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MEET OUR TEAM

Kevin

Kevin

Co-Founder, Chief Meditation Officer

Kevin is the Co-Founder and Chief Meditation Officer at Centred Meditation. He reluctantly came to meditation out of desperation to rid himself of the detrimental effects of stress. Years down the track of cumulative benefits, he now dedicates his life to making this untapped resource more accessible to everyone.
Kevin has led and taught thousands of people to meditate through his world-first drop-in meditation studio, Corporate Program Hub and Inner Growth Retreats. He has a unique way of distilling complex intellectual topics into simple practical tools for his students. Kevin is one of the lead instructors of our Teacher Training Courses, Retreats, and Meditation Programs. His purpose is to raise the bar of love and affinity and decrease the level of suffering in the world.
Nikki

Nikki

Co-Founder, Retreat/Programs Manager

Nikki is the Co-Founder of Centred Meditation. It was while studying Psychology at University when she experienced first hand the visceral effects of stress on her mind and body: constant anxiety, muscle spasms, digestive issues and the list goes on. She stumbled upon Effortless Meditation online and thought it sounded too good to be true! After learning the technique in 2010 she was pleasantly shocked by its immediate effects on all aspects of her life.
Nikki has since spent time in India learning from different meditation masters and Gurus, directed a non-profit organisation, trained as an Ayurvedic Practitioner, and travelled around the world organising, undertaking, and facilitating personal development and leadership programmes. Nikki is one of the lead instructors of our Teacher Training Courses, Retreats, and Meditation Programs. Her life’s purpose is to empower people to be inspired by their own true greatness and freed up to share it with the world.
Walter

Walter

'Our Wise Elder' - Retreat/Programs Creator & Facilitator

Walter pioneered the development and teaching of a wide range of methods designed to maximise the professional and personal potential of individuals, teams and organisations. He is an international consultant who regularly consults to the top senior management teams of Australian public and private sector organisations in the areas of corporate development, leading organisational change (specialising in organisational cultural change), leadership development, teambuilding, communication skills and strategic business planning. Walter began meditating in 1970 and has continued ever since. Effortless Meditation training has always been part of his leadership and personal development programmes. His life’s purpose is to to awaken and expand our human experience of peace, joy, love, and compassion, and our desire and capacity to accept and serve others.

Robert

Robert

Retreat & Programs Head Facilitator

For over 15 years Robert has worked with senior teams and management all over the world assisting them create the leadership and corporate cultures that support them to achieve their vision and goals. He was a foundation member of Mckinsey’s Mindsets and Capabilities initiative and has extensive experience in C Suite and Senior Team Facilitation and Coaching. He has a variety of qualifications in a various leadership and stress management courses, as well as years of experience running corporate personal development companies. Outside of work, his love of The Himalayas led him to create “Conscious Trekking”, a travel company taking like-minded people to discover ‘spirit of place’ in the mountains.

Kari

Kari

Centred Meditation Facilitator

Kari lives simply and consciously. A self proclaimed extroverted introvert, her love of people and creating connections come natural, but it is her passion for knowledge and creating a healthier way of living & being that give her purpose.

Kari is an independent meditation teacher. She has consistently invested time & energy into meditation knowledge and draws her understanding from ancient wisdom, modern masters and direct experience. She teaches a modern technique in a way that is achievable and effective for all people to learn, and shares a simple understanding of how to effortlessly create the conditions for the body & mind to un-stress and restore health naturally.

Shane

Shane

Centred Meditation Facilitator

When Shane was diagnosed with a painful autoimmune disease at 18, this change took him on a journey of understanding the body and mind at a whole new level. At the beginning it was yoga that mostly gave him great relief, however when it was too painful, meditation was his backup. Slowly meditation became a bigger and bigger part of his practice and soon produced profound benefits – even removing the need for medication! Truly fascinated by the potential of the mind and the impact of meditation on the nervous and immune systems, Shane has continued to explore and practice a wide range of meditation techniques and make it a significant part of his life.

Danyah

Danyah

Centred Meditation Facilitator

Danyah is a dedicated mindfulness practitioner, meditation facilitator, and author of Dropping In: A Meditation Journal. Her journey with meditation began over 15 years ago and has played an integral role in helping her see into the nature and workings of her own mind, thereby loosening the grip of anxiety and a strong inner critic. Passionate about making meditation mainstream, she is deeply committed to helping others not only reduce their stress, but access the wellspring within of inner joy and peace. Danyah is an accredited senior teacher with the Meditation Association of Australia, holds a Diploma in Mindfulness and Compassion Teaching and is a graduate Mindfulness MBSR Level 1 Teacher. She continues with interest to expand her understanding of the mind, and is inspired by both traditional and contemporary authorities in this domain.

