Queensland Health research shows that taking care of your mental and physical wellbeing can significantly improve your quality of life and help you navigate everyday situations.
And it shows meditation does the same thing.
Online resources can provide you with breathing techniques and strategies to get the most out of meditation. But if you’re looking for a meditation session to attend with others, there are two that happen at Forest Lake Community Hall every week.
The Heartfulness Institute runs guided relaxation and meditation sessions from 2pm to 3pm on Saturdays at Forest Lake Community Hall.
Practicing meditation can help manage stress by making your body and mind feel calmer and more relaxed, the Heartfulness Institute said of their sessions.
Mukti Freedom Yoga, a Forest Lake-based yoga and meditation business, runs group yoga and meditation sessions that can be attended weekly in person or online over Zoom.
Sima Hitha is a mindfulness group in Ellen Grove that also runs in-person and virtual meditation sessions in English and Sinhala on Saturdays and Sundays.
On Tuesday evenings, the resident teacher of Kadampa Meditation Centre in Brisbane, Gen Kelsang Ani, teaches meditation at Forest Lake Community Centre.
In the New Kadampa Tradition of Buddhism, a separate practice of Tibetan Buddhism, “Gen” is a title used to identify resident teachers, whereas ‘Kelsang’ means ‘good fortune’ according to New Kadampa’s teachings.
The classes held weekly from 7pm to 8.15pm on Tuesdays are for everyone, regardless of faith or religion, You do not have to be a Buddhist to attend or practise meditation, Gen Kelsang Ani said.
“Some people who come are interested in Buddhism in particular, but many people are just interested in becoming a little bit more peaceful and happy, in solving day-to-day problems, by learning how to have a more peaceful mind.
“Although the wisdom is drawn from Buddhist teachings, it’s presented in a way that’s accessible and suitable for everyone.”
Meditation can help people manage periods of stress or anxiety by calming the mind and body. Gen Kelsang Ani has been meditating for 25 years and began meditating as a strategy to cope with her busy life.
“From a practical perspective, the main purpose of meditation is to make our mind peaceful, calm, and in particular, with the meditations that we do, to enable us to transform our mind regardless of what’s going on in life, which is not something most people can do.
“Through training and meditation, you can accomplish that, so it doesn’t matter what’s going on externally, it just enables you to deal with the day-to-day difficulties of life in a much more kind of helpful way and not be sort of blown about by circumstances as we so often are.”
