The Monk on a Motorbike

To celebrate International Women’s Day, I’m launching a new season of Monk on a Motorbike podcasts with an interview with political activist, textile artist, and author Rachael Matthews. Rachael first came to fame in the 1990s when she was organizing knit-ins on the London Underground, and in clubs, pubs, museums and open spaces around the city. Here she talks about knitting as a politically subversive act, her spiritual journey through wool, selling knitted willy warmers and dealing with burn out!! Rachael is the author of the beautifully written book the Mindfulness in Knitting. She teaches textile design and knitting at London’s prestigious Central St Martin’s School of art and design

Today my guest is Paul Douglas. Jailed at the age of 16 for his part in a murder Paul spent 12 years in prison where he learned mindfulness. Here he talks openly about the constant violence and the endless fear and depression of life behind bars. and how he eventually discovered meditation which he says transformed his life. Now he has been released he is training to teach mindfulness in the prison system himself

Today I’m talking to Venerable Candavissudhi. Ven Canda is a Buddhist nun in the Theravadan Thai forest tradition. Born and raised in England Ven Canda went to Asia at the Age of 19 where she discovered Vipassana meditation. She spent the next 10 years practicing mostly with her teacher  S N Goenkaji at his centres in India before becoming a nun and moving to Burma to deepen her practice and commitment to the Dhamma Here she came across the teachings of Ajahn Brahm an English monk, based in Australia and she moved over to study with him in Perth, Western Australia Under his supervision she received the training and rules to become a Bhikkhuni, or fully ordained Buddhist nun. Only a few nuns in Asia and the west have been given full ordination, and the practise has been condemned by many especially in Thailand. On the face of it this may seem quite niche and of interest only to those involved in Buddhism, but actually many see it as a huge victory for gender equality round the globe Asian Buddhism is traditionally very patriarchal, with monks enjoying a much higher status than nuns, who for centuries have been viewed as secondary to their male counterparts.  Spiritual life is arguably at the core of any culture and is often the driver of positive change. In a world that seems to be out of control restoring the feminine to its rightful place in spirituality is seen as an important move in the efforts to restore balance to the world at a time of crisis If you'd like to know more about the project or would like to help please visit the website at  https://anukampaproject.org/ or email   team@anukampaproject.org 

In this episode I'm talking to mindfulness teacher Sonya Russo. Sonya teaches mindfulness to prisoners in London's overcrowded and often violent jails.   Here she tells the story of turning her back on a successful career in journalism when,  after struggling with drug addiction and mental health issues she was introduced to mindfulness in rehab.  Cynical about it at first she credits the practice with changing her life and from there she went on to set up her her award-winning business, Plan B Mindfulness, teaching meditation in jails.  Initially treated with suspicion her courses are now oversubscribed and prisoners are flocking to her classes where they can find a measure of peace in their difficult lives. This has in turn lead to a reduction in levels of violence and depression  behind bars.

In this episode I'm talking to former city Trader  Johnny Walter about being signed off work with dangerously high levels of cholesterol and stress and his journey to healing with mindfulness and diet 

In this episode  I'm talking to Greenpeace scientist Dr Kevin Brigden about how he dealt with perfectionism and panic attacks using CBT and mindfulness

In this episode hear internationally respected meditation teacher, Yanai Postelnik, talking about Buddhism and breaking the law, his involvement with Extinction Rebellion, getting arrested twice during  protests against climate change in London. his spiritual path, living solely on donations from his students, going back to protest whilst on bail, and loads of  other interesting stuff, 

In this episode I talk a about myself, who I am and how I spend my days, and about my podcast-why I decided to do it, how and how I hope it will change peoples' lives. 

This is one of a series of interviews with people who have dealt with mental and emotional health problems using mindfulness and other practices and gone on to flourish