1 High-Impact Way Spiritual Teachers Can Begin Deep and Meaningful Workshops

Last updated on: January 9, 2023 at 3:00 am by Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang Contemplative Spirituality Seattle Workshop — *Dylan Gillis/Unsplash*

For the past 10 years, I’ve led workshops on embodied spirituality and contemplative practice.

And during that time, I’ve played around a ton with how to begin our group gatherings: goofy icebreakers, one-to-one conversation starters, quiet meditation, written intention setting…

All types of things.

Some don’t feel right (goofy icebreakers) and some consistently feel a bit forced (one-to-ones).

But there’s one practice I stumbled into a few years ago that I now come back to again and again – if you facilitate space, think about adapting it and using some version of it!

The Emotion Check-In

Here’s how it works:

Gather folks together, sitting in a circle if possible.
Do a quick body scan and help people become aware of any tension present.
Ask everyone to identify which emotion feels most prominent within them.
Name that in our society, it can be countercultural to take time to notice and recognize what’s going on within us. And that as a group, with all our different experiences of the day, emotions, assumptions, and expectations, it can be countercultural to take time to name that as well.
Invite folks to share in 1-2 words what emotion they’re coming in with, if they feel comfortable doing so.
Take a few moments to hold silence, honoring each other’s experiences, before moving on.

I’ve found unbelievable beauty in the act of naming our emotions within a group container.

Personally, it provides a structured moment to be seen and to honor the realness of our experience. Communally, it grounds us in a shared empathy, knowing there is a full range of emotions and untold stories being brought in with each of us.

It’s a small way to practice personal vulnerability and collective witnessing in a structured setting.

Want to read more on embodied spirituality and contemplative practice?

Connect with me on Instagram, where I write the most, and through The Wednesday 1-2-3, a weekly email where I share 1 contemplative and embodied practice, 2 questions for your inner work, and 3 resources to go deeper.

About Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang is an educator in the Pacific Northwest, an alumnus of Richard Rohr’s Living School for Action and Contemplation, and author of Unmasking the Inner Critic: Lessons for Living an Unconstricted Life. Along with writing regularly, he facilitates workshops helping people to navigate their inner lives and explore their sense of identity and spirituality. You can read more about the author here.