Megan

Megan

Centred Meditation Facilitator

After having her children Megan felt a strong desire to work in the service of supporting women through the demands of juggling work and raising children, while often failing to suitably care for themselves. Starting out as a Lomi Lomi massage therapist, she felt there was a greater depth of healing accessible through the medium of meditation, both for the therapist and the client. This led her to becoming trained as a Meditation Teacher through Centred Meditation, and subsequently, an Inner Growth Coach. Megan has loved taking her own inner growth journey and is excited to help others navigate their way to awakening a new relationship with themselves and the world around them. Megan loves teaching Effortless Meditation for it’s ease, simplicity, and instant benefits.

Marlou

Marlou

Centred Meditation Facilitator

Marlou moved from Amsterdam to Sydney to follow her passion and dreams. It was here that she studied with Centred Meditation to become a Meditation Teacher and Inner Growth Coach. While she pursues her personal journey of self-realisation (we are all a working project!), Marlou finds purpose in guiding and helping others on this path of self-actualisation: empowering others to live to their fullest potential and make a difference out there in the world.

Paul

Paul

Centred Meditation Facilitator

Paul worked as a corporate lawyer for 26 years, including 8 years as a company secretary. He started meditating several years ago to help manage the stresses that came with his corporate life. Since then, he has experienced the profound impact of meditation in all aspects of his life. He has trained as a meditation teacher through Centred Meditation and as a yoga teacher through Sukha Mukha Yoga. He recently graduated from the inaugural Inner Growth Coaching Program through Centred Meditation.

Amanda

Amanda

Centred Meditation Facilitator

After a long career working with corporate executives, Amanda learned that there’s one thing that can make or break high functioning professionals: how they manage their stress. Having tried many different styles of meditation previously, when Amanda came across Effortless Meditation she preferred it for its grace and simplicity. In her efforts to make the world a calmer and more compassionate place for everyone, Amanda has completed the Centred Meditation Teacher Training programs to assist her in helping people to understand how to manage the effects of stress on their body. She is now facilitating meditation in her workplace and from home. Amanda has a Teaching Certificate in Guided Effortless Meditation, a Teaching Certificate in Self-Directed Effortless Meditation and a Coaching Certificate in Effortless Meditation and Inner Growth.

Fritzie

Fritzie

Guest Experience Guru

Fritzie is the Guest Experience Guru at Centred Meditation. She is an independent entrepreneur who has worked in various sectors for the past 20 years, including real estate, sales, risk management, and leadership.

She loves working with people and pours love and care into every interaction.

When she isn’t looking after her husband and kids, she enjoys travelling, drinking coffee and caring for her eight beloved dogs and cats!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are all of the classes suitable for beginners?
Yes. Our meditation sequences are ideal for the novice and experienced alike.
How often do I need to meditate in order for it to be effective?
Meditation is exercise for the mind. Like physical exercise, each time you meditate you reap the rewards yet you begin to feel truly fit after you have regularly meditated for some time. Rest assured, studies have found that changes start to occur in the brain from the very first time you meditate. However, the benefits of meditation are cumulative, so the more you consistently meditate, the more results you will feel in your everyday life.
I'm too busy to meditate.
You’re never too busy to meditate. In fact, the busier you are, the more ripe the conditions are to meditate. The time devoted to meditation will always pay dividends in the form of increased productivity, better sleep, more energy etc. It always comes down to a matter of priorities. An increasing amount of successful people are choosing to prioritise a few minutes of meditation each day in order to reap the incredible benefits.
Do I need to sit on the floor to meditate properly?
No. There’s no modern day evidence to suggest that you need to sit cross-legged on the floor with your fingers in fancy configurations in order to meditate. We have extremely comfortable armchairs for you to melt into and breathe your worries away. Keep in mind though that if your head is leaning or resting against something then your brain is more likely to start releasing sleep chemicals, so ensuring it remains upright will assist in staying awake.
My mind is too active to sit still and think of ‘nothing’. Is meditation right for me?
Yes. In fact, you are the perfect candidate to meditate.

The aim of meditation is not, and we repeat, not to think of nothing. Put simply, thinking of nothing just isn’t possible. The very act of thinking implies that your brain is actively engaged in cognitive processes, and nothing implies no-thing is happening at all. So, thoughts during meditation are totally normal and expected and ‘chatter’ that you ‘hear’ is simply your mind debugging itself in the way it knows best. Meditation is about giving your body the time and space it needs to simply repair itself. Over time, you will find that your mind becomes calmer and more peaceful, both within your meditation as well as outside in your daily life.

