The Meditation and Mindfulness 8 week courses I teach are similar to those on an MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) course, however the MBSR and MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) courses were both originally designed to help with specific conditions and tend to be used in hospitals and clinics. MBSR was designed to help with the stress of illness, and MBCT was designed to help avoid relapse into depression.

The Zenways courses I teach are pure meditation and mindfulness, with no therapy based teaching, the orientation is teacher-student rather than therapist-client. As a teacher I provide you with the methods and guidance to help you practice at home and allow you to look at ways of dealing with difficult emotions. With continued practice you can make improvements to your health and wellbeing.

I offer two 8 week courses the first one for Wellbeing and the second for Insight – this is the part that you may not get on an MBSR course as it delves a bit deeper.

8 week Mindfulness courses….

Zen Meditation and Mindfulness for Wellbeing

This course takes a looks at stress, pain and anxiety along with traditional Zen meditations to help improve your whole wellbeing. You will discover more about mindfulness and how to approach your life with kindness and awareness, bringing these practices into your daily life.

Zen Meditation and Mindfulness for Insight

Once you have developed a regular daily meditation practice you can deepen your experience and start to look at your inner nature. On this course we not only practice mindfulness, but we work on strengthening the Hara (energy at the belly) to energetically clear the body and mind. Surrendering to the flow of energy can bring clarity, physical strength, calmness, reduced stress levels and a sense of feeling connected.

I also offer a variety of shorter courses and workshops including:

Zen half day retreats – monthly

Aimed at helping you continue your practice, these monthly retreats are based on the methods taught on the 8 week courses and include movement and meditation to find your inner stillness and connecting with the energy of the body to bring balance in body and mind. Methods include:

  • Zazen (sitting meditation) practices
  • Kinhin (walking meditation)
  • Hachi Danken (Qigong) & Mindful Movement
  • Mindful tea drinking or Mindful creativity

 4 or 6 week courses

Also based on the 8 week courses, shorter courses act as an introduction to mindful meditation methods giving you a chance to try and build mindfulness into your every day life.

Zen and Energy Based Practices

A new workshop for 2018 combining energy based meditation practice, Ki-Flow Yoga (simple easy movements), Qigong and Reiki methods to help you to connect with your Ki to feel and sense the energy flow in your body and prepare you for Reiki healing or just bring balance and harmony to body and mind.

For more information contact Anne via createharmonyiow@gmail.com