Yoga | The Boston Buddha

2 Month Virtual Meditation and Mindset Training

Alli and I created this two month Meditate & Mindset program at R3Bilt to give you a complete meditation experience with a single click. We created this program because WE needed it as much as you.

We teach through examples, interweave weekly meditation techniques, relay clinical research, communicate thematic intentions and hopefully help you change your mindset – And then there is some silence.

This program was designed to challenge you. To GUIDE you. And, it was designed to heal you. You will be challenged by the time we’re asking you to commit – 5 days a week, for 8 weeks. You’ve got this!

You will be challenged by the stillness. And while we will not make any promises, I will tell you this: if you commit to this journey for the full 8 weeks, you will be forever changed by what you discover within yourself.

We’re not asking you to change anything about yourself as you commit to this journey. We’re only asking that you show up daily, open-eyed and present. I cannot wait to hear how these next 8 weeks transform you – not just at the level of your mind and body, but at the level of your soul.

Let’s begin together on 4/4/2022!

Alli & Andy

LovingKindness Meditation – Dedicated to all of our Healthcare Heroes out there!

It has been a long few weeks here. Sometimes we can feel helpless, yet what I hope to continue to do, is bring a little routine and structure to our days and maybe even distract some from watching too much news!

What has been bringing me joy, is sitting with all of you, connecting, breathing and being together. Thank you for practicing with me. It gives me such purpose to share what I care about. And, as I said last week, what began as 3 weeks, will now continue through the month of April. I will show up here on Instagram LIVE – follow @THEBOSTONBUDDHA -each morning, Monday through Friday 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM EDT! I invite everyone to join me and truly lay a solid foundation, not only to begin your day, but possibly to establish a lifelong practice.

I call it a meditation PRACTICE because we will always be practicing accepting the present moment, as it is.

So again, thank you for sitting with me and giving me structure.

Thank you too, to all the heroes out there saving lives – nurses, doctors, healthcare aides, admissions staff, nurses on the phones, pharmacists, grocery store workers, cashiers, EMTs, first responders, fire and police, delivery truck drivers and restaurants delivering food!

As my Dad says to me every day, “please be careful.” I also want to have a special shout out to HIS nursing staff who are all risking their health and safety to take care of his, especially Matt, Rose, and Gene (or as my Dad calls him, “The Big Fella”). Thank you and we love you!

Finally to my kids’ pediatrician, Dr. Midura and her incredible team at Dedham Medical in Norwood, thank you for always being there 24/7 to be the voice of calm in this sea of chaos. Big thanks to Jay Hartford as well. Knowing that he is at Childrens Hospital has been helping me sleep a little easier at night!

Thank you ALL for helping our country and communities heal, by knowing you are there, fighting for us, tirelessly!

Love you all!

Here is this weeks LovingKindness Meditation. I hope it helps!

Spring Equinox Wellness Retreat At Castle Hill Inn

With the advent of spring on the horizon, Castle Hill Inn, located in Newport, RI, invites guests to say goodbye to the winter blues and welcome the new season with its first ever Spring Equinox Retreat.

Surrounded by panoramic ocean views and enveloped in the luxury and service of a Relais & Châteaux property, guests will find that Castle Hill Inn is the perfect backdrop to recharge, revitalize and build new connections during this relaxing weekend escape.

Over the course of two days, the Spring Equinox Retreat will feature interactive sessions, including a clean beauty workshop by Brenda Brock, founder of Farmaesthetics, meditation with The Boston Buddha – Andy Kelley, and dining experiences from Executive Chef Lou Rossi and his team.

With a focus on restoration and reflection, along with some cocktails and fun, the Spring Equinox Retreat will help guests take a step back from the daily routine, and refocus on their overall mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Package available on Saturday, March 21st only with pricing available for single participants as well as for couples.

If you can’t stay the night, the retreat is available as a day only package for $225 per day, plus tax. To book the day package, please call us at:

(401) 849-3800.

RESERVATIONS: Book online or contact Castle Hill Inn at 401-849-3800 to reserve your space.

