How I Came to Teaching Mindfulness

In 2014, I was stretched to my limits: constantly busy, running a seven-day-a-week business with a team of 55 employees, parenting two young daughters and supporting ageing parents. All the while, I felt I wasn’t doing a good enough job in any one area.

I’ve experienced first-hand the challenges of juggling work and family life, as well as the struggle of managing pain after a serious car accident in my twenties, which resulted in numerous surgeries over a number of years. This, combined with growing up in a family dynamic that often left me feeling unsafe became the catalyst for seeking more adaptive ways to deal with anxiety and unhelpful thoughts and emotions.

A friend suggested I try MBSR. Through regular mindfulness practice and daily meditation, I began to see how much of my life was being driven by stress, old habits, and the needs of others. Over time the practice profoundly improved my health, happiness, and relationships. It helped me create healthier boundaries, respond with more steadiness, and make regular time to nurture myself.

After selling the business in 2019, I focused on deepening my own meditation practice as well as training to become a mindfulness teacher. These practices have strengthened a deeper connection to personal values and continue to provide a meaningful sense of purpose.

Background

Karen trained with the Mindfulness Institute of Australia and joined the OpenGround MBSR teaching team in 2023

• Bachelor of Education, Physical Education and Sociology
• Graduate Diploma in Business Management
• Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Teacher
• 33 years as a business owner and operator
• 12 years of mindfulness/meditation practice, including regular retreat participation

Specialisations

• MBSR Teacher, OpenGround
• Workplace Mindfulness Facilitator
• Mindfulness-based performance workshops for golf players

Karen’s experience includes delivering mindfulness programs at an addiction treatment centre, facilitating workplace mindfulness and wellbeing sessions for staff at a specialist counselling service, and leading mindfulness workshops for a metropolitan golf club.

Teaching Philosophy

We are all in this together. None of us is immune from difficulty, but we can learn to meet life’s challenges with more kindness, curiosity, and steadiness. My intention as an MBSR teacher is to create a supportive space where people feel met with compassion and respect as they explore their own experience.

It’s a privilege to witness the insights and growth that can unfold throughout the eight-week program as participants discover new ways of relating to stress, anxiety, pain, and connect with a greater sense of presence and choice.