LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Seeking calm at midday


Participants of the noontime meditation practice Aug. 15 at Atma Yoga share a moment of calm. Photo Sora O'Doherty

Amid the hustle and bustle of the busy vie quotidienne, or everyday life, it is possible to find a beneficial space of calm and peace in Orinda at noon on Tuesdays. That is the day that Gabriela Mozee offers a free meditation group at Atma Yoga. Owners Carlo and Thea Fiatarone opened the studio last May and were enthusiastic when the Orinda Chamber of Commerce suggested the project, initially for local business owners, but now open to the general public. Although the session is free - Mozee and the Fiatarones are offering their services without charge - donations are accepted and in August were being given to Mindful Littles, a Lamorinda nonprofit group that provides family community services around meditation and mindfulness. Carlo Fiatarone says that they are also open to directing the donations to other community service groups in the future.

Mozzee is an experienced meditation facilitator, who has been practicing and studying meditation for decades. In 2002, she began meditation with The Natural Path/Sahaj Marg and became an advanced trainer with Heartfulness.org. She has attended many silent retreats, and has facilitated many workshops of Reconciliation of Opposites and other journaling techniques. She has traveled the world and has been to India seven times in the last decade to pursue her studies and has become a translator for a five-week program for beginner meditators who come from Central and South America and Spain. "Facilitating groups that include psychiatrists, counselors, teachers, engineers, computer programmers and the entire spectrum of careers," Mozee says, she is grateful to hear from them that they gain much from the pointings, or teachings, she shares.

Atma Yoga Studio is located at 99 Brookwood Road in Orinda. Call to confirm the fall schedule if you are interested in attending. Atma can be reached at (925) 317-3302 or info@atma.studio.