anticipation for what’s to come during this special time of year.

How to Register for Holy Dark:

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 $125 on or before our first meeting (Saturday, November 29th). Please write "Holy Dark" 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. If you would like to mail your payment prior to our first session, please email me at elizabeth@selkiemedicinals.com for a mail-to address.)

• 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 to your calendar (please check back soon for a list of suggested weekly readings):

  • Session 1: Saturday, 11/29 9-10:30am

  • Session 2: Saturday, 12/6 9-10:30am

  • Session 3: Saturday, 12/13 9-10:30am

  • Session 4: Saturday, 12/20 9-10:30am

  • Session 5: Saturday, 12/27 9-10:30am

• Ensure sure you have access to the following materials:

  • A journal and your favorite writing utensil

  • A copy of The Showings by Julian of Norwich, Translated by Edmund Colledge and James Walsh (linked here)

    • As another option, you may also use the translation of The Showings by Mirabai Starr (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 6 on The Showings (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 Gross (BA, CATP, CYT) is a contemplative care practitioner based in Kingston, 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, adult reclamation of Christianity through its mystical and contemplative teachings, and 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 provides handcrafted caskets, burial trays, and shrouds for green burials.

Have a question about this course?

Please fill out the below with your inquiry. Kindly allow for 1-2 days for a response. Thank you!