Mary Stancavage has practiced meditation, yoga, and cultivated a spiritual practice for over 30 years and in 2009 was empowered to teach Buddhadharma. Mary is based in the Los Angeles area and teaches classes, retreats and does individual mentoring. She has taught mindfulness at recovery centers, has co-facilitated Year-to-Live groups since 2008, and has had a weekly dharma class for over a decade. She also was director of Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society for ten years. Mary completed the Buddhist Chaplaincy Program at the Sati Center and served as a volunteer chaplain at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. She also served as Executive Director of the Mind Body Awareness Project from 2016 to 2018. In taking the practice off the cushion, Mary is honored to serve on the board of CLUE: Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. Along with teaching she continues to investigate what it means to live with an undefended heart. She is committed to relevancy in her teaching and talks often on social justice issues and currently co-facilitates a Women and Whiteness group. Fun fact: Mary has a Master’s Degree from UCLA and worked as an archaeologist in Syria. More info can be found at her website, marystancavage.org
Previous Teachings
Mary Stancavage – Finding Ease in the Present Moment –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvjwDcPPI1o Finding ease in the present moment can sometimes feel like an impossible task – there is so much going on in the world and in our own lives and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. When things are challengi...
All You Need is Love
In our world it seems that hate and anger are so prevalent it can feel overwhelming at times. In our own lives, it's also quite easy for us to slip into aversion and othering while finding it fully justified. In this talk Mary discusses the need to n...
Letting in the Joy
Our practice and our recovery are often about recognizing our struggles and where we are stuck. Although it's necessary that we do this, sometimes we miss the joy that is also present in our lives. Joy is one of the Seven Awakening Factors and an imp...
Relax the Body, Relax the Mind
Our bodies hold so much that we’re not aware of. Our shoulders are tight, our jaws are clenched. This tenseness is often a reaction to cravings, aversions, and other habits of mind that we’re also unaware of. In this meditation and...
Moving into Spaciousness
In this talk Mary will talk about identifying those constricted and frightened parts of ourselves that we may not even be aware of. When we're caught in any type of addictive behavior, we're also often trapped in habits of mind that are driven by fea...
Letting Go of Our Stories
As soon as we’re born we’re faced with what life throws at us and we develop ways of coping that may or may not be beneficial. We’re also bombarded with messages from family, friends, school and society at large about who we are and...
All Academy Teachers
- Acharya Passatininna (Christie Bates)
- Angyu Devin Ashwood
- Carol Cano
- Caroline Brazier
- Caverly Morgan
- Dave Smith
- Eddie LeShure
- Fresh “Lev” White
- Gary Sanders
- Gaylon Ferguson
- George Johns
- Joan Tollifson
- Kaira Jewel Lingo
- Kara Haney
- Kate Johnston
- Kevin Griffin
- Laura Burges
- Loch Kelly
- Martine Batchelor
- Myokei Caine-Barrett
- Pablo Das
- Rachel Lewis
- Ralph Steele
- Ruth King
- Silasiri
- Steven Tierney, Ed.D.
- Thomas Tran
- Tuere Sala
- Vanessa Wang
- Ven Pannavati Bhikkhuni
- Ven. Dr. Pannavati
- Vimalasara Mason-John
- Vince Cullen
- Walt Opie