
Teaching Meditation
This is the only podcast we know of devoted to the teaching of meditation. We interview teachers and others about the process of teaching, how they became teachers, their thoughts on who should and shouldn't teach, tips for new and veteran teachers, and more. While teachers and prospective teachers of meditation will of course find lots to learn here, this is also a great resource for anyone who wants to peer behind the curtain of being a meditation teacher. You can learn more about your hosts Upali over here https://upalimeditation.com/ and about Tucker over here https://meditatewithtucker.com/
Latest episodes

Apr 9, 2022 • 1h 13min
Lopon Chandra Easton: 10 years of Vajrayana Training, and Feeding Your Demons
Lopön Chandra Easton is a Westerner who grew up in the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition. She did nine years of preparatory (ngondro) practices and spent 5 - 10 years training to be a teacher. She is a lineage holder under Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of the book Feeding Your Demons. She is currently on the Tara Mandala Board of Directors and the Tara Mandala Bay Area coordinating committee, through which she teaches and organizes events in the Bay Area. To learn about Chandra and connect with her, head to chandraeaston.com.Support the show

Mar 27, 2022 • 50min
Henrik Norberg: Religious Buddhism, or, Teaching Retreats in Caves
Henrik Norberg is a celibate, non-monastic teacher of meditation retreats, often in caves in Southeast Arizona. Hear him and Upali talk about the difference between Eastern and Western conceptualizations of stream entry, Henrik's view that Western Buddhism hyperfocuses on meditation, and what Henrik's own path looks like, which he said it primarily morality practice.Support the show

Mar 4, 2022 • 36min
Kynan Tan: Success As a New and Fulltime Meditation Teacher
Australian teacher Kynan Tan, PhD only recently began teaching meditation and was quickly able to leave his regular job and become a fulltime teacher. In this interview, you'll hear how he prepared himself to teach, how he gets continuing education and supervision as a new teacher, and what steps he thinks allowed him to attract so many students in a short time. You can learn more about Kynan and contact him at https://kynanmeditation.net/Support the show

Feb 18, 2022 • 48min
Vidyamala Burch: Growing a Dharma Org Without Losing The Heart
Vidyamala Burch is the founder of Breathworks, has a teacher training program with over 600 alumni, has been teaching mindfulness for pain for many decades, and has been voted one of the most influential disabled people in the United Kingdom. Hear Vidyamala's story of growing up in New Zealand, moving full-time into a retreat center, and starting and steering Breathworks. She'll discuss how to keep the "heart" in an organization as it grows and how to receive feedback on teachers and colleagues.Support the show

Feb 8, 2022 • 1h 1min
Mukti: Teaching and Embodiment
Mukti is a teacher in a nondual lineage. She received her authorization to teach from Adyashanti, her husband. You can learn more about Mukti over here.Mukti’s teachings invite attunement to the act of being and to the heart of awareness. Such attunement can awaken Spirit to reveal Itself as your essential self and as the essence of all of life. This revelation is known as Self-realization, and is the birth of conscious Spirit made manifest, known as embodiment.Her teaching methods for nurturing realization and embodiment are founded in meditation, self-inquiry, and body awareness, and encourage connecting with one’s self as an expression of all of life.Support the show

Jun 3, 2021 • 53min
Upasaka Upali: I Can't Remember How Many Intro Classes I've Taught
Upali talks about teaching intro courses vs advanced students, coping with the unfairness of the world, working with students' emotional wellbeing, and how to escape Garfunkel syndrome.Upasaka Upali is a Dharma teacher who aims to demystify meditation, provide tangible instruction, and create a rewarding experience for practitioners. Upali received transmission in a lineage that can be traced back to the Buddha through Namgyal Rinpoche (Ananda Bodhi), and he took his Upasaka vows in 2015. He has a degree from St. Olaf College and has studied Dharma and meditation with Tucker Peck, Ph.D. and Upasaka Culadasa. He was a founding member of the Open Dharma Foundation and also served as its founding Executive Director. He is the co-host of this podcast, as you assured know since you're listening to it. You can learn more or contact him at upalimeditation.com.Support the show

May 13, 2021 • 56min
Don & Patty: How to Run a Retreat Center
Don and Patty, both dharma teachers, run the Wellbeing Retreat Center in Tazewell, Tennessee. This special episode focuses, rather than on the usual topic of teaching meditation, on how to start and manage a meditation retreat center.Support the show

Apr 27, 2021 • 1h 4min
Shaila Catherine: Teaching Towards Full Liberation
Shaila Catherine is the founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, a meditation group in Silicon Valley, and also Bodhi Courses, an online Buddhist classroom. She has been practicing meditation since 1980, with more than nine years of accumulated silent retreat experience. She has taught since 1996 in the USA, and internationally. She completed a one-year intensive meditation retreat with the focus on concentration and jhana, and authored Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity. Shaila practiced under the guidance of Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw from 2006-2015, and authored Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana to help make this traditional approach to meditative training accessible to western practitioners.In this episode, Shaila talks about the relationship betwen jhana and insight, and achieving full liberation through practice.Support the show

Apr 15, 2021 • 1h 5min
Boaz Feldman: Freedom and Fulfillment
Boaz Feldman talks with Upali from a multi-year meditation retreat and shares his personal journey of becoming a monk, returning to lay life, and becoming a psychologist. Boaz and Upali talk about the challenges and benefits of integrating ancient tradition in a modern world, and Boaz presents a framework that formulates that possibilty. To learn more about Boaz, please check out his website: http://boazfeldman.com/, and you can also learn more about Neurosystemics at neurosystemics.org . Support the show

Mar 29, 2021 • 1h 4min
Dr. Andrew Holecek: Finding Your Niche
Dr. Andrew Holecek covers a lot of ground, from describing finding his niche in sleep and dream meditation, to doing a three-year retreat, and his thoughts on the frequent scandals among dharma teachers. Learn more about Andrew at www.andrewholecek.com.Support the show