New Guided Practice Sessions:
Noontime Meditation Group (Online, Monday-Friday from 12:00-1:00pm ET): In the spirit of holding space for community and connection, the Garrison Institute is offering a weekday noontime meditation, reading and discussion. Plan to join 10 minutes early (11:50 am ET) if you would like a quick technical orientation. Meditators of all levels are welcome. Please click here to register for the noontime meditation group.
We have a core group of teachers who are adept in unique ways to lead these meditations. Our current schedule is:
- Mondays – Jane Kolleeny
- Tuesdays – Leslie Mott
- Wednesdays – Ron Hershey (Breathwork—be prepared to lie on the floor*)
- Thursdays – Ann Herington
- Fridays – Rick Steinberg
*It is recommended to have a comfortable place to lie on your back with a bolster or chair under your legs, something to support your neck and a blanket.
Recent Readings & Poems
- April 7 – Dogfish by Mary Oliver
- April 14 – Steering Our Way to Center
- April 16 – Jack Kornfield – A Path with Heart (Excerpts from Chapter 1)
- April 20 – The Way of Rest by Jeff Foster (Excerpt)
- April 21 – Self and World as One by Etty Hillesum
- April 23 – True Refuge by Tara Brach (Excerpt)
- April 24 – “The Optimism of Uncertainty”(Excerpt from Awakening Joy)
- April 27 – From Everyday Wisdom by Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche
- April 29 – Breath, Body Mind
- April 30 – Liminal Space – Between Two Worlds
- May 1 – The Liminal Paradox
- May 4 – The Space Within the Emotion
- May 5 – Kindness
- May 7 – Your Perfect Imperfection
- May 8 – The Fulfillment of Remembrance
Teachers:
Jane Kolleeny: Jane Kolleeny has been studying and practicing Buddhism since the early seventies when her teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche arrived in Boulder, CO. Jane is the Garrison Institute’s Retreats Director and teaches at the Westchester Buddhist Center.
Leslie Mott: With a regular practice of meditation, focusing, and yoga, Leslie considers herself a student first and a teacher second, joining with others to discern and live out lives of contemplation, mindfulness and action.
As a meditation and mindfulness teacher, Leslie is experienced in the Ignatian (imaginative) tradition, Yoga Nidra, full body relaxation, as well as a variety of guided meditation modalities. She has worked with non-profit boards, educators, and community leaders, and was an instructor with the Veteran’s Administration at Castle Point, NY, teaching yoga and practicing guided meditation for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
As a Spiritual Director and a Certified Focusing Professional, she sees clientele privately and also works with groups, providing retreats and leadership seminars. She received her Spiritual Direction certification through the Linwood Spiritual Center in Rhinecliff, NY, her Focusing training through the International Focusing Institute and is a member of Spiritual Directors International and the International Focusing Institute.
Ron Hershey: Ron Hershey is nationally board certified in acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine and has been in practice at East Mountain Acupuncture in Croton-on-Hudson and Beacon, NY since 1997. He is a graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont and Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (New York) from which he received his M.S. in Traditional Oriental Medicine. Certified to teach Breath-Body-Mind by Dr. Richard Brown, who pioneered the practice, he has also studied Qi Gong with Robert Peng and Roger Jahnke. Prior to his career in Chinese Medicine, he worked in documentary film post-production.
Currently, Ron is offering virtual herbal medicine consults, specializing in acute conditions, including COVID-19. For further information and scheduling, he can be reached at emtnacupuncture@optimum.net.
Ann Herington: Ann Herington, MA, MBA has been guiding meditation students in wisdom and compassion practices since 2012. She was trained by Tara Brach, Hugh Byrne, Pat Coffey, and Jonathan Foust as part of the inaugural Meditation Teacher Training Institute certification program. She is currently teaching in the Hudson Valley and is a group mentor in the Power of Awareness course of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Ann spent much of her corporate business career supporting individuals to be their best and find satisfaction in their work and their life: on-the-job, through immersive diversity trainings, and through one-on-one career and life coaching. Near the end of a successful career, Ann turned her leadership talents to teaching Mindfulness Meditation and other life skills to her colleagues, helping them to reduce the stress they were experiencing as well as enhance both their career performance and personal growth potential. Ann received additional training from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, the NTL Institute, and many varied teachers on many meditation retreats, including two silent monthlong retreats. Ann is known as a warm, open, and enthusiastic guide, who focuses on the practical – and practice. She supports her students’ ability to get out of their heads and into their bodies and hearts.
Rick Steinberg: Rick is a retired physician both from Emergency Medicine and Holistic Medicine, with experience in palliative care, hospice and chaplaincy. He has greater than 35 year meditation practice, 20 years in the Buddhist tradition, that includes many silent meditation retreats. Rick spent many years studying Buddhism mostly from the Theravadan tradition but also exploring Mahayana and Vajrayana. He currently teaches meditation in Cold Spring, New York.