WEBSITE: https://www.castlehillinn.com/specials/spring-equinox-retreat

Itinerary for the Retreat

Saturday, March 21, 2020

12:00 p.m. – Retreat Introduction & Welcome Lunch with Chef Lou Rossi in The Chalet Enjoy a healthy lunch featuring fresh ingredients from the bounty of spring.

1:30 p.m. – Meet Me at the Salt Bar: Farmaesthetics Fine Herbal Skin Care Workshop in The Chalet Refresh and rethink your at-home skincare regimen with Brenda Brock, founder and formulator of RI-based herbal skincare brand Farmaesthetics. Brenda and her esthetics team will lead a hands-on tutorial on the benefits of facial massage using organic whole herbs and oils, followed by a Salt Bar workshop. Choose from a variety of sea salts along with organic herbs and essential oils to create your own custom blend of mineral rich soaking salts that promise to wave a wand of well-being over any selfcare routine

3:15 p.m. – Arc of the Sun Nature Walk through the Castle Hill Inn Grounds & Lighthouse Set on 40 acres overlooking where Narragansett Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, Castle Hill’s unmatched water views, private beaches, and iconic Lighthouse offer the perfect backdrop for a walk that eases the mind. Led by the property’s naturalist, you’ll discover Castle Hill hideaways like the culinary gardens and Castle Hill Inn beach as you reconnect with nature under the Spring Equinox sun.

4:00 p.m. – Reflection Cozy up by the lobby fireplace with a book, journal at the Mansion Bar, stroll the beach and listen to the crashing waves on the shore, or retreat to your room to sink into a soaking bath. Whatever you choose to do, these 60 minutes are yours.

5:00 p.m. – Spring Cleansing Meditation with The Boston Buddha in The Chalet Enter the new season with tools to practice and maintain a clear mind. Renowned meditation instructor Andy Kelley, The Boston Buddha, will lead you on a journey towards mindfulness throughout this session. Whether you’re well-versed in meditation or just beginning, Andy will help you reach the state of relaxation you’re craving. (Note: back-jack seating and cushions are provided)

6:00 p.m. – Cocktails in Bloom: Mixology Class Led by Anthony Boi, Director of Restaurants in The Mansion Bar End your day with a mixology class, led by Anthony Boi and inspired by springtime ingredients grown here at Castle Hill. Throughout the hour, you’ll make two refreshing cocktails that pair perfectly with florals in bloom during the spring season.

7:00 p.m. – Closing for Day guests; free time for overnight guests

Sunday, March 22, 2020

8:00 a.m. – Equinox Awakening: Morning Meditation and Yoga in The Chalet
Rise early to celebrate the first day of spring with sunrise meditation led by The Boston Buddha, Andy Kelley. The 20-minute morning practice will flow directly into a yoga session taught by Emily Lawrence. Stretch your muscles and release any remaining tension so you can embark on a new season with a sense of renewal for your body and mind.

9:00 a.m. – Complimentary Breakfast for overnight guests, available until 10:00 AM

Check-out at 11:00 am.

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YOTEL Boston introduces ‘Meditation Mondays’ with The Boston Buddha!

AKYotel — Sky Lounge at YOTEL Boston, 65 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA

WHAT: Newly opened YOTEL Boston, the affordable luxury hotel inspired by first-class air travel, introduces ‘Meditation Mondays’ with The Boston Buddha, Andy Kelley, beginning Monday, September 18 at Sky Lounge!

Locals and hotel guests alike are welcomed to the Seaport hotel’s rooftop Sky Lounge for 30-minute guided meditation set against the backdrop of Boston’s skyline. Andy Kelley will help attendees hone their focus and mindfulness, Mondays from 8-8:30am, so they can tackle the workweek ahead.

‘Meditation Mondays’ is just the latest wellness offering from YOTEL. The hotel brand also produces Mindfresh, a series of 5-minute meditation and relaxation videos available for viewing in-cabin and on the YOTEL app.

Research shows that how we spend the first hour of the morning often sets the pace for the day. Why not, wake up and start the day & work week feeling relaxed and recharged? Attend ‘Meditation Mondays’ in PJs, athleticwear or business clothes and leave feeling happier, focused and energized. The series is a definite antidote for anyone with a case of the Mondays!

