“Life is now, not when or if. Turn up and be present otherwise you will miss it.”
Please contact me to be added to the waiting list for the next face to face course
OR consider my 4 week ONLINE Introduction to Modern Meditation Course starting 1st July 2020
You can listen to my recent Facebook Live Meditation Session below.
It includes a complete ten minute guided meditation for you to replay whenever you like. To go straight to the meditation start at 16min in.
Some tips for listening:
Sit on a straight chair like a dining chair, rather than your sofa
Have your feet (shoes off) flat on the floor or cushion if they don't reach Let other people know not to disturb you for 30mins if you can
Be warm enough to sit still especially for the ten min meditation part
Read on to find out more about my 8 week course and what it includes…
“Sarah has run a fantastic course, which has really helped me learn techniques for meditation practice. ”
You might believe your happiness is defined in terms of what you have: your income, home or car, or your job. But deep down we know that even if we have the things we need and want we are always striving for more. Particularly in modern day society. But evidence shows that your true happiness and inner peace is connected not to what you have, what you think and what you do. True happiness is about how you think and do, and it is there inside each of us to uncover.
My 8 week course uses the art and science of Mick Timpson’s beanddo meditation programme. It is simple, powerful and life changing. At the core is a simple easily learned meditation technique practised by millions of people all over the world.
If you think you can't meditate because you can't empty your mind of thoughts think again! We learn to use our thoughts in our meditation and positively change our relationship to them.
In this video I talk a little bit about the meditation techniques I teach
My sessions include theory, guided practice, and group discussion. The aim is for you to learn techniques to practice at home and quickly establish a simple regular practice that you can integrate into your daily life easily and without adding more stress or ‘to do’s’.
We learn to become more connected to our body, breath and mind which allows you to feel more present and know a deeper more profound state of awareness.
The beanddo meditation techniques are aimed at helping you to equip yourself with the tools to access your inner resources of creativity and resilience to support your daily life. With sustained practice this can transform your life.
Meditation can be described as the conscious, purposeful attention of your mind and body towards the present moment. That’s it. You can read about meditation from a book or download the latest app. The real benefits of meditation are in the doing of it, with other people and with a good and experienced teacher. Meditation has been taught like that for 1000’s of years.
“The course has helped me grasp what meditation is about and introduce it regularly into everyday life. It’s brought relaxation, clarity and happiness into some aspects of my life and promises to continue to do so. ”
Our meditation sessions are enjoyed sitting comfortably in an upright chair, ideally with eyes closed but this is not essential. No special equipment is required other than your own breath, body and mind. It does not involve any complicated mental techniques, beliefs or changes in life style.
Watch this video as I talk about what happens in my classes and the benefits of a group practice
“Meditation is not mind control, once learned it takes no effort, you are not stopping thinking, more changing your relationship to thinking… There’s a cognitive shift where you realise you are not your thoughts, which helps avoid rumination and getting caught up in other unhelpful thoughts.”
If you think of someone meditating you might picture someone with their eyes closed, sitting cross legged emptying their mind. Whilst some people do sit cross legged to meditate, you don’t have to, and you don’t have to be in a quiet darkened room either.
Your mind is active in order for you to navigate your daily life safely and productively. But your mind also brings with it a lot of stories, ideas, what if’s and maybe’s. It is impossible to empty your mind, but you can find some space to step back.
Meditation can help you to discern the important activity of the mind from the less important. Watch this video as I talk about some key misconceptions about meditation and how anyone can do it, anywhere, anytime.
Find out more about how to meditate and some of the main misconceptions about meditation
My journey to meditation
Since beginning to practice yoga in 2001, I have practised a variety of meditation techniques with a number of teachers – from guided meditations, to apps such as Headspace. But I struggled to create a really regular practice with a system that I found accessible.
I embarked on the beanddo Meditation Teacher Training course to support my own meditation practice. To dive deep into what meditation is, what its benefits are and how I could employ them more regularly in my own daily life with two small children, a busy schedule of teaching yoga and of course the requirements of running a home and business.
The beanddo meditation techniques I learned were all that I had hoped they would be – simple to follow, accessible for everyone and you really can use them in your day to day life whatever your schedule and commitments.
I am using my learning everyday, my meditation practice has become regular and I have a deep desire everyday to just ‘be’ to sit, meditate and feel spacious, brighter, more connected to the world around me and everything within it, including everything I have to ‘do’. Regular meditation practice is making a huge difference to my life. It is helping me to find the spaces, the brightest moments and the calm that I need as a wife, mum, teacher and lover of life.
I have learned to be flexible with my meditation, often sitting but also using the things I need to ‘do’ as meditations in themselves. I work my practice around my family and work life in an easy and effortless way.
I am delighted now to be able to teach the techniques in my own location of Northwich as a wonderful addition to my yoga classes. My aim for all my classes is that they are welcoming, friendly and accessible and I know that the beanddo meditation techniques fit into this ethos perfectly.
From course feedback and the learning and change I see happening as I teach, I am so happy to be helping more people to find this space, to untangle from the busyness and pressures of life in the society we find ourselves in.
The benefits of meditation:
My own experience of meditation and the benefits it can bring to anyone
When you learn to know the present moment through a systematic process of meditation, you gradually move your attention inward, gaining clarity and insight along the way. Eventually you come to rest in your true nature. That is where all the good stuff happens. It is where your intuition, clarity, happiness and creativity are.
That essential nature is the real version of you. It is where your peace, happiness and creativity are. You don’t need to go looking for them externally. You already own them, and through regular meditation they will emerge from the inside.
Meditation practice provides a simple well-trodden route to help you get back in touch with your life, and to be balanced by taking charge of your being and linking it closely with what you are doing.
You will re-discover better relationships with your work, your creativity, your family, friends, community and the world and most importantly with yourself.
It is a state where you can take charge and learn to live your life by design – not by accident.
Research is showing that regular meditation practice can help:
Improve our cognitive functions including IQ, memory, and creativity
Build self-awareness and confidence
Reduce stress and build personal resilience
Lower blood pressure decreasing the risk of heart disease
Overcome anxiety, panic attacks, depression and addictions
Improved immune system and pain management
Enhance feelings of personal self worth and sense of purpose
Increase energy levels and better sleep
Meditation is now a mainstream health promoting practice. The NHS regards developing a regular meditation in your life as vital to establishing wellbeing, reducing anxiety and finding peace, happiness and balance in your life.
““I have really enjoyed the meditation course with Sarah. It would benefit anyone interested in learning about meditation or bringing back to life past meditation practices. ”
What the 8 week course includes:
75mins per week discovering:
what meditation is
meditation techniques that you can use in your daily life
how the art and science of yoga and meditation works
guided meditations at each session, increasing in length as the course progresses
a friendly group environment to practice your meditation
resources and handouts including MP3s of guided meditations to use at home
support and guidance between sessions as needed
The course is taught seated on chairs.
It is suitable for everyone age 16 plus.
No previous meditation or yoga experience necessary
Please bring a blanket or shawl with you and wear layers to keep warm. Bring a bottle of water or other drink with you too. We work without shoes on, warm socks are fine.
Your investment for this course is £64. Please note there are no refunds.
Don’t allow yourself to continue on the roundabout of life, of constantly ‘doing’. If you take the time to invest in meditation practice you you will be able to jump off the roundabout as you need to.
Join us for 8 weeks and learn to create the spaces you need for yourself to avoid overwhelm. Meditation will help you reconnect to your innate happiness, to a peacefulness, a place of ‘being’ that can help you navigate through all the things you need to ‘do’ in a more responsive and happier way.
I really look forward to welcoming you to the course!
Sarah xx
