What to expect in a meditation class led by me

A space designed for relaxation and mindfulness.

Starting a new class can sometimes feel a little bit daunting, especially if you're trying meditation as you're already feeling anxious or stressed. So I thought a little introduction to what you can expect from one of my classes could help.

I run online and in-person classes suitable for those who are brand new to meditation or with some experience. Although very experienced meditators are welcome, my classes are fully guided with limited silent meditation or chanting.

So I wanted to share some info about what you can expect in one of my classes:

1) I often hear "I can't meditate as my mind won't switch off". Your mind is made to think, that's one of its main jobs. So your mind may, in fact probably will, wander during the meditation. That's ok. What I will gently guide you to do is try and let the thought go and return to the focus of the meditation, be that your breathing, a visualisation, a mantra. Your mind wandering doesn't mean that you're doing wrong, you're there, you're present, you're doing it.

2) My classes are about being comfortable. There is nothing worse than feeling like you need to cough or itch your nose or move your leg to stop it from going numb and feeling like you can't do it, because then that will be ALL you think about. So cough, itch your nose, wriggle if you need to. Get comfy.

3) On coughing and ... lets say other bodily noises... your body may go from being in fight or flight to rest and digest. We want our bodies to be in the state of rest and digest but sometimes this means gurgling of tummies and other body noises - its ok, its normal.

4) And when you get so relaxed you snooze. I genuinely don't know a single meditation leader who hasn't had someone fall asleep in their class. Of course, you may want to stay awake to have the experience you came for but sometimes you go into such a deep relaxed state you sleep. There are things you can do if you definitely don't want to sleep such as staying sat up rather than lying down or holding something in your hand. If you do fall asleep though, that's ok, although I may give you a gentle nudge during an in person class if there is a bit of snoring.

5) For an online class people often wonder if they need to have their cameras on. I know this can make some people feel uncomfortable so during the meditations you can have your camera turned off but I will need you to check in at the end so I know that you're ok. I'll also ask everyone to pop on mute during the meditations.

6) I also welcome questions, thoughts, sharings but please keep them to in between the meditations and please be mindful of others in the space.

7) To the actual meditations. The 45 minutes classes usually have three meditations and the 30 minute classes, one around 20 minutes long. The meditations could be a breathing one (where we may focus on breath going in and out or counting breaths), a body scan (where we focus on different parts of our body), a visualisation (where we pretend we are walking through a nice forest or watching the sky) or a mantra (where you repeat a word or phrase in your mind). I will always offer adaptations and ways to make sure they are comfortable for you, for example if you don't want to focus on a certain part of your body during a bodyscan, I will suggest you just focus on your breath at that point.

7) Most of all enjoy it, the classes are your time to relax and rest.