Tá mé ar líne! / I am online!

Bhí mo chéad rang aireachais ar líne ar siúl agam do dhaoine fásta aréir agus bhí sé go hálainn! Bhí rannpháirtithe againn i mBaile Átha Cliath, sa Fhrainc agus i dTír Chonaill agus chruthaigh muid atmaisféar álainn tríd an scáileán ón ár áitanna éagasúla. Sula dtosaigh an cúrsa fuair mé scéal as bean ag rá nach raibh sí cinnte an bhfeilfeadh cúrsa ar líne di agus thuig mise go hiomlán! Bhí mé díreach mar an gcéanna! Ach chuir sé agus cuireann sé go fóill iontas orm an méid gur féidir leat a dhéanamh ar líne!

I ran my first online mindfulness class for adults last night and it was lovely! We were joined by people in Dublin, France and Donegal and we created a beautiful atmosphere online from our respective corners of the world. Just before we started I got a message from a woman saying that she wasn’t sure if the online class would suit here and I completely understood! I was exactly the same but it still surprises me how effective mindfulness classes and creating space can be even if we are not physically in the same place.

Thosaigh muid an rang le coinneal bheag. Las muid ar fad ár gcoinneal féin agus smaoinigh muid ar an méid a bhí uainn ón rang. Smaoinigh muid faoi na mothucháin a bhí uainn le linn an ranga agus ón rang. I ndiaidh sin d’iarr mé ar gach duine labhairt ar rud éigin an ndeachaigh go maith dóibh le linn an lae, rud éicint a thaitin leo faoin lá. Dúirt fear amháin go raibh sé éasca dó smaoinigh ar drochrudaí ón lá ach doiligh smaoinigh ar na rudaí maithe. Mhínigh mé gur sin an aidhm a bhí agam. Bíonn muid i gcónaí níos dírithe ar na drochrudaí. Tá mé ag iarraidh spáis a thabhairt do na rudaí maithe a tharlaíonn dúinn nach smaoiníonn muid go leor orthu.

We started the class with a candle. We each lit our own candle and we thought about how we wanted to be during the class, we thought about what feelings we wanted during the hour that we had together. After that I asked everyone to think about something that had gone well for them that day, something that had made them happy. One participant said that he could easily have told us about all the terrible things that had happened but to think of the good things was a different story! But this was exactly my point! I wanted to give some time and space to the good things because we are so naturally focused on the negative things in our lives.

I ndiaidh sin thosaigh muid ar phíosa aireachais 20 nóiméad dírithe ar an gcolainn agus an anáil. Bhí beagán plé againn i ndiaidh faoin gcaoi go raibh sé dúinn agus bhí ar cúpla duine bogadh ó shuíochán amháin go suíochán eile le go mbeidh siad níos compordaí. Ansin d’iarr mé orthu íomhánna a chruthú ina gcloigne. D’iarr mé orthu a shamhlú go raibh siad ar an trá agus go raibh siad ag déanamh dianfhiosrú ar an spéir agus na réalta ar fad os a gcionn.

We then started with a beautiful 20 minute meditation practice. We focused on the body and on the breath. Afterwards some people realised that they needed to find a more comfortable seat or position and they shifted around as we discussed how it had been as a practice for us. Then we moved onto a visualisation practice. We imagined that we were standing on a beautiful beach examining the stars.

Bím i gcónaí ag iarraidh cineálacha éagsula cleachtais a thabhairt do dhaoine le linn na ranganna seo. Oibríonn rudaí difriúla do dhaoine difriúla. Chríochnaigh muid le píosa gairid agus dán beag agus d’fhag muid an spás fíorúla a bhí cruthaithe againn ag mothú níos suaimhní agus níos ciúine.

I think it is really important do show people the different types of meditation as different things work for different people. We finished with a short, breath-led practice and a beautiful poem. We all moved out of our virtual space feeling more peaceful and more quiet.

Chaith mé míonna ag seachaint cúrsaí ar líne agus anois tá mé ag baint an-suilt astu! Tá sé i gceist agam leanacht ar aghaidh leo agus mar sin, más suim leat féin i gcúrsa mar nó tuilleadh a fhoghlaim fúthu, cuir scéal chugam. Tá sé i gceist agam cúrsa 6 seachtain do dhaoine fásta eile a reáchtáil ag tosú i mí na Samhna agus bheadh fáilte mhór roimhe éinne! Ní gá go mbeadh cleachtadh déanta agat cheana agus má tá do chleachtadh féin agat déanfaidh seo an-mhaitheas duit. Mothaíonn tú fuinneamh na daoine eile fiú tríd an scáileán!

For MONTHS I have avoided teaching online and now I have finally started it I am really enjoying it and I plan on continuing. So if you are interested in learning more about mindfulness, this type of course or simply how effective an online course is please send me a message. I am planning on another 6 week course for adults to begin in November. These courses are suitable for complete beginners and to seasoned practitioners and it is really beautiful to have a chance to practice in a group and feel the group energy through the screen.