Affinity sanghas offer a community of like-minded people within the larger IMCW sangha with which to develop your practice and to spark friendships.
In keeping with our commitment to diversity, some groups are reserved for practitioners from specific under-represented communities, e.g., People of Color, LGBTQIA+ communities, people living with disability or illness, and young adults.
We affirm that a key responsibility of these affinity sanghas is to determine their own internal organization, including the makeup of their membership. This will allow a circle of belonging that feels safe to its members and create a refuge where they can relax into the intimacy of spiritual exploration. These sanghas provide a harbor of mutual respect and understanding.
If you are interested in joining a current sangha, please contact the facilitator at the contact information given below. If you would like to start a new sangha, please email IMCW.
To provide a safe(r) space for people of Asian descent to be seen, heard, and supported in our practice of mindfulness meditation and in our lived experience as Asians in American culture.
To explore and share Asian cultural challenges and impacts on our individual and collective psyches in light of the Buddha dharma.
To cultivate a conscious community that fosters authentic connection and a sense of belonging.
Aspirations of the BIPOC Sangha:
The IMCW Family Mindfulness Program is a growing community of families aspiring to cultivate resilience, presence, compassion, connection and awareness amidst the highs and lows of everyday family life. We were established in 2000 by families, for families. Our classes, daylongs, and retreats aim to share the mindfulness toolkit to families, middle schoolers, and teens in practical and accessible ways that are relevant to families. Our program is based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
Drop-in classes include Family & Children, Parents, Teens, and Teens of Color.
The IMCW LGBTQIA+ Sangha aspires to:
This group offers an opportunity and community for military and veterans who wish to meet and relate to other veterans. Time will be used to talk about and practice how meditation and mindfulness practices can be used to help us relate to the world around us in more skillful ways.
Since its inception, members of the sangha have held space for rich discussion over the group’s purpose and vision. We have concluded that our individual experiences are quite diverse. Yet, we are united by our need to access dominant culture in unique ways. Our differences do not define us, but they do call us into deeper awareness and offer a unique entry point into the meditation practice.
Like the larger community, we experience the full spectrum of human pain and suffering, of human triumph and joy. In sangha, we can hold our hearts open and affirm the fundamental wholeness of each of us. Our intention is to create a safe and accessible environment to enrich our practice.
ASL-English interpreting and live, automatic captioning is offered for these meetings.
An evening of meditation, conscious communication and connection for IMCW singles. Bring a dish or beverage to share for the potluck, if you wish. No registration is necessary.
The IMCW Singles Sangha is a warm, welcoming, inclusive community of people who gather to connect with others who are, by choice or circumstance, single or who live alone without a partner, at this time in their lives. In a couple-centric world, our purpose is simply to create a space for connection and shared experience.
Young adults in the IMCW community and other mindfulness-based communities around DC gather for an afternoon of meditation practice, mindful communication, discussion, and tea. The group is for those in their 20’s and 30’s who want to take part in a conscious, mindful community. We welcome young adults of all ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, and different abilities to our sangha.
Co-led by facilitators, the group offers the opportunity to build a community of spiritual friends with other young meditators.
Aspirations of the IMCW Vegan Sangha:
A place where your inner fluffy comes out to play. A place where your inner brittle can feel safe to soften. A place where your inner slush and sadness allow the lotuses to blossom.
The women's class is a place of friendship and safety honoring the uniqueness of each and every one who enters. By uncovering our true hearts and experiencing our true nature we live true and fulfilled lives.
We provide both guided meditation and independent practice time followed by a talk, with time for questions and comments.