Adrian Baker Online Coaching
Why meditate?
When I first moved to Thailand in 2010 and started practicing meditation, I was looking to transform habitually bad habits, mainly alcohol abuse. But underneath that desire was a host of other needs: to more effectively manage feelings of being overwhelmed with stress, to reduce tendencies towards emotional reactivity in my relationships with other people and in challenging situations, to find contentment, even joy, in the midst of the more mundane moments of everyday life.
Eventually, I was able to get down to the deeper layers of my emotions and feelings: to work through and let go of shame, regret, lack of self worth--the big and small insecurities and needs of my ego that were hiding in my unconscious yet driving my behaviors. Meditation can help you to see that you are not the stories you have about yourself--either your limiting beliefs or your self aggrandizing ones.
Meditation will help you to cultivate compassion, kindness and self acceptance.
Suffering is fundamentally an experience of separation: of feeling trapped in the limited sense of self that identifies with your feelings, emotions and stories. Meditation can move you from a feeling of isolation to a deep place of connection and intimacy with yourself, with other people, and with the natural world. It can give you a whole new life: one richer with meaning, possibility and joy.
Why would you want to invest in a meditation coach when you can simply download a meditation app?
That’s what I thought too. Well, when I first started practicing meditation ten years ago, they didn’t have apps, but I practiced using guided meditations from some of my favorite teachers.
I’ve always been the kind of person who likes to do things on my own. So when I encountered meditation I did so in a typically solo fashion: I listened to guided meditations on my own, I read a bunch of books on meditation, took online courses. Eventually, I started going to meditation retreats.
It was on retreat that I started to realize that I had been stuck in my meditation practice for far too long. On my second silent meditation retreat I gained a deep appreciation for the importance of feedback from an experienced teacher. I only spoke to my teacher for a few minutes every other day on my 10 day silent retreat, but in this brief window of time I experienced the biggest breakthroughs in my practice that I had had in months, even years.
Meditation can help you to abide in a deep sense of calm and freedom in the midst of challenging circumstances. It’s not that you won’t experience unpleasant feelings and emotions; it’s rather that you develop the ability to witness these feelings without identify with them; you learn to disentangle yourself from the unconscious assumption that you are these negative feelings and stories about yourself.
During my two year long mindfulness meditation teacher training with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, I was blessed to have a very skilled mentor, Erin Selover, whose guidance proved invaluable. Working with a mentor helped me with a number of things including:
Providing clear instructions on meditation techniques
Answering questions I had about the practice
Offering critical feedback & clarifying misconceptions I had about the practice
Helping me to become self aware of my blind spots and habitual patterns
Identifying and employing other practices, like breathwork and journaling, that can support your meditation
If I could offer people one piece of advice for building a meditation practice it’s this: find a well trained and experienced teacher who can guide you. I continue to work with meditation coaches more experienced than myself to continually evolve. For those who are new to meditation or in the earlier phases of their practice, I want to support them in this one on one capacity because this is what I think people need most and where I think I can add the most value.
In addition to my mindfulness meditation teacher training, I have studied and practiced Tantric forms of meditation. I have also completed 600 hours worth of yoga teachers trainings. The result is that I am able to draw on other practices, traditions and styles that will best suite your own temperament, needs and lifestyle.
Customizing a program that specifically suits you, and having a coach that’s accessible for you when you need support: these are two of the best reasons to work with someone one on one.
Are you interested in meditation but don’t know how to start? Have you been practicing for awhile but you want to take your meditation practice to the next level?
If you’re considering taking the next step, sign up for a free Discovery Call here.