Beyond Koru Mindfulness

(from the Center for koru mindfulness)

What you’ll need to keep
your mindfulness practice growing

 

Take a class or join a meditation group

Trying to keep your mindfulness practice going all by yourself is nearly impossible. There are so many cultural pulls away from this practice, that if you don’t spend some time on a regular basis with others who are practicing, you’re likely to lose your momentum. The best thing you could do to further your growth would be to sign up for another class or join a meditation group that meets weekly. See if there is a Koru 2.0 class in your area or search for meditation groups in your area. Here are some local options:

 

1. Insight meditation community of Washington

2. https://mindfulnessdc.org

3. Fairfax mindfulness center

4. Stillwater mindfulness center

 

Read another book about mindfulness

Learning more about the benefits of mindfulness is a great way to build your motivation to keep practicing. Consider trying one of the books below, or go to your favorite bookstore and browse. There are lots of books out there, so find one that resonates with you.

  1. Real Happiness by Sharon Salzberg. Salzberg is one of the best mindfulness teachers out there, and this book has been wildly popular. It’s a clearly written manual that guides you through a 28-­day program for building a mindfulness practice. This can be a great follow up for your Koru Basic class and it is the one we use for Koru 2.0.
  2. The Mindful Athlete by George Mumford. This is a great mindfulness guide for athletes and aspiring athletes. Mumford is an experienced meditator who teaches mindfulness to professional athletes. He does a great job making mindfulness practices relevant for all.
  3. Mindfulness in Plain English by Henepola Gunaratana. This book has a more Buddhist perspective, but it’s a great introduction to meditation practice. The style is very direct and the meditation instructions are easy to follow.
  4. Radical Dharma by Jasmine Syedullah, Lama Rod Owens, and angel Kyodo Williams. If you are interested in the interface between contemplative practices and social justice, this book will engage and inspire you.
  5. Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

 

On­line Resources

There are endless resources online. You can find YouTube videos, TedTalks, and endless articles about mindfulness and meditation. Search for something that interests you, or try one of these.

  1. Wild Mind offers resources for what it calls “Buddhist Meditation”. The articles are straightforward, and the techniques offered are consistent with the strategies we work on in Koru. They also offer an on-line course that might be interesting to try if you wanted to take your practice up another notch. https://www.wildmind.org
  2. There's a podcast for millennials called, The Millenials Guide to Mindfulness. You might find some of the episodes interesting. catchingzs.libsyn.com
  3. Dharma Seed has hundreds of talks on meditation, all for free. dharmaseed.org
  4. plumvillage.org  and Youtube videos by Plum village (online monastery).
  5. My meditation website

 

Koru Mindfulness App

If you haven't already been using our app during your class you should give it a try. It features a meditation timer, guided meditations, reminders on the skills you used, and an easy to use logbook for your daily entries.

Just search for “Koru Mindfulness”. Available for Android and iOS devices.