WHEN: Monday mornings starting September 18^th, 8-8:30am

COST: $15 per session; complimentary for YOTEL guests

To book reservations, visit: https://yotelmeditationmondays.eventbrite.com

CONTACT: Phone: (617) 377-4747

Web: www.yotel.com/boston

“Yum or Yuck” Your Way Out Of A Rut

Let’s face it, we all get stuck in ruts from time to time. Repeating the same old boring choices over and over again. It’s like we’re on autopilot, just going through the daily grind, in a trance, where we are sleepwalking through the choices of our day. And even when we think we’re here, present, in the room, we’re usually thinking… about the past, the future, judging something, or reacting.

In order to get ourselves out of these ruts, we need to become more aware of the choices we make ‘in the moment’ and ask ourselves how these choices make us feel.

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Move & Meditate on Nantucket – Weekend Getaway!

Nantucket Get Away! — The Nantucket Hotel & Resort

Take a minute to reflect on all the emotional energy and effort you put into everything that you do in your life – your work, family, friendships, community, travel, health, etc.

Our lives are very busy and clearly over-scheduled! Sometimes we forget how restorative and renewing it can be to take any time away from our daily routines, to recharge the batteries and connect deeply with ourselves and others in nature. When was the last time you took a weekend for yourself and disconnected from your phone, your laptop, your weekend routine and just recharged?

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How to Sit

The most common questions I get when I introduce meditation to anyone is, “does it matter how I sit?” and “do I need to sit cross-legged like a pretzel on the floor to meditate?”.

My response is always the same – the key is to be comfortable. If you’re not comfortable, it may be easier for you to give up meditating altogether.

Unless we’re doing a body scan or chakra toning, it’s preferable not to lay down – because people have a tendency to fall back to sleep when they lay down, but other than that, sitting in a particular posture really isn’t that important to me.

There are many meditation disciplines that emphasize sitting ‘the right way’ quite a bit. If you were in class on Monday, you heard Betty giving direction on how to formally sit in the seven pointed posture – and it makes sense – certain seated positions not only open us up physically but also open us up emotionally. When our posture is open, when our spine is erect and our hands are not crossed in front of us, we feel more open and confident! In fact, if you sit straight up you get more oxygen to the brain making it easier to learn.

With all that said, what I’ve found over the years is that while the posture we use in a formal class is useful, what happens sometimes is we get so wrapped up on perfecting and maintaining that perfect posture that it becomes less open and more rigid. We focus on how to make the perfect seat (adding blankets, blosters, etc) so my leg won’t fall asleep. We start to hyperfocus on perfecting ‘the one seat’.

For me, I never sit on the floor at home. In fact, much like this picture of my son meditating before school, I sit on a couch with with a blanket over me. I suggest the real reason that yogis sat on the floor thousands of years ago is… wait for it… because they didn’t have comfortable chairs!

What I try to do in my seat is cultivate an inner attitude for openness. What’s most important is that we approach meditation with the quality of being relaxed, open, and alert. Especially in the beginning. The last thing I want to be thinking about during my meditation is how much pain in my body is in – I really don’t need the extra distractions… I do fine all by myself . So, it’s all about our inner attitude.

A few questions for you to think about as you find YOUR seat – whether it’s slouchy or straight – Are you open or closed off? Do you sit with ease? Is your approach simple or rigid? Are you thinking too much about the body during the meditation?

Be comfortable.

I hope this helps!

-Andy

Commit to Sit 2015 – The 250 Work Day Meditation Challenge

Meditation, much like exercise isn’t always easy. Most people don’t like it, but if we can get past a certain point together – usually it takes about two weeks to a month of workouts – you’ll get committed. So to help you stay committed you can connect with us every week.

The Challenge:

Meditate, twice a day – for 10 minutes, Monday through Friday, 5 days a week. Take the weekend off.

Who:

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced meditator, if you want to harness the power of meditation to manage stress, lower blood pressure, improve focus, get better sleep, or explore your own inner landscape, this is an exceptional opportunity to learn with some of the most accomplished leaders in the field of mindfulness and meditation. We welcome everyone to be part of this amazing journey.

When:

Starting January 6, this meditation challenge will be open to everyone. We will kick it off again this year at Monday’s Move & Meditate 6:30 PM at Stil Studio. Invite your friends!

