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Frequently Asked Questions!

Is Mindfulness the best form of meditation?

Mindfulness is a form of meditation; it is about being in the present moment and being fully aware of what you are doing.

It is a practice that is closely associated with Zen Buddhism. Mindfulness is a great introduction to meditation and a person can be ‘mindful’ during everyday activities – so to say it is the ‘best’ form of meditation is a matter of personal preference.

Mindfulness is certainly an accessible form of meditation which is an advantage for new starters. Being mindful can have a direct and powerful impact on a person’s life too; so, in that sense it is a great way to introduce the power of meditation to a beginner.
I find meditating boring. What can I do to stop being bored?

You can introduce variations to your meditating practice; like breath work, essential oils or sounds. It is also well worth trying to find out why you are feeling bored I would encourage you to think about why you are feeling bored when meditating.

Setting a timer, initially for a short time like 5 minutes can also help beginners with this common problem; for anyone to feel bored within such a small timeframe; indicates a deeper issue which you should be encouraged to meditate on!
When I focus on my breath, I start to feel anxious and can begin to hyperventilate what can I do?

I would try to get you to focus your attention away from your breath, if you were hyperventilating.

I would ask you to drop your chin to your chest and try to focus only on slowly breathing out.

I would talk you through exhaling with deep slow breaths, whilst trying to reassure you that everything is going to be ok.

Taking a breath ‘inwards’ will happen automatically and this focus on the slow ‘out’ breath will calm you down and slow your rapid intakes of breath, slowing or stopping the hyperventilation.

Once you are ok, I would try and perhaps suggest that we focus on sensations or sounds over the breath when trying to meditate.
Can mediation help with depression?

Meditation can reduce symptoms of depressions; however, it is not a cure!

There would be no harm in trying meditation if you are feeling depressed however, I would suggest seeking medical advice from your local GP.

It is important to recognise that ‘depression’ means very different things to different people.

With any indication that clinical depression was a possibility my advice for you would be to seek professional advice.

Assuming professional advice/care was sought; I would continue to encourage and practice meditation with the you in the hopes of releasing more Oxytocin into your system to combat the depression naturally.
How can I establish a daily practice?

I would suggest finding a place to go to when you want to meditate and make it your own personal space, keep a journal of your meditation practice.

Set Alarms as reminders and to try and establish a routine. You could also try to find an accredited teacher to help you on your journey as there is nothing more rewarding than making time for yourself.

The journal is important to help you reflect and, hopefully; see improvements in your mind-set/attitude/life as a result of the meditation you have completed.

Nothing is more powerful than ‘proof’ of improvement that has been written by you in your own journal!

We hope you enjoyed our Frequently Asked Questions Blog

New Business Award Nomination

By Jennifer clarke • October 11, 2021

What a year we have had at Meditation Courses ! It's our ONE YEAR Birthday this week and what better way to celebrate than being nominated for a 'New Business Award'. Looking back over this past year, after I passed my Meditation teaching qualification (with a distinction... #Proud). My goal was simply to help people discover the power of breathing; which is all that Meditation is at the end of the day. Fuelled by my passion for Meditation and strengthened by my own daily Meditation practice; I incorporated Meditation Courses Limited and started working on MeditationCourses.co.uk... In a world which had just been struck with a global pandemic! What was I thinking!? Our Beginners Courses proved to so popular that we created 2 follow-on courses: Foundation and Advanced . This gave our learners a natural progression path & empowers those that complete the Advanced Course to facilitate their own Meditation Sessions. Whilst running multiple cohorts of all three of our courses, we also worked towards gaining 'Recognised Status' from an Ofqual Regulated Awarding Body - achieving that status has helped us to grow as a Training Centre; we can now offer Teacher Training Qualifications As if this wasn't enough, we also managed to secure our first corporate client; whilst juggling our ever increasing workload! I'm excited to report that our corporate client list has steadily grown since then. #Blessed Thanks to the support of my amazing team, I thought that we could still do more!! So... now we run a free event once a month called 'OMM' Open Mic Meditation . OMM was started to give Industry Experts , Advanced Course Graduates & our newly trained Meditation Teachers a platform to deliver their Meditations to a live audience. These experts can practice what they love! once a month, delivering guided meditations to members of the public; for free! Anyone can join as an audience member, without charge; via EventBrite , by booking directly with us or by booking via one of the featured experts. I will forever be grateful to my leaners; who have embraced my teachings and given me the strength to carry on when the load seemed too much. I am super grateful for the team around me. I am also so grateful that we have achieved so much, in such a short space of time. We will keep thinking of innovative ways to bring Meditation to as many people as we can. There are several 'plans in motion' which we are excited to be working on... watch this space! So to sign off... THANK YOU! for the recognition of being nominated for this award. THANK YOU! for shortlisting us as finalists!!! We are up against some really strong competition for this award, so we are feeling blessed to be in such good company.

Published Article

By Stephen Clarke • August 23, 2021

Jennifer is excited to share with you this published article, combining her Meditation experience with her experience of Motherhood and Pregnancy. it is lovely to be given the recognition as an expert in her field by the lovely people at OM Magazine. You really should consider one of their subscriptions - you never know, you may see Jennifer's words popping up again in future issues.