Introduction to Meditation Course
People have been meditating for thousands of years, in hundreds of traditions, using dozens of different methods. And it works.
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This 32-week course covers everything you need to establish a genuine, sustainable personal practice. It is designed for complete beginners and for anyone who wants to refresh or restart a practice they already have.
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No special equipment needed. No prior experience required. Just show up and breathe.
The Sessions
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Posture: Alignment
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Posture: Relaxation
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Body Scan
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Deep Rest
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Body Awareness
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Slowing Down
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Center Line
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Insight: Popping Out of Thoughts
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Insight: Sounds, Thoughts and Emotions
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Insight: Mind Wandering
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Insight: Images and Inner Talk
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Insight Short Practice
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Insight Extended Practice
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Concentration: Points of Focus
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Breath Counting
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Equanimity: Introduction
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Equanimity: Acceptance
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Equanimity: Watching Without Labeling
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Equanimity: Reactivity
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Equanimity: Welcoming
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Loving Kindness: Wishing Others Well
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Loving Kindness: Self-Compassion
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Loving Kindness: Compassion and Empathy
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Loving Kindness: Connection and Gratitude
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Loving Kindness: Putting It All Together
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Spatial Awareness
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Making Space
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Visualizing a Safe Space
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Removing the Scaffolding
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Walking Meditation
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10-10-10
Introduction to Meditation: A 32-Week Course
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People have been meditating for thousands of years, in hundreds of traditions, using dozens of different methods. And it works. That is the first thing to know.
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The second thing to know is that there is no one right way, and no wrong way. There are just various approaches to be experienced and felt. As the saying goes, the only bad meditation is the one you didn't do.
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I'm Mark Herrick, a meditation teacher based in Oakland, California, with fifty years of practice. This course grew out of the weekly Introduction to Meditation sessions I teach through the Piedmont Recreation Department.
What You Will Learn
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The course is organized into six modules, each building on the last.
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Posture comes first, which sounds basic but is the part most courses skip. Good posture is not about looking a certain way. It is about alignment, relaxation, and resilience: the three conditions that make everything else in meditation possible.
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Calming is the foundational skill of settling the mind. In a world of constant information and stimulation, calming is not a luxury. It is the ground floor of the whole practice.
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Insight is learning to observe your thoughts, emotions, and sensations clearly without being swept away by them. This is what is sometimes called mindfulness.
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Equanimity is the skill of staying balanced and open no matter what arises. Not hardening yourself, but becoming genuinely larger than the difficulties.
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Loving Kindness is the practice of deliberately cultivating care for others and for yourself. This module tends to surprise people.
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The course closes with Special Topics including spatial awareness, walking meditation, standing meditation, a safe place visualization, and a simple five-minute daily practice you can use for the rest of your life.
About the Format
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Each session follows a three-part structure: silent meditation, mantra chanting, silent meditation.
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Silent sitting and chanting are deeply complementary. Silent sitting is an act of being, an inner gathering of attention. Chanting is an act of doing, an outward expression through sound and breath. Together they form a complete cycle: the mantra settles and focuses the mind, the silence lets it deepen.
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The mantra used in this course is Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, the Japanese name of the Lotus Sutra. You do not need to be Buddhist to use it. You need only be willing to try.
If chanting feels unfamiliar, that is completely normal. Just let yourself go and do not worry about how you sound. Research on the vagus nerve confirms what meditators have always known: sustained vocal sound is one of the most effective ways to shift the body out of stress and into calm.
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A Word About Wandering Minds
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If your mind wanders constantly in the first few weeks, you are not failing. You are meditating correctly. The moment you notice your mind has wandered and you return to your breath is not a setback. It is the practice. Be patient with yourself. It gets easier, and then it gets interesting.
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What You Need
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No special equipment is required. A chair works perfectly well. Comfortable clothing and a quiet corner are enough. Headphones are strongly recommended, particularly for the longer sessions.
How to Use This Course
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This is a 32-week program, one session per week. Between sessions, the intention is to practice daily using the techniques introduced that week. Consistency is not just important, it is everything. A regular five-minute practice will change you. An occasional hour will not.
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Before you begin, take a moment to set your intention. Make a genuine commitment to complete all 32 weeks. The sessions build on each other, so follow them in order. If you miss a week, simply continue the next. There is no penalty and no starting over. Just pick up where you left off.
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Establishing Your Home Practice
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The single most important question to ask yourself before you begin is this: how much time can you honestly set aside every day without significant effort or disruption to your life? Not how much time you think you should spend. How much you actually can.
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Start there. Five minutes a day is a complete and legitimate practice. It is also vastly more valuable than twenty minutes three times a week, because what you are building is not a workout, it is a habit.
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Research suggests it takes roughly 21 days of consistent daily effort to establish a new habit. So your first goal is simply this: the same time, the same place, every day, for three weeks. Nothing more ambitious than that.
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Once five minutes feels natural and you find yourself genuinely wanting more, that is the signal to expand. Not before. Increase by one minute, or about ten percent, per week. Most people eventually settle somewhere between fifteen and twenty minutes per session.
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The temptation will be to jump ahead. Resist it. Slow is fast here.
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What I offer in this course is not the definitive answer to meditation, because there is no such thing. What I offer is fifty years of practice and a bag of tools that I have found work for me, and that I have watched work for hundreds of students. Take what is useful. Set aside what is not. And above all, try things for yourself and notice how you feel.
That is the whole practice, right there.
Support This Work
These meditations are offered freely, as the Dharma has always been offered. There is no fee, no subscription, and no paywall, and there never will be.
That said, creating, recording, and hosting these meditations does cost time and money. Two Buddhas is an all-volunteer nonprofit, and every contribution, however small, helps keep this library growing and available to anyone who needs it.
If these meditations have been useful to you, please consider making a donation in whatever amount feels right. It is never required and always appreciated.