Dharma Moon

Free community meditation tomorrow. Three hours of sitting and walking practice on Zoom with René Fay and the Dharma Moon teaching team. May 17th, 10am–1pm ET. Beginners welcome. Sign up once, we’ll send the link every month. Link in bio. 🌑 #meditation #mindfulness #sangha #dharmamoon

From last night’s free introductory session for The Body of Meditation: Cultivating Embodied Wisdom with René Fay & Susan Layden. “We don’t need to recreate suffering on the cushion.” Meditation isn’t supposed to become another place where we override our bodies, perform endurance, or prove our worth through discomfort. In this clip, René explores the difference between growth and self-punishment—and what becomes possible when practice includes curiosity, kindness, and actual support for the body you’re in. “Ease is not something that has to be rewarded on the other side of suffering.” Registration is now open for The Body of Meditation. Early bird pricing ends May 21. Link in bio. #Meditation #Mindfulness #Somatics #EmbodiedPractice #NervousSystem #DharmaMoon #TraumaInformed

Meditation usually works on the mind. Movement usually works on the body. The Body of Meditation, an 8-week course with René Fay and Susan Layden, lives in the territory between them. Pulling from Buddhist meditation, yoga, martial arts, and nervous system awareness, René and Susan offer practical ways to work with tension, anxiety, and disconnection—for your own practice and for the people you teach. The shift: instead of being stuck inside a stress reaction, you start catching it in real time, with the body as the anchor. Up to 30 Yoga Alliance CE credits available. ⏰ Free intro talk with both of them tonight. There's still time! Link in bio to register.

just a little update & teaser for tonight's free virtual event -- Embodied Wisdom (where @sueslayden13 and i will chat more about the importance of cultivating a mindfulness practice that honors and adjusts to the ever shifting conditions - internally & externally!)

Most of the time we’re somewhere else. Replaying conversations. Rehearsing futures. Reacting to things that aren’t even happening anymore. Mindfulness begins when we notice we’ve left the present moment—and gently come back.

Teaching meditation is an art. There's a science to it. And some of the best practitioners? Not always the best teachers. This is exactly why Dharma Moon exists. The 100-Hour Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training with David Nichtern isn't just philosophy—it's the actual craft of teaching. How to give clear instruction. How to listen. How to show up in a room. How to teach a dharma talk. Summer 2026 · Co-certified with Tibet House US · Early bird discount ends tonight at midnight (ET). 💸 $500 off through midnight 🔗 Link in bio to register #dharmamoon #meditationteacher #teachertraining #buddhistpsychology

The body keeps the receipts. Tension, tightness, that low hum of unease—it shows up there first, often before we know what’s going on. Join us next Thursday for a free online talk with senior Dharma Moon teachers René Fay & Susan Layden on how embodied awareness can transform your meditation practice (and your teaching). 🌙 ✨ EMBODIED WISDOM: The Inherent Mindfulness of the Body 🗓️ Thursday, May 14th | 6:00–7:30pm ET 💻 Free & online You'll also get an inside look at their upcoming 8-week course The Body of Meditation: Cultivating Embodied Wisdom, starting June 25th—covering mindful movement, body scans, nervous system regulation, and inclusive language for teachers and practitioners alike. Whether you teach or you're just tired of your shoulders living up by your ears, this one's for you. 🔗 Link in bio to register. #dharmamoon #buddhistpsychology #embodiedwisdom #meditationteacher #somaticawareness #mindfulness #bodyscan #meditationpractice

Dr. Sará King from @mindheartcollective and Kierstin Gray join The CSM Podcast with @david_nichtern to discuss their tech company, MindHeart AI, which uses an interactive map of human awareness for personal health and planetary well-being. Listen to 🎧 David Nichtern – CSM Podcast – Ep. 62 – MindHeart AI: Technology for Collective Healing with Dr. Sará King and Kierstin Gray 🎧 on your favorite podcast app. “If we’re confused, AI is going to be confused. That’s the reason why it’s important for us to be clear on who we are, what we believe, who we value, how we love, how we relate to each other—those things influence how we design emergent technologies like AI.” –Kierstin Gray

So you've been meditating for a while. Maybe friends ask you for advice. Maybe you've thought about leading a class at your studio, your office, your community. Maybe you've wondered what it would actually take to teach this stuff. Tomorrow night, David Nichtern is sharing what he's learned in 50+ years of practice—a free online talk on The Key Elements of Teaching Mindfulness Meditation. He'll cover what it takes to prepare clear instruction, hold space through deep listening, facilitate inquiry, and deliver a skillful dharma talk. Plus details on Dharma Moon's upcoming 100-Hour Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training, co-certified with Tibet House US. 🗓 Tues, May 5 · 6:00–7:30pm ET 🔗 Link in bio to reserve your spot #dharmamoon #meditationteacher #buddhistpsychology

Turns out a few days at Menla with good teachers and questionable accessories is its own kind of medicine. Reset & Reconnect. 🧡 #dharmamoon #menla #buddhistpsychology #meditationretreat #sangha

There's often an assumption in meditation circles: if you've practiced long enough, you can teach. David Nichtern would gently push back on that. Guiding someone else through the experience of sitting with their own mind is a distinct skill — one that asks for real training, careful preparation, and an ongoing commitment to your own growth as both teacher and practitioner. On Tuesday, May 5th, David is hosting a free online talk on the key elements of teaching mindfulness meditation: how to prepare clear instruction, hold space through deep listening, trust your students' intelligence, and keep deepening the practice that makes the teaching possible in the first place. Drawing on 50+ years in the Buddhist tradition, David will also share what's coming up in the Dharma Moon 100-Hour Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training, co-certified with Tibet House US. 🗓 Tuesday, May 5 · 6:00–7:30pm ET · Free · Online Link in bio to reserve your spot. 🤍 #dharmamoon #menla #buddhistpsychology #meditationteacher #mindfulness #davidnichtern #tibethouseus #meditationteachertraining

Most of us try to squeeze meditation into a busy life—a few minutes here and there. It helps, but only to a point. If you want your practice to truly deepen, it takes time, continuity, and the right conditions. That’s what retreat is for. Join David Nichtern, René Fay, Noel Coakley, Susan Layden, Brittaney Valentino, Seth Freedman, and Eric Gerard for five days of immersive practice exploring the Four Foundations of Mindfulness—a practical, experiential way to understand how your mind works. Now available online as well. If you’re unable to join us in person, you can participate from wherever you are. If your practice feels inconsistent or you’ve been thinking about retreat, take this as your sign. Give yourself the time—that’s whenever the shift happens. #MeditationRetreat #DharmaMoon #DavidNichtern #MindfulnessPractice #Catskills MenlaRetreat