When Marie-Emma Clough was struggling to cope with a high-flying job in the City, meditation was the last thing on her busy mind.
But since discovering vedic meditation five years ago, she has travelled to India and the US to pursue her new interest and now teaches the technique from her home in Beckenham.
Miss Clough, 30, had spent several years working for an outsourcing company in London, dealing with clients from all over the world, and the stress began to take its toll.
“I’d got to that stage where you think you’re on a path, but I was finding it quite tough,” she said. “I noticed that people around me were generally suffering, trying to manage their lives. I was finding it a struggle to get to work and perform, while having a quality of life outside work. I would wake up in the middle of the night and think, ‘I must remember to do this.’ It could happen at weekends and even during holidays. I
was experiencing what quite a lot of people
experience.”
But it was only when an “amazing” new colleague joined the company that Miss Clough underwent a revelation. The woman was not only healthy-looking, calm and efficient, but she also seemed to be enjoying a relaxed social life, something her colleagues were struggling to attain.
Eventually the colleague revealed her secret – vedic meditation. She was heading off to India to train as a teacher but on her return 18 months later, she introduced Miss Clough to the technique that was to change her life.
“Once I learnt the first time, it was incredible,” she said. “It has lots of benefits, like improved concentration and creativity, the ability to make faster, more accurate decisions and your physical health improves.
After the first meditation I started to feel more relaxed and energised. No longer was I thinking that I needed 10 hours’ sleep to function. That night I slept properly for eight hours and woke up with such clarity. It was like a cloud had lifted.”
Last year she took the huge decision to resign from her job and spent a month in India learning to teach, followed by a three-month course in Flagstaff, Arizona. She now gives free introductory talks to people interested in vedic meditation, which is then taught over four days. Course fees are negotiable, depending on earnings, so the technique is open to people from all walks of life.
Miss Clough also has a corporate job, but she is getting involved in making vedic meditation training available for teenagers in London through the charity Kids Company.
“This meditation does not only have physical and mental benefits. If you start practising the technique that makes you feel physically well and gets you towards a sense of self worth, it’s a powerful tool,” she said. “I teach a lot of successful people who become more successful, but the children of London need more help.”
Find out more online at www.benefitfrommeditation.com
POSTED: 06/09/2008 15:00:00
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