Get to know long time practitioner, teacher, and Meditation Australia member, Dr Barbara Hannon.
I began with an eastern technique in 1990 and have investigated various philosophies, wisdom traditions, and meditation styles over the years since. I was fortunate to connect with like-minded healthcare professionals, to incorporate a western approach, which included learning about the body connection and studying mindfulness. Under Professor Craig Hassed I tutored Medical students for several years including teaching mindfulness, as part of his ESSENCE program at Monash University.
Over the years I have run meditation workshops for healthcare professionals and travelled to India now over a dozen times. Currently my teaching of meditation is infrequent, however the influence comes through in the work that I do both clinically as a rehabilitation physician and in incorporating some meditation in education sessions to patients as part of a pulmonary rehabilitation program ( in my salaried clinical work). Occasionally I provide the meditation session in monthly sessions of Coaching For Doctors (run formally by psychologist Sharee Johnson), which incorporates/promotes a mindfulness practice.
I will adopt different styles according to different situations (and it also applies to myself ) e.g. visualisation style for a busier mind or stressful situation, in more peaceful situations, a stronger focus on inner silence or quietude.
What has helped me to become a better teacher is:
– identifying the main issue someone is experiencing, and focus on providing something specific for that whether this be breathlessness, health issues, anxiety, or inability to slow thoughts
– in checking whether I explain things clearly – look at their face & it’s clear to see whether they understood
What’s the story behind your first meditation experience?
As a young stressed doctor, I was looking for a way to assist me coping with caring for people with recently acquired (and often devastating), spinal cord injuries. Initially I thought I was attending a physical yoga class, however after clarification it was class on meditation, was open to taking it and have continued on an incidental, frequently unexpected, yet vastly rewarding road since.
What or who inspires you?
Writings of John O’Donahue – pocket sized “To Bless teh Space Between Us ”
Cushion time: How long did you meditate for today?
45 min ( its Sunday) sitting
Tools: Meditation Apps, yes or no?
Yes
You’re the voice: Do you sing in the shower?
Hmm – I hum, (pardon the pun)
The getting of wisdom: What’s the best, or most important thing, you’ve learned as a meditation teacher?
Humility – there is always something new to learn.
What makes your heart sing and what you have come to value most?
Picking 1 of several : the practice of meditating whilst swimming in the sea, which provides a physical as well as a mental practice to disconnect as well as recharge, whilst being surrounded by nature.
The best thing today: What’s the most inspiring or loveliest thing you’ve seen or experienced today?
“Listen,
don’t comment
sit with me and between usthe truth
will form
in the silence”