Far from being an exclusively spiritual practice, meditation can have a huge effect on our emotional states, stress levels, clarity of mind and relationships with others. It can make for a very useful tool to help on those occasions when we need to clear the mind or calm the nerves. Maintained as a regular practice, meditation can help us cultivate greater awareness in the body, resilience to life's challenges, and compassion towards others.

In our classes, led by members of the Alfoxton community, we teach two different kinds of meditation on alternate weeks: 

Mindfulness of breathing

This practice helps us develop our bodily awareness by using the breath as an anchor; an important way of coming into contact with one's experience and calming the emotions.

Loving-kindness meditation

In this practice, we go through various stages of bringing different people we know to mind, noticing how we respond to them emotionally, and cultivating compassion towards them.

These classes are open to all, young or old, whether you already have experience of meditation or are simply curious.