Discover how to de-stress, relax, feel healthier, feel happier, calm your mind, discover your inner peace and have more fun with meditation classes with Clare Josa.
What Is Meditation?
Meditation helps you quieten your mind, to reach beyond the everyday, mundane aspects of life and reconnect with a deeper sense of “who you really are”.
It is a journey that will take you from a place of stress, drama and discontent to happiness, inner peace, contentment and connectedness.
Along that path, we all encounter things that need to be released, in order to set ourselves free from the habits, thought patterns and limiting beliefs that have kept us stuck and separate for so long.
Meditation is not…
Clare Josa, Meditation Teacher
I had been practising meditation for about 20 years, when I decided to formally train as a meditation teacher, so I could help others.
That’s when I realised that I had never really “meditated”.
It was a bit of a shock! Sure, I had done classes, retreats and had a stack of “meditation” CDs at home, but few of them took me anywhere near that point of stillness, that point of peace, deep inside, that I had been searching for.
Why?
Because the “teacher” never shut up and there was always tinkly music in the background!
After 2 decades of studying, I had never been taught how to be “ok” with silence; with stillness. All the techniques I had learned were still about “doing” – following instructions that popped up almost constantly.
Even though there are many meditation techniques that can be performed while you are active – even in a noisy environment – I had never experienced the beautiful feeling of allowing my mind to come to rest and just “be”.
Everything I had tried before had, in fact, been based on deep relaxation or guided visualisation. And I experienced a huge difference in the effect of those, compared to deep meditation, which has been profound and life-changing for me. 🙂
Meditation is NOT about twisting your legs into a pretzel, hiding in a cave and chanting ancient Sanskrit all day (though it can be!).
It is a practice that helps you change your life. It brings you peace, calm, stillness and a vibrant sense of being totally “alive”.
What Are The Benefits Of Meditation?
Some of the benefits of regular meditation practice include:
Reducing your stress levels
Getting your life back into balance
Developing a “longer fuse” – being able to remain calm, even in emotional situations
Improved physical, mental and emotional health
Feeling happier – even moments of spontaneous joy
Clearer thinking – you have been training your mind to chatter less!
Improved concentration
A sense of inner peace and stillness
Feeling the strength (and desire) to finally deal with the “stuff” that’s no longer working in your life
Dispelling Meditation Myths
Myth: You have to train under a “guru” and change who you are
Fact: Finding a good teacher helps, but even just 10 minutes a day of mindfulness can have a big impact. Check out the latest research from Sara Lazar, showing that meditation can even make your brain grow!
Myth: Meditation drop-in classes work Fact: You need commitment and dedication, to make progress.
Just as with any form of skill, to see results, a meditation student needs to commit to regular practice. A weekly, local meditation or mindfulness class is the ideal environment for this, because:
you can ask the meditation teacher questions – they have been trained how to teach this stuff!
you can benefit from the fact the teacher has probably faced similar challenges to you, on their meditation journey, and will have discovered some short cuts
you can get feedback on your posture (meditating doesn’t need to hurt!)
you can learn how to prepare for meditation, to get maximumm impact from your practice
you can learn techniques to get back into that ‘meditative calm’ state, even when time is short
you can share the experience with other students and even make new friends
this moral support can help you find ways to fit yoga into your life, to help you feel happier, healthier and less stressed.
Over the years, we have repeatedly found that people attending drop-in classes make much slower progress than those who make the personal commitment to attending a term’s course.
Myth: You have to change your religious beliefs, to meditate Fact: Meditation is accessible to everyone, regardless of their personal beliefs
Although the practice of meditation is rooted in ancient philosophy, to enjoy and benefit from meditation doesn’t require you to adopt any particular belief systems and it certainly doesn’t ask its students to have any particular religious background.
If you can daydream, then you can meditate.
Most cultures have practices that are akin to meditation. There’s nothing scary or cult-based about it.
What Makes Beyond Alchemy’s Meditation & Mindfulness Classes Different?
Rather than expecting you to turn up, rushed and stressed, twist your legs into a pretzel shape and suddenly empty your mind and feel inner peace, our meditation & mindfulness classes focus on good preparation first.
In order to be able to meditate successfully, you need to be relaxed and able to concentrate.