 

Some days I have good meditations, other times they are bad. What's going on?
Let’s get something straight here…there is no such thing as a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ meditation. During meditation, your mind sways between thoughts and the chosen anchor for your awareness. Research shows that 47 per cent of the time our mind is thinking about something other than what it is actually doing. This means that for at least half the meditation, your mind is going to be engaged in thought. The key is what you do when you realise that you’re thinking…the choice point, if you will. The trick is to simply acknowledge you are thinking, feel unfazed by it, and then gently return your attention to your anchor. In fact, it’s this returning phase that strengthens the ‘attention muscle’ in your brain and helps you experience all the benefits outside of the meditation itself.  So you see? A ‘bad’ meditation simply doesn’t exist.
Does meditation get easier with time?
No, because it was always easy! Meditation is simply about bringing your attention to an anchor, then continuing to bring it back to the anchor whenever you realise it has wavered, without getting frustrated or annoyed. Over time though, you will find that your mind becomes calmer and more peaceful, both within your meditation as well as outside in your daily life. The hardest part of meditation is generally having the discipline to make it a priority.
Why do I keep falling asleep when I meditate?
You’re either not setting yourself up right or you are really tired!

The ideal way to position yourself is to sit upright with your head unsupported (i.e. not leaning against the headrest or the pillow). This is because your brain is more likely to release sleep chemicals when it is resting back on something). Your posture should be such that if you do fall asleep, your head begins to fall forward (as your neck cannot maintain muscle control when it is sleeping), often waking you in the process. If you do fall asleep despite this, then enjoy it as this is obviously what your body needs and perhaps work on getting more sleep at night.

Keep in mind that sometimes it might feel like you are asleep, but your head was perfectly upright and you were clearly awake. You might have been experiencing an abstract, dream-like state, perhaps accompanied by colours/shapes/images. You might have felt as though you are floating or unable to feel body parts. Each person experiences meditation differently and generally these sorts of experiences can indicate that you are in a deep state of meditative rest, releasing stress from your physiology and debugging your mind.

What's the best time of day to meditate?
It’s about finding what works best for you. Some people love meditating in the morning as it sets themselves up for good day. Others prefer lunchtime meditations as they go back to work more energised and productive for the rest of the afternoon. Others still like the evening slot where they can wind down after a long day and leave work stressors behind them before heading home.
Is it OK if I come late or need to leave a session early?
For the benefit of other meditators, you cannot enter after a session has commenced, nor can you leave early.
Is meditation religious?
Meditation is a mental or mind-training technique. Yes it has it’s roots in the ancient Indian scriptures of which Hinduism and Buddhism originates. And indeed some religious people do meditate. But there is nothing religious about the act of meditation itself.
Is meditation just for hippies?
No. Meditation was popularised in the West in the 60s and 70s when Hindu and Buddhist teachers began travelling the world. Naturally, those engrossed in the ‘hippy movement’ during that era were yearning to have their minds opened, and these spiritual traditions offered an alternative (or an accompaniment) to the more elusive substances which prevailed at the time. You don’t need to interested in these traditions or be a ‘hippy’ to meditate. Check out all these celebrities and successful people who do it.
GOT A DIFFERENT QUESTION? ASK HERE

Learning Effortless Meditation with Centred Meditation has benefited and improved my life on so many levels, more than I could have ever imagined. I had practiced other types of mediation previously, however I found the practice of these techniques quite hard to do and despite practicing regularly for a considerable amount of time, I saw few results. I have found Effortless Meditation to be quite the opposite… easy and enjoyable to practice and  witnessed positive changes in myself after only a few weeks of practice.  I have kept up a regular daily practice, which I really enjoy and this has provided me with a greater inner strength and resilience in navigating  challenging situations. 

Zoe

I find attending morning Centred Meditation sessions makes me feel much calmer and more optimistic for the start of my working day. After an hour of bustling train travel to the city a tranquil, very welcoming friendlly environment awaits and a meditation session that is delivered in a very calm and caring manner. Previously I would be racing to work and would  often feel tired or stressed. So now the day feels brighter! It is very reassuring in this world to find people that genuinely care – Thankyou Nikki and Kevin.

Helen

Librarian

I have tried to meditate myself but never really succeeded. Centred Meditation has really helped me with the process. After attending three days in a row I really felt more centred, calm and able to deal with daily issues. Problems seemed to roll off me rather than affect me and I found myself breathing deeper, feeling more connected with myself and having less mind chatter.

Franki

Marketing and Communications

Centred Meditation has helped me gain increased clarity and focus whilst also providing a comfortable environment to simply chill out and relax. Nikki, Kevin and Kieran are a pleasure to deal with and have a real passion for what they do which makes attending regular meditation practice an absolute joy. Centred Meditation offers the ideal sanctuary in the middle of the city for those looking to bring about feelings of calm and heightened energy and awareness.

Luke

Financial Services

CONTACT US

Location:
City Mutual Building (above Rockpool & Spice Temple)
Level 10, 66 Hunter Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Phone:
02 8006 1403

Email Address:
info@centredmeditation.com.au

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