carla-jo Genan geraghtyI believe our true inner nature is a space of peace. We spend half our lives running from ourselves, when actually we can return to ourselves for sanctuary. We can cultivate a sense of stability and inner trust during difficult times.
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"I wish i could show you when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing
light of your own being"
- Hafiz (as translated by daniel ladinsky
my work as a mindfulness teacher and mentor
I finished my mindfulness teacher training with Breathworks in 2014 and I am a fully accredited Breathworks mindfulness teacher. I am insured to teach mindfulness and meet the requirements of the Good Practice Guidance for teaching mindfulness-based courses published by the UK Network of Mindfulness-Based Teacher Trainers. I have regular supervision and attend silent retreats to deepen my understanding of mindfulness practice. I am a member of the The International Mindfulness Teachers Association (IMTA) which is dedicated to the professionalisation and standardisation of the mindfulness field. For more information visit - https://www.imta.org/
Since completing my Breathworks Training as well as teaching 8 week mindfulness groups and one-2-ones, I have taught mindfulness for a wide variety of organisations from the mental health charity Mind to the international engineering consultancy Buro Happold.
In addition to my Breathworks training I have completed a two year Mindfulness teacher training course led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. During this training I worked closely with my mentor Trish Magyari. Trish is a highly experienced mindfulness teacher specialising in working with people living with the effects of trauma.
As well as teaching adults I am currently teaching the Mindfulness in Schools Project .b 10 week mindfulness course to send students at a comprehensive secondary school. This brings me so much joy, helping these teenagers learn a way of being in the world that will support them for the rest of their lives feels like such a privilege.
My journey towards mindfulness
In my previous career I was a television editor. At the age of 28 I decided to leave and follow my deep longing to discover how to live a meaningful and beautiful life amongst the chaos! I was driven to do this after experiencing several traumas one of which was the sudden loss of my father. I was looking for a way to be with life, to cherish it, a way that would enable me to be courageous and steady through whatever life would bring next. I had been interested in eastern philosophy since I was a teenager and so I followed this passion and went on to train for four years to be a shiatsu therapist and had a successful practice in Bristol and Bath. This training in body awareness and healing deeply informs my mindfulness teaching. It was while I was training as a shiatsu therapist that I discovered mindfulness meditation. That was a defining moment for me. I took an 8 week mindfulness course in 2011 and went on to start my training to teach 7 months later!
I am 40 now, as I reflect back I have been on the most incredible journey of self discovery since I left my first career. I now have a beautiful son, I became a single mother and all through this next phase of my life my mindfulness and compassion practice kept me steady and calm. I see the nature of life, it has both sorrow and joy, it’s a wild dance between the two and with our practice we get to experience that we are the vast loving awareness that can hold it all. It was the wisdom and guidance of my teachers that allowed me to begin to cultivate this understanding. That is why I’m so passionate about this work, it is such a joy for me to point people to their true nature and then guide them on their own deeply empowering journey.
Mindfulness and compassion are innate qualities within us, we just need some support in how to cultivate them. Mindfulness meditation was never meant to just be practiced just on our own, it’s vital for our development that we do it in community too. My role as a teacher and mentor is to support you on this path so that you can flourish in this “one wild and precious life” as Mary Oliver calls it.
I am also a committed zen buddhist lay practitioner. I was given the name 'Genan' in a lay ordination ritual which means source of peace or original peace By my teachers Roshi Joan Halifax and Monshin Nanette Overlay. This practice is my life and my wish is that by dedicating my self to this I can be of service and support peace in my relationships and local communities.
between the STIMULUS and the response there is a space and in that space
lies our power and our freedom
- viktor e. frankl
training, experience and qualifications
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Qualifications and training courses attended:
- Mindfulness in Schools .B certification - 2020 - Intermediate Counselling Skills Level 2- 2019- 2020 - Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach's Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification programme from The Greater Good Science Centre, UC Berkeley, 2019 - 2021. Mentored by Trish Magyari - The Power of Awareness 7 week course with Sounds True and The Greater Good Science Centre, mentored by Cynthia Wilcox - 2018 - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Foundational 8 week training for health professionals with Dr Russ Harris - 2018 - Transformational Dialogue with Keith Phillips - 2 day workshop 2017 - Certificate in Counselling Skills - Introduction - 2017 - Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living Teacher Training: Foundation - 2016 - Breathworks Mindfulness Teacher Accreditation supervised by Gary Hennessey - 2014 - Breathworks Mindfulness Teacher Training Level TT1 , TT2 and TT3 - 2012- 2013 - Mental Health Awareness NFCE Level 2 - 2014 - Mental Health First Aid Certificate - 2013 - MRSS Postgraduate Shiatsu year - 2012 - Transforming Shiatsu Postgraduate year - 2012 - Diploma in Shiatsu - 2008-2011 - BA (hons) Broadcasting degree 2:1 - 2001-2004 |
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