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Meditation Coaching Individual session with Joseph Emet.
Why Coaching? Mindfulness meditation requires concentration, vigilance, and the ability to use the mind to observe and study itself. This can be a challenge under any conditions. If you are experiencing strong emotions, under stress, having difficulty sleeping, addicted, feeling depressed or anxious, or in pain, it is even more of a challenge. The problem is circular: you may have read, or been advised by a health professional that meditation can be helpful. And indeed, studies have confirmed that this is so.Yet because the mind is in a turmoil, you find it difficult, or even impossible to do it. Under those conditions, you may wish to try meditation coaching. In these individual sessions, you control the length of the meditation interval, which can be as short as a minute at a time at the beginning. The discussion is centred around your concerns, and focuses on your challenges. Indeed, I have developed this format, because I have observed that the people who need it most are sometimes not able to learn to meditate in a large group. Their needs are narrowly focused, and not the same as the group's needs. "Right Meditation" is one of the eight life skills prescribed by the Buddha in order to help us live a happy and fruitful life. The traditional approach to meditation is to cultivate the practice gradually and in relatively calm periods of our life such as during retreats, so that when the crunch comes, and we need it, it is available for us. The best time to learn to swim is not when you fall in the water unexpectedly, and are struggling out of breath! The best time to learn to swim is when you do not need it to save your life. Yet, the choice is not always ours. Individualized coaching may also be helpful if you have been trying to meditate for a while, and have not been satisfied with the results, or if you are in a hurry to get a quick start in establishing your practice. The suggested format is three sessions, spread over a period of ten days to three weeks. Each session lasts an hour and fifteen minutes. Like physical exercise, meditation is no good unless it is practiced with some regularity. Coaching will help get you started, but most people need group practice and support in order to continue. Meditation has been likened to a path, and like any other path, the scenery changes as you travel. There are many aspects to meditation as a way of life, and as a tool for understanding the mind. MMC groups are designed to provide growth along this path as well as support. If you wish to make meditation a part of your life, it is a good idea to join an ongoing group, or participate in Mindfulness Days.
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