A meditation workshop at a festival is the hardest of everything we lead. Not because of the noise - because of the expectations.
People arrive with one of two ideas: that this will be something mystical, or that they will have to think of nothing for twenty minutes. The first disappoints, the second is impossible. The work begins by setting both aside.
How the workshop is built
Sixty minutes, of which only a third is spent sitting. That is deliberate.
- A short introduction (5 minutes). What we will do and what is not the aim. Above all: an empty mind is not the goal, thoughts will run, and that is fine.
- Movement (20 minutes). A simple Qi Gong sequence. A body that has spent twenty minutes breathing and opening sits down far more easily than one that came straight off the festival field.
- Posture (5 minutes). How to sit so the spine stands on its own. It is the only technical part and matters more than people expect.
- Sitting (20 minutes). In two blocks of ten with a short movement between. Twenty minutes in one go is too much for a first time.
- Closing (10 minutes). Questions, what to do with this at home, and one simple instruction for continuing.
Why noise is not the obstacle
Every organiser’s first worry: “but it is loud here.”
Chan meditation does not require silence. It requires something to return to - and that is the breath, not the environment. A bass line from a stage two hundred metres away turns out to be useful: it is something that keeps pulling you away, and every time you notice you have drifted, that is a repetition.
In practice people sit better at a festival than in a quiet hall. In a quiet hall the only distraction is your own head, which for a first time is harder.
What we deliberately do not use
- Music. Guided meditation with music is pleasant and it is not meditation. When the music stops, nothing remains.
- Guided visualisations. “Picture a forest” does precisely the work the participant should be doing.
- Spiritual vocabulary. It is unnecessary and puts off half the room for no reason.
- Promises. Twenty minutes of sitting will not change anyone. It can show them it is doable - which is all one workshop can do.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
What we need from the organiser
A space with a roof or shade. Unlike movement workshops, sitting in the sun does not work. A tent is ideal; a hall works too.
Something to sit on. Cushions, mats or at least blankets. This is the one workshop where equipment matters - without support people stop after ten minutes because their pelvis hurts.
Chairs for those who need them. A handful is enough. Sitting on a chair is not the inferior version.
A slot at the edge of the day. Early morning or late evening. Mid-afternoon is hardest, because that is when most foot traffic passes the space.
A PA for more than forty people. A quiet, clear voice matters more here than in any other workshop.
How many people
We have worked with groups from ten to a hundred and fifty. A smaller group allows questions and individual posture corrections; a larger one has its own dynamic - a hundred people falling quiet at once is an experience a small group cannot produce.
If you expect more than a hundred, tell us in advance, because the leading differs considerably.
The combination that works best
Meditation on its own is a risky item on a festival programme. What works reliably is a block of movement and sitting: thirty minutes of Qi Gong, twenty minutes of sitting, ten minutes of closing.
That is how our own regular practice is built too, and for the same reason: seated practice cut out of context rarely takes root.
How to arrange it
Send us the date, the expected number of people, the space, and whether you have anything to sit on. We reply with a suggestion and a price.
We are based in Ljubljana, where we teach regular classes at Ziherlova 44, and run workshops across Slovenia.