The Path:

We will break each week down into themes. The theme is designed to help us focus on one aspect of meditation and mindfulness that we can work on for that week. Each theme will have a corresponding quote – that we can come back to and read. It should help us remember to practice mindfulness in our everyday life. We want to keep the theme of the week in our awareness all week long so we suggest people print it our or post it all over your home/work, etc. The 250 work day challenge is designed to show you how easy it can be to work meditation into your day – integrating a new mindful attitude – changing your choices and life.

Throughout the WHOLE YEAR we will explore many different meditation styles and practices – and play around with different techniques, time periods, and provide tools that keep you inspired to commit to sit. The goal is to find a mediation practice that works for YOU, so you can sustain it throughout the whole year. You can have access to our special Move & Meditate Facebook Group where we can support and encourage each other the whole year, share our experience, the breakthroughs and roadblocks, ask questions, and offer ideas and theme suggestions for future classes.

We encourage everyone to share their own personal experiences each day on the fb page so we can keep it central, and you can see your own growth over time, you can also share tips and suggestions from your personal experience.

The Method:

• daily tips, posts, and inspirational quotes.

• more BuddhaBreaks and takeaways tools to assist you in creating lasting change through meditation.

• got a question about meditation? “Ask Andy” anytime.

Please join us on our heartfelt mission to bring meditation and mindfulness into your daily life and into the lives of those around you.

Why:

Since August of 2005, my dharma has been simple and clear – make meditation accessible to as many people as I can so they can connect more fully to the present moment and be happier in their lives.

I hope to see you in class!

-Andy

Clear Intentions

Setting Your Intention

Yoga and meditation is about trying to do everything with intention, every breath you take, every move you make (great song), every interaction – is action with meaning. It’s moving through our yoga class noting every placement, every posture, every modification, and every judgement. It also reminds us to put things in perspective and gives deeper meaning to those little moments when we’re able to let go of the stress of the day and focus on what we came to do – be in the room and practice.

So setting an intention clearly at the beginning of class is really the key to waking up – and as Will Hunting would say, “let the healing begin”.

I recently had breakfast with a yoga teacher who was telling me that she felt like she hit a plateau in her meditation practice. Let’s face it, we all get stuck in ruts in different aspects of our life from time to time. The difference between somebody that has REALLY hit a plateau in their life and somebody who continues to unfold in a real way, is the sincerity of their INTENTIONS. This yoga teacher is clearly passionate, disciplined, and dedicated to the honesty of her practice. It takes courage to feel that we can really BE open to our full potentiality and strengthen our attention. The whole sense of attention is challenging because it’s just so easy to space out on all the things we don’t really need to pay attention to during the day. It requires discipline and constant cultivation in an open, curious way.

This is why I often say that whole path of mindfulness is attention, intention, and attitude. We all have this sincere INTENTION to wake up, to be with what’s here – and then we train ourselves to pay ATTENTION to the little moments – noticing our ATTITUDE in a way that really frees us.

The Attention is: present moment awareness.

The Intention is: why am I paying attention? What is the purpose?

The Attitude is: how am I paying attention? Is my attention open, curious – or is it rigid and judgmental?

Reflecting on these three elements has become integral to my practice, and often forms the beginning or end of the sequence when I’m teaching, and frees me up when I’m giving an assist.

Most importantly, it connects my practice to the other important things in my life and extends into the rest of my day.

I hope this helps!

Winter Solstice – Yoga & Meditation

Winter Solstice – Yoga & Meditation – @ STIL YOGA

Thursday, December 20, 2012 7:00 to 8:00 PM

Stil Studio, 740 Legacy Place, Dedham, MA 02026

with Betty Riaz & Andy Kelley

The holidays are a time to gather with family and friends – to reflect, and enjoy the new season. What better way to approach the New Year with renewed energy, flexibility, and inner strength!

Come celebrate the beginning of the Winter Solstice at STIL Yoga with Betty & The Boston Buddha. We will transition into a new way of BEING by honoring the cycles of life and setting some positive intentions for the New Year. It’s a beautiful time where the Sun Stands STIL!

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Tag: Yoga