Is it time to tame your 'grasshopper mind'?
Few of us can do that spontaneously, as part of our busy lives. Most of us are more like grasshoppers, flitting from one thought or action to the next.
So our meditation classes typically take students through the following stages:
Physical movement, to help you release the body’s tension and start to relax
Deep relaxation – sitting or lying down – to help you let go and unwind
Concentration techniques, to help you train your mind to focus on just one thing, rather than being a mutli-tasking grasshopper
Training on how correct posture during meditation can impact the effectiveness of your meditating
Discovering meditation and mindfulness techniques that work for real people, with busy lives
Our students tell us that they really value the level of preparation they get during the classes and see it as a ‘gold standard’ of meditation experience. This helps them relax and de-stress more easily during their day-to-day lives, and means they are more quickly able to get into a relaxed state of body and mind, to meditate at home.
How will I feel afterwards?
Students leave their classes feeling more balanced, less stressed, energised, refreshed and revitalised.
The goal of our meditation and mindfulness classes is to help you find a point of stillness, deep within you, that you can connect with, no matter how busy and stressful life becomes.
Why Bother With A Meditation Class?
Why on earth bother going to a meditation class?
Why not just listen to a CD or read a book?
Clare Josa, our meditation teacher, shares her personal story on this one in the video on the right.
Our research shows that a regular meditation or mindfulness class can have a major impact on the results you achieve.
Books and CDs are a great start, if you don’t have a good meditation class locally. But they have their limitations, too:
Most ‘meditation’ CDs are in fact guided visualisations or deep relaxations. Whislt they help you relax, they are unlikely to take you to a real experience of meditating.
Books can teach you techniques, but the experience of being guided through that technique by a real, live teacher is very different.
You can’t ask a book or CD questions!
Meditating with other people creates an wonderful space that allows you to go even deeper.
A good teacher can tailor your meditation class to the needs of the individuals in the group. A book or CD has to be created to work for the ‘average’ student.
Attending a weekly class gives you the moral support (and kick up the butt!) that most of us need to actually commit to regular meditation practice. It’s by far the quickest and most effective way to make progress and experience deep-acting results.
Weekly Classes
Our spring 2012 term of meditation and mindfulness classes will be starting soon.
They will be held near Forest Row in East Sussex.
We’ll be publishing times and dates, as soon as they are finalised.
Find Out More / Reserve Your Place
To find out more and reserve your place, please call Peter or Clare on 07919 11 4440. Or you can fill in the contact form below and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Can’t Make It To A Weekly Class?
We run regular yoga and meditation weekend workshops in the East Sussex area (Forest Row / East Grinstead / Ashdown Forest). If you’d like to find out when the next course is running, please get in touch!
Discover how to de-stress, relax, feel healthier, feel happier, calm your mind, discover your inner peace and have fun with Dru yoga classes near Forest Row with Peter Briant.
Autumn 2014 Classes
Thursday evenings 8 – 9:30pm near Forest Row, East Grinstead
Check availability: Call Peter’s office on: 020 8242 6035 or email: hello {at} clarejosa {dot} com
What Is Yoga?
Yoga is an ancient system of postures, movements and breathing techniques, designed to create the “union of body and mind”.
In more modern terms, it’s an excellent practice to allow you to:
De-stress
Relax
Get life back into balance
Improve your health
Be able to stay calmer, even in emotionally-charged situations
Improve your fitness
Feel happier
Even modern scientists and medical professionals are now agreeing with the ancient wisdom that mind, body and emotions are connected. So gentle, focused movements that rebalance the body have the potential to also impact other areas of your life.
In fact, the latest scientific research has shown that even just a 6 week course of Dru Yoga can significantly impact your stress levels and inner calm!
Dispelling Yoga Myths
Myth: Yoga drop-in classes work Fact: Yoga isn’t a quick fix
Just as with any form of skill, to see results, a yoga student needs to commit to regular practice. A weekly, local yoga class is the ideal environment for this, because:
you can ask the yoga teacher questions;
you can get feedback on your posture (so you don’t hurt yourself and you’ll get maximum benefit from the pose);
you can learn how to prepare for postures, so you will be able to do them safely at home;
you can share the experience with other students and even make new friends;
this moral support can help you find ways to fit yoga into your life, to help you feel happier, healthier and less stressed.
