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Why I Meditate: Kerry

When & where did you begin to meditate?

Fifteen years ago when I started doing Yin Yoga and would meditate at the beginning and end of the class. Before that I did Bikram Yoga but Yin deepened my practice and helped me centre things. It is a chi-based yoga and is more based around centredness, calmness and stillness.

In 2020 I did an online course with Guy Burgs called The Art of Meditation, which was based on stillness. So I was doing things that were aligned with yin energy and were aligned with meditation, Qigong and Tai Chi.

Why did you take up a regular practice? What was the spark?

In 2024 I did the School of Meditation’s Introductory Course. It introduced me to a different way to approach meditation and consolidated my journey. When I became a member of the School, it became a daily practice, morning and evening. Previously I had meditated with my yoga classes, but I didn’t do those classes seven days a week. Receiving the mantra solidified the practice in my life.

What were your early experiences?

It felt like a bit of a chore. But when I wasn’t doing it, I noticed the difference. It’s about putting the ego to one side. I saw that it strengthens self-awareness and awareness of others. I noticed that I was not as hypersensitive.

I liked the in-person dynamic of group meditations plus the daily meditations on Zoom. This routine has helped me sort things out inside. I don’t take things so personally, I’m less defensive. This has helped me with work; I’m better at making assessments and judgments regarding my career.

How does meditating affect your everyday life?

I have a hyper busy mind and ruminating thoughts; meditation helps me to spot the negative voice. I have always struggled to be still so do as many yin-based things as possible.

Being busy is a way of numbing and running away from yourself. When I do the early morning Zoom meditation, it sets me up for the day better than a to-do list. The daily sessions are grounding; they give me discipline and routine. If I fall out of the rhythm of meditating, I need another way to connect with myself.

I can now slow down, quiet my inner critic. There are cumulative benefits of the practice and being a member of the School has tied things together for me. The meditations are much deeper than those at the start and end of yoga.

In my job, I am asked to help when things go wrong and there’s often a sense of urgency. This is now juxtaposed with meditation and allowing things to be as they are. Those work scenarios can create a sense of ‘fight or flight’ as if I have to prove my worth. Meditation is the antidote to this.

What has been your experience as a member of the School of Meditation?

I have been having check-ins every couple of months with an experienced meditator. She asks me, “How’s it been? Have you had any challenges?”

I was struggling to connect with the mantra and she reminded me not to worry about these thoughts, to observe them without attachment.

I attend a meditation group every week, in-person. When I arrive for my group, I leave everything at the door. I can arrive feeling wired and within a few minutes this has dissipated a bit.

I’m fairly new to my group but can see it has an eclectic mix of different people, ages, walks of life and political views. It’s a melting pot that comes together.

Being in a group also provides an opportunity to be vulnerable from the outset; and an element of what we discuss in groups is about unpacking the mind.

 

 

To find out more about taking up meditation, please see details of our courses and classes here or contact the School of Meditation's office: 02076036116 / info@schoolofmeditation.org / @schoolofmeditation_som