Teaching Meditation - The Practical Flashcards
How might you open a meditation session?
A brief introduction.
You may open a session with a brief introduction of any health and safety points, where relevant, and you may let students know of any news, such as related events you may be running and so on. If the class is for mixed levels of experience, you can give new students a brief introduction to the practice, what to expect and what not to expect, and introduce new concepts as the session progresses. However, running an introductory session for beginners may be worthwhile so that key concepts can be explained, such as posture.
Before starting the meditation, what might you explain to the students?
The aim of the session.
Before starting the meditation, explain the aim of the session. If any new ideas are being introduced, this can be a good time to do so. Even if the students are used to practising a specific type of meditation, it is always good to have a reminder of why we are meditating. This is a good time to include any practical advice that will be helpful for students during the meditation.
If the session consists of one longer meditation, you may decide to begin the meditation after giving this overview. However, if the session consists of several shorter meditations, repeat the above structure for each technique to explain what you will be doing and why.
Before starting a meditation what might be a good idea beforehand? Think about the time of day or where students may have just come from.
A guided relaxation.
Before starting any meditation, however, it may be a good idea to do a guided relaxation exercise before any meditation begins. For example, if your classes are held in the evening after many of your students have just finished work, they may benefit from this extra time to adjust after the working day or spending time on public transport.
If you have decided that your meditation classes will include some of the spiritual and philosophical teachings associated with the techniques, you may decide to have a longer class to give time for any related discussion or study.
What might you include at the end of a meditation session?
Time to discuss and share any observations.
Consider giving students time to discuss any interesting experiences they had or any observations from the meditation and answer any questions they may have. Another option for doing this may be to have a more informal, optional discussion after the class where the students can talk to each other and you about their experiences, keeping any important teachings within the class itself. At the end of the class, recap on any important news given at the start, and remind students of when the next session is and any ‘homework’ you’d like them to do.
What might you say as the meditation class comes to a close?
The state they might be experiencing.
As the meditation comes to a close, comment on the state they may be experiencing but not in a presumptuous way, as discussed. You may want to ask them to notice how they are feeling, or perhaps you decide to comment on likely states they could be experiencing, such as ‘Perhaps you feel a sense of stillness in the mind or relaxation in the body, or perhaps you don’t.’
Adapt this however you see fit, remembering not to word things in a way that could lead anyone to make judgements about the experience or to feel like they are doing it incorrectly.
Let them know to open their eyes and bring their attention back into the room when they are ready. This is a very general example of a meditation structure that can be used as a starting point from which to develop your own as you adjust to working with a class compared to your own individual meditation practice.
