Free Meditation Classes in New Zealand

The Sri Chinmoy Centres of New Zealand offer ongoing introductory courses and follow-on continuation programmes in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin throughout the year, in addition to a range of other complementary activities – weekend workshops, concerts of meditative music, occasional weekend retreats. All of our meditation courses are entirely free throughout at Sri Chinmoy's personal request.

Each of our introductory course options normally feature between 4-6 sessions and cover a carefully structured and progressive series of guided meditations. Our focus here is on teaching the essential steps to establishing a successful home practise.

Options include an 'early bird' one week intensive offering five consecutive 7:00 am – 8:15 am morning workshops; a 5:45 – 7:00 pm early evening course series; and our more popular 7:30 – 9:00 pm evening programme.

Each complete course introduces a broad range of techniques, enabling each person to become acquainted with several different approaches to meditation and to explore their preferred method of practise.

Our course content is drawn from Sri Chinmoy's best-selling publication, 'Meditation', a comprehensive, excellent guidebook that leads the reader from the very first beginning steps to advanced levels of practise. Written with the simplicity and clarity that are hallmarks of Sri Chinmoy's teachings and writings, 'Meditation' is also available at many bookstores and through our vegetarian cafes - The Blue Bird in Auckland and The Lotus-Heart in Christchurch.

A typical 5 session introductory meditation course features:

_{Session I:}

• Topic: What is meditation? - How does it work? An introductory overview of the benefits and principles of meditation.
• Exercise: 'Still mind – still breath'. Breathing techniques to focus and calm the mind.
• Topic: The ABC's of meditation at home – when/where/how long/ how often? Introducing the first steps in developing your daily practise.
• Exercise: The heart chakra – a guided meditation in the spiritual heart centre to bypass the restless mind!

_{Session II:}

• Exercise: Breath visualisation and opening the heart centre through meditation – developing our concentration on the power of breath.
• Topic: An introduction to mantra meditation.
• Exercise: Putting theory into practise – a guided exercise in mantras. Our Centre musicians often join us for this session and perform a number of live mantric song–chants during our meditation.

_{Session III:}

• Topic: An introduction to the principle branches of Yoga.
• Exercise: Bhakti yoga – a guided meditation.
• Topic: Physical excellence and well-being as a foundation for spiritual growth.
• Exercise: 'Light of the soul' – a guided meditation.

_{Session IV:}

• Topic: The principle of holistics – the mind/body/spirit connection and how to harmonise these to deepen your meditation experience.
• Exercise: Music and meditation.
• Topic: Using meditation as a life-skill in problem solving/decision making/eliminating stress.
• Exercise: Japa meditation – purifying the mind.

_{Session V:}

• Topic: An overview of the spiritual paths and masters.
• Exercise: A meditation visualisation on the crown, third eye and heart chakras.
• Topic: 'Enhancing creative potential through meditation' – how to use the silence, stillness and inspiration of meditation to tap into the source of creativity and discover new capacities in art, writing, music.

What's Next?

_{A Free Continuation Programme.}

Once you have completed an introductory course you are most welcome to join our free continuation programme. This normally offers two evenings per week of guided meditations and discussion points and focuses more specifically on deepening your meditation practise. We will also introduce in more depth the teachings of Sri Chinmoy which are filled with much practical advice on how to develop and maintain a strong and blossoming spiritual life while living in our busy modern world.

"Meditation is a divine gift. Meditation simplifies our outer life and energises our inner life. Meditation gives us a natural and spontaneous life, a life that becomes so natural and spontaneous that we cannot breathe without being conscious of our own divinity" - Sri Chinmoy.

_{Weekend Workshops:}

Regular one and two day workshops are offered through the Sri Chinmoy Centre Meditation Course programme. One of the most popular of these is our Seven Secrets of Meditation course which introduces what we believe are the seven key principles in any successful personal practise.

For more information about free meditation courses near you, please contact us.
If you are not able to attend our free meditation workshops in person,
please visit: Meditation Course - Learn to Meditate Online.