THE PATH TO SAMADHI
A 4-Session Workshop Series with Matthew Sabatino
Online + In Person | Recordings Included
$150 for all four sessions
THE PATH TO SAMADHI
A 4-Session Workshop Series with Matthew Sabatino Online + In Person | Recordings Included
$150 for all four sessions
Sundays | 7:00–8:15am
February 8, 15, 22 & March 1
Training the Mind Through Single-Pointedness and Open Awareness
This four-week workshop series explores the classical yogic path of Shamatha and its culmination in Samadhi—the unification of mind. Through teaching, guided meditation, and reflective discussion, students will learn how attention is trained, stabilized, and refined through both single-pointed focus and open awareness.
The series is experiential, practical, and designed to integrate seamlessly with yoga practice, pranayama, and daily life. Enrollment includes access to recordings for any sessions you may miss.
Session 2 — Shamatha with an Object: Single-Pointed Focus
Sunday, February 15 | 7:00–8:15am MST
This session focuses on object-based meditation as a foundational method for stabilizing attention. We will explore how to choose an appropriate anchor, clarify the goals of the practice, and introduce the early stages of meditative absorption. Common challenges will be addressed with practical methods for working skillfully with distraction.
Includes guided practice and integration discussion.
Topics Covered
2. Shamatha with an Object
A. Choosing an object of meditation
B. The path and goals of the practice; introduction to the jhanas
C. Practice instructions and brief practice
D. Common hindrances
E. Practice session and integration discussion
Session 3 — Shamatha without an Object: Open Awareness
Sunday, February 22 | 7:00–8:15am MST
An exploration of open awareness practice, emphasizing non-conceptual presence and direct experience of the senses. This session highlights how open awareness differs from object-based meditation and how it supports stability, clarity, and insight on the contemplative path.
Includes guided practice and integration discussion.
Topics Covered
3. Shamatha without an Object
A. Sense consciousness as non-conceptual
B. Path and goals; differences from object-based Shamatha
C. Practice instructions and brief practice
D. Common hindrances
E. Practice session and integration discussion
Session 4 — Working with the Hindrances: Stabilization and Antidotes
Sunday, March 1 | 7:00–8:15am MST
This final session addresses the primary obstacles that arise in meditation and how to work with them skillfully. We will explore practical antidotes for agitation and heaviness, and learn how to use the space between thoughts as a stabilizing resource. The series concludes with a discussion on insight practices and their place within the broader yogic path.
Includes guided practice and closing discussion.
Topics Covered
4. Working with the Hindrances
A. Agitation: distraction, anxiety, restlessness
B. Sloth and torpor: heaviness, sleepiness, lack of motivation
C. The gap between thoughts as a stabilizing tool
D. Practice session
E. Discussion on insight practices and the yogic path
Session 1 — Introduction to Shamatha and Samadhi
Sunday, February 8 | 7:00–8:15am MST
An introduction to Samadhi as a shared goal across yogic traditions, and Shamatha as the path of calm abiding that leads toward it. We will explore awareness as two complementary modes — awareness that excludes and awareness that includes—and receive an overview of the core practices that will be developed throughout the series.
Includes guided practice and discussion on integrating meditation with yogic practice.
Topics Covered
1. Introduction to the path of Shamatha and the concept of Samadhi
a. Samadhi – the unification of mind
b. Shamatha – calm abiding as the path to Samadhi
c. Awareness as two modes: exclusive and inclusive
d. Introduction to the three main practices
e. Practice session and integration discussion