Looking for a good meditation teacher in New York City

March 17, 2008 1:09 PM

Looking for a recommendation for meditation classes in new york city. There are so many places offering classes it would be great to hear from anyone who has had any experience. I'm trying to avoid the whole commercialized experience with the health spa and yoga store I am looking for a teacher who is the real deal. My goal is to find someone who is a legend and well known for his/her success. I don't have any real idea about which techniques / schools I should be focusing on but I want to be able to train myself to quiet my mind, improve conciousness and concentration. Thanks
posted by postergeist to religion & philosophy (5 answers total)

A good friend has a guru - the studio is above the l'Orange Bleu restaurant in SOHO. Personally I haven't been but my friend has the highest praise.

Ashtanga Yoga New York
430 Broome St. #2
New York, NY 10013.
212- 431-3738

Ashtanga mysore style with Eddie Stern 5 mornings a week. Also Ganesha pujas in the morning, Sanskrit classes with Vyass Houston, yoga philosophy classes and more.
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 1:36 PM on March 17, 2008

Eddie is popular as a yoga teacher in the city and is a student of pattabhi jois.

Sharon Salzberg will be at The Shala in a few months, she is quite popular, and you can try Tibet House.

However, I think the best beginners meditation class is at New York Insight, they have a regular schedule. It is dogma-free, tool-oriented mediation from a Buddhist perspective.
posted by shothotbot at 4:33 PM on March 17, 2008

Ethan Nichtern is a young meditation teacher who's very down to earth. Can't say enough good things about the work he is doing.
posted by bobot at 6:12 PM on March 17, 2008

(I think any sincere practice like those suggested is going to be good, but) I lean towards Zen Buddhism. I'm a bit out of the loop lately in terms of practicing with others, but my good friend has been practicing at The Village Zendo and likes it.

That being said, some people find Zen practice to be too austere. It can be hard at first depending on your personality, but it does provide everything you asked for (quieting your mind, improving consciousness and concentration), along with as much of the Buddhist dogma as you want to take--and I find Zen more appealing precisely because it is less dogmatic. Now, it may be that any amount is more than you want, but you can always check it out to see if it is for you, most zendos let beginners in to see what's up with no pressure (if there is pressure, run away). And I promise, Buddhism (especially Zen) is not at all a religion in the same way that Christianity or Islam is a religion; I'm not trying to proselytize or bring you into a cult or anything, I promise. You can practice and it can be exclusively about the meditation.

You could also look around for a Vipassana practice. I don't know as much about it but my girlfriend's parents are into it precisely because it is really about mindfulness but not so much about dogma. Actually, now that I look at shothotbot's post, I see that he listed New York Insight, which I think is Vipassana, so there ya go...
posted by dubitable at 8:56 PM on March 17, 2008

Thanks everyone, this is a great start. I went to the Tibet House tonight for an intro course. It was definitely very helpful. No proselytizing, non-commercial and very genuine I felt. I'm gonna check out a few more of these places.
posted by postergeist at 8:47 PM on March 18, 2008