Myth: You have to change your religious beliefs, to do yoga Fact: Yoga is accessible to everyone, regardless of their personal beliefs
Although the practice of yoga is rooted in ancient philosophy, to enjoy and benefit from yoga doesn’t require you to adopt any particular belief systems and it certainly doesn’t ask its students to have any particular religious background. Yoga techniques can have a profound impact on your life and are accessible to everyone.
Myth: Yoga should feel like a work-out Fact: Yoga should never cause pain – either during the class or the next day
Over the years, we have experienced a number of yoga teachers who either pushed their students to go too far in postures or didn’t have techniques to help their classes warm up and prepare for yoga postures, so you would wake up the next day with aching muscles – and worse.
Dru yoga should never hurt. The postures are never done “cold” – yoga classes always include “activations” (to get the body moving) and “Energy Block Release” sequences, to help shift any stiffness. Postures that challenge the body are only ever done after suitable preparatory postures have been completed, so your body and mind are ready and can gain maximum benefit from the poses.
What Makes Dru Yoga Different?
Dru Yoga is a graceful and potent form of yoga, based on flowing movements, directed breathing and visualisation. With its foundations set firmly in ancient yogic tradition, Dru works on body, mind and spirit—improving strength and flexibility, creating core stability, building a heightened feeling of positivity, and deeply relaxing and rejuvenating your whole being.
It is designed to be practised by people of all abilities, all fitness levels and all age groups.
For example, if you can’t go as far as you would like into a particular posture, a Dru yoga teacher can help you use visualisation techniques, to relax the body and gently ease yourself further into the posture, over time.
Dru yoga is truly accessible.
One of our friends attended her first Dru yoga class in a wheelchair, having had repeated operations on her spine. She is now fit, active and is a wonderful Dru yoga teacher. How did she benefit from the early classes? By being taught how to visualise her body doing the techniques and being incredibly gentle.
Local Dru Yoga Classes
Peter Briant, an experienced, formally-qualified Dru Yoga teacher, runs weekly classes Forest Row and East Grinstead, in Sussex (UK).
He specialises in making yoga accessible to all, helping you to gain maximum benefit from your classes, whilst also having fun.
What Is A Dru Yoga Class Like?
A typical class structure would include:
Activations: These are warm-up exercises, to wake you up and warm up each muscle group in turn, in preparation for the yoga postures.
Energy Block Release Sequence: This would be a carefully-constructed sequence of postures and movements, specifically designed to help you release blocks in the body, mind and emotions.
Posture Work: Traditional yoga postures, performed in a more flowing way than you may have come across before. These postures help various areas of our body, mind and emotions. For example:
Twisting postures can aid digestion
There are postures which ground you, helping you increase your energy and reduce your stress levels
There are postures which promote clear thinking
Some postures and movements will help you sleep or relax
There are postures specifically intended to produce balance
How will I feel afterwards?
Students leave their classes feeling more balanced, less stressed, energised, refreshed and revitalised.
The goal of a course in Dru yoga is to help you access a point of stillness within you, no matter how chaotic life becomes.
Weekly Classes
Peter runs weekly yoga classes on Thursday evenings at 8pm near Forest Row & East Grinstead.
This is a 1 1/2 hour yoga class with deep relaxation techniques, which is a real treat. Combining yoga and deep relaxation can have a huge impact on your body and mind.
When: Thursdays 8pm Where: near Forest Row & East Grinstead Cost: Suggested donation of £10 per class.
If the suggested donation is too much for you, please contact Peter to find out how to apply for help from our scholarship programme.
Find Out More / Reserve Your Place
To find out more, please call Peter on 020 8242 6035. Or you can email hello {at} clarejosa {dot} com and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Can’t Make It To A Weekly Class?
Peter runs regular yoga and meditation weekend workshops, with his wife Clare Josa, a formally-trained meditation teacher, NLP Trainer and author. If you’d like to find out when the next course is running, please get in touch!
What Is Meditation?
Yoga is an ancient system of postures, movements and breathing techniques, designed to create the “union of body and mind”.
Local Dru Yoga Classes
To find out more, please call Peter on 020 8242 6035. Or you can email hello {at} clarejosa {dot} com and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.