Deep Mental Rest

Why learn from a teacher?

Let me tell you a secret...

Learning meditation is the easy bit. Integrating into our daily lives is the hard part.

Think of it this way: Doing a guided meditation when you're stressed is like taking an aspirin for a headache. It may help in the moment, but the relief doesn't last. A sustainable meditation practice is like taking a daily vitamin. It builds resilience over time and prevents the stress “headache” from showing up in the first place. All those claims you hear about the benafits of meditation come from long term practice. This is where a teacher makes all the difference.

The difference real people notice

Many people tell us the same story: they've downloaded apps, tried guided meditations, even stuck with them for a while — but nothing seemed to last. The practice never stuck. It was only after working with a teacher who could answer their questions and guide them through the common challenges that they were able to build a meditation habit they could sustain on their own. That's the difference a teacher makes. You don't just learn about meditation. You learn how to actually practice it, supported by a community to keep you motivated — for life.

About Your Teacher

What comes to mind when you think "meditation teacher"? In fact, try it. Close your eyes and allow your mind to surface an image of meditation teacher. What does it look like? Was it an old wise man with a long grey beard? Was it a spiritual guru with prayer beads? A monk with shaved head in traditional robes? (Or maybe an image of Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi?!?! Gandalf!?!)

As cool as all those images are, they likely don't look like me.

I'm a very busy corporate executive in high tech and father of two young amazing kids. I spend any free time volunteering as a firearms and self defense instructor, and yep, teaching meditation.

Like many people, my path to meditation was not a straight line. Over the years, I struggled to understand and manage an overactive nervous system, one that often left me feeling defensive, negative, and stressed out. Four years ago, I connected the dots between the fear in my nervous system and my struggle to control my weight. I spent a year focused on my own well being and ultimately lost, and have kept off, over 70 pounds without the assistance of any medications.

How does meditation fit in?

That kind of transformation requires more than diet and exercise. It takes a shift in being that for most of my adult life felt out of reach. I've always been curious about meditation and experiemented with various apps and approaches over the years, but nothing really stuck. Even when I did find great results, the challenge was consistency. I felt the benefits but could not make it a lasting habit until I met my meditation teacher, James Brown, and discovered his meditation approach, which offered a simple and realistic way to integrate meditation into a busy life. No dogma, no rigid rules, and no special conditions required. It finally clicked, and for the first time, meditation felt effortless.

Meditation did not solve my problems, but it played a critical role in creating the internal environment that gave me the best odds of success. Through regular practice, I noticed immediate and profound changes in my nervous system that helped me stay grounded, manage stress, and sustain that transformation over time.

Just as importantly, learning directly from a teacher, not from an app, made all the difference. Apps helped me get started, but they never created the accountability, understanding, or personal connection that a live teacher provides. Having someone who could answer questions, personalize guidance, and help me stay consistent was critical to making meditation a true daily habit. That experience is a major reason I offer live classes today, because I have lived the difference they make.

Teaching Meditation

Inspired by my own results, I decided to train as a teacher with Jonni Pollard through the 1 Giant Mind Teacher Academy, to become certified to teach this effortless, Being style meditation technique.

Training to become a meditation teacher was a natural next step for me for multiple reasons:

Many people who need meditation the most are also the ones who are not comfortable seeking out "spriritual" or "well being" help. I know what it is like to feel overwhelmed, fried, and exhausted, and I know firsthand how this approach can enable you change everything. Through teaching I hope to reach every day people like me who also need discover the same kind of transformation, not as an abstract spiritual pursuit, but as a practical tool for real people with real lives, without the intimidating, religious overtones.
Meditation is one of topics that is so simple, it's actually very complicated. I see hundreds of people in forums struggle to build meditation pracitices based on forum/Reddit chatter, YouTube videos, and stereotypes only to repeatidly fail, get frustrated, and give up. That is why I strongly advocate for live, teacher led meditation and why I spend my time helping others experience what I have lived myself. By working with me, you CAN meditate and build a practice with the kind of consisntency that leads to the big life changing benefits people talk about that apps and guided videos cannot provide.
Constant “breaking news” has many of us completely on edge. Stress is always a problem, but it's been increasingly hard to keep perspective with constant disturbing news. People need meditation more than ever to get perspective and manage stress. It's become a modern survival skill for me and I suspect many others if only they had an accessible way to learn. That's where I come in.