We completed the Winter 2025 pilot rollout of Imagine's new Mindfulness Embodied Course.
A course offered by Barbora Kostrunkova, instructor and co-founder.
New DATES will be posted soon
Classes last 90 minutes.
Registration Fee $90
Donations always very welcome.
"My six weeks with Barbora came with much curiosity and exploration of body positions, and new knowledge in ways of moving and being present in my body. The information on embryology and how we developed in the womb was not something I had known about before and opened me to a much larger perspective in how I can be in my body. Working with gravity and the earth was done in a way I hadn’t been exposed to before, as well. The piece about using each of our senses was a unique way of looking at how we interact with our environment and once again opened up different ways to use this information in my daily life and in my practice. This is a course for much exploration that can be done with curiosity and openness to new ways of understanding these beautiful bodies we inhabit." (P.O)
"I first met Barbora while taking a live online MBSR course with Imagine and was impressed by her ability to weave trauma healing into meditation. Thus, I knew the pilot course would be intentionally crafted and skillfully facilitated. It was. With a calm open presence, and gentle clarity, Barbora provided the group the context and background needed to participate in the meditations. She invited us to explore with gentle curiosity the practice of being in our bodies. Impacted by trauma on a moment-to-moment basis, the safe container which Barbora provided was beautiful. In each class I was seen and connected. And, for an exquisite moment I felt the wisdom of my body. For that, I say Thank you. Thank you for creating the sacred space from which healing emerged. (S.W – (she/her) (Survivor of sexual assault.
Starting to feel and find safety within.)
During the 6 week Mindfulness Embodied Course we explore how we can support the formal mindfulness practices to become part of who we are, day to day. The word “Embodiment” is used here in a sense of allowing the practice to become part of you, so your actions are informed already without you needing to cognitively remember.
How often do you find yourself confused between the restful state of practicing mindfulness and the day to day restless stream of activities, thoughts, demands and needs?
I remember when I first read the book Body keeps the score and with fascination was slowly recognising the different pathways that were embedded deeply in my body. So I’ve become curious about this quality of the body, often storing challenges and traumas. Soon I have started asking how this body’s ability to remember can support the state of resting. For years I have been researching this topic, and now I am happy to share it with you.
We will start with what is already there, exploring with curiosity the unique ways you are inhabiting yourself, how you are connected into the Earth’s system, and how the outer can inform the inner, as well as the other way around. We will be practicing different awareness and mindfulness modalities, anchored into the diverse interactions of the body. Safety of the practice will be the foundation of everything we explore, making sure there is a place of comfort where you can return to any moment. Giving yourself this time as a gift, to explore, to support who you are, your most unique aliveness. Looking into the body as a doorway to layers of awareness, finding a trust to be guided moment to moment.
The course is suitable for everyone, regardless of body’s abilities. If you are experiencing some limitations or pain and are not sure because of those, feel free to contact me directly at barbora@imaginemindfulness.com and I am happy to answer any questions at barbora@imaginemindfulness.com
Intention
The intention for this course is to land into the body and into awareness, to discover different pathways and angles, and to learn how to be Mindfully Embodied in your life day to day. Exploring further how this body is connected to the mind and the heart and the environment, and how each part can lead to rest and support the other, as well as the whole.
The practices will be based on modalities from MBSR, Mindfulness meditations, Body Mind Centering©, Yoga and Mindful movement, Contact Improvisation and poetry.
It’s vital to be able to live the formal practice not just ‘having a practice’, especially in the current world. So how to answer the question of “How does the practice show up in my days? How can I live it without losing it?”
Most likely there still be times when you “lose it” or better to say “forget it”. The point is to find ways to be reminded, as often as needed, until it becomes alive. And this is a process of Embodiment in my own experience which will be the theme of this course Mindfulness Embodied.
Mindfulness Embodiment is a way to live, to learn to say yes to each moment, and to be aware of what this embodiment creates. It is to find a restful place within you and beyond, embodying the awareness that is constantly there. Eckhart Tolle mentions in his books the modalities of Acceptance, Enjoyment, Enthusiasm and you will be discovering these in the unique embodiment of your life.
Logistics
Dates and times
6 consecutive Wednesdays starting February 5th 2025 from 8 am PT / 11am ET / 17:00 CET / 21:30 IT.
Commitment
Being able to attend all sessions is highly supportive for the group process as well as your own.
If you can’t make one, you are still welcomed to sign up and I’ll catch you up to speed individually.
The group size will be max 15 students, upon paid registration fee your spot will be confirmed.
Sessions
Sessions are taught live online on zoom and last 90 minutes (first and last class will run 15 minutes longer for introduction and conclusion). Some parts will be recorded and then shared with you for your personal use. The session’s format includes time for practicing together (in sitting/lying and movement) and interactive sharing moments as well as receiving thoughts and information on the sessions’ topic.
Focuses of sessions
Session 1 - The continuous cycles of expansion and contraction
Introduction
Practices: Awareness of breath, Meditation in movement (MiM) on extension and flexion
Session 2 - The relationship with gravity
Practices: Body Scan, MiM: Relating to the gravity with yield/reach
Session 3 - Sensing 1
Practices: 3 Element Sit, MiM: Senses in movement and stillness
Session 4 - Sensing 2
Practices: 5 Element sit, MiM: Proprioception movement from within
Session 5 - The Nervous System
Practices: Body Scan, MiM: How to regulate through movement
Session 6 - Awareness and compassion
Practices: Open awareness sit, Compassion mindfulness
Conclusion
Receive - Give
The registration fee is 90$ and any donations you might generously provide will support Imagine's mission to bring mindfulness to people all over the world. (Imagine is a US based nonprofit.) Suggested donation would be 0-180$ or whatever is within your financial abilities and you will full heartedly enjoy giving is welcomed. Zero is in there too!
About Barbora
Barbora has been in the mindfulness world since 2017. She is a cofounder of Imagine Mindfulness, certified MBSR and Yoga instructor (Hatha and Prenatal), practitioner of different Mindfulness practices, of Contact improvisation and of Body Mind Centering© (BMC). She is currently studying Somatic Movement Educator and Infant Development Movement Educator programs under BMC. Barbora regularly teaches MBSR at Imagine Mindfulness, holds in person movement and mindfulness classes in Germany and Portugal, and creates and facilitates workshops for teams/groups/companies in the area of Learning&Development.
Barbora is inspired by meeting each moment as it needs to be met, openly, with no agenda, actively listening and responding from the state of awareness. She is exploring the ingredients behind living in such a way.
