When 30 year-old yoga enthusiasts are grouped into a room with nothing but seat cushions and a flickering candle, the imminent result is tranquil silence.
On Sunday mornings, this is exactly the scene at the Wil-Mar neighborhood center on Madison’s east side.
Often acknowledged for its service to low-income groups, the remaining programming at Wil-Mar is less well-known. In addition to the food pantries and after school day care that it provides, Wil-Mar partners with local organizations to provide the community with donation-based classes, including the Sunday meditation sessions.
For the past month, yoga instructor Clint VanEgeren has contributed by leading the driftwood zen meditation class at Wil-Mar. As a local yoga instructor at Capital Fitness and an ordained priest in Zen Buddhist tradition, VanEgeren is long familiar with the practice of meditation.
“I was kind of a hippie,” VanEgeren said. “Meditation helped me become more secure with myself as a teen growing up.”
VanEgeren heard about the opportunity to use the space at Wil-Mar through another yoga instructor at the center. He leads meditation with the intention of making the practice “more practical and understandable” so that what is taught during class can be soothing in the moment as well as in everyday life.
Meditation offers health benefits such as relieving stress and increasing mental clarity, but instead of crafted teachings, meditation is often done as an independent act — even in a group setting.
Another attendee to the Sunday meditation is Ellen McKenzie, a fellow yoga instructor with VanEgeren at Capital Fitness. She and other regulars familiar with the practice can attest to its benefits. Mckenzie, for example believes meditation has a “healing” and “balancing” effect on her life.
That is not to say the meditation class at Wil-Mar caters to just a closed circle. Those new to meditation are just as welcome to attend VanEgeren’s class, though any novice should prepare for discomfort in the beginning stages of practice.
The Driftwood Zen Meditation class is held Sundays from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, located at 953 Jenifer St.
