The Focus On series is where we celebrate the beauty and diversity of meditation journeys .. gathering to share stories, practices and insights, to listen and learn from each other. 

I have always loved reading case studies, biographies and magazine spotlight articles about other lives and other experiences. Meditation is a really a personal experience .. so I felt it was powerful to explore other meditation journeys, to reflect that age old saying ‘there are many roads up the mountain’.

Marieke Hardy

Marieke Hardy: writer, broadcaster, television producer, and until last year (2019) the artistic director of Melbourne Writers Festival. Creative force behind the immersive meditation installation The Waiting Room Full interview

I made learning to meditate like part of my job – I set aside time each day to do it, even though I REALLY wasn’t into it and sat begrudgingly.” 

Katie Underwood: well known and well-loved Melbourne based sound healer, singer, remedial massage therapist, reiki practitioner and meditation teacher. Full interview

“It makes me feel like I have a secret superpower!”

Nicole Lee Qigong

Nicole Lee: Qigong teacher and Qigong Teacher Trainer, and owner of Melbourne’s first dedicated Qigong studio ‘Chi Space’ in Balaclava. Full interview

Qigong – it’s a moving meditation and is my favorite method.” 

Jennifer Ellinghaus

Jennifer Ellinghaus: yoga teacher, retreat leader, endless traveller and author of Yoga for Travellers. Full interview

“Meditation is my therapy, my daily practice of mental hygiene. It keeps me grounded and centered and reminds me of what is important.”

Cynthia Kane

Cynthia Kane: writer, meditation teacher and author of How To Communicate Like A Buddhist (and now Talk to Yourself Like a Buddhist). Full interview

“I meditate because it helps me live in a way that’s kind, honest, free of judgment, and helpful.”

Jenni Morrison-Jack: Founder of Ihana Yoga and Director of the Ihana 200HRYTT and Post-Graduate Yoga Teacher Program. Full interview

“The more regular my practice became, and the more I got used to feeling good, grateful and happy, the more I started noticing the lack of meditation as a lack of what my family calls the ‘happy-life syndrome’.”

Miranda Harwood: Team Leader for Digital and Marketing, and Developer of the Mindfulness Month, at the City of Greater Dandenong. Full interview

“I get less annoyed by little things and generally feel less stressed and more able to deal with what life throws at me.”

Lisa Allwell & Sharon Spencer: Yoga teachers and joint owners of the SEED Yoga & Wellness studio in Melbourne. Full interview

“We both see our meditation practice as the moment of quiet in our busy lives. It’s amazing what we’ve learned there …Ten minutes is enough to change the course of the day for the better.”