"Added Health Benefits"

“I looked forward to each of the sessions and was delighted with the result as it affected my daily life.”

— Marlene D., Los Altos

I had the opportunity to enroll in the Mindfulness Meditation class presented by Usha Welaratna at the Los Altos Recreation and  Community Services Program. The class has added so much to my life with the techniques presented by Dr. Welaratna. I was looking for some added health benefits to complement my age of 80. I have found her program easy to follow and her personal input most enjoyable. I was an elementary school teacher in earlier years, therefore I am very aware of teaching presentations that have lasting value.

I looked forward to each of the sessions and was delighted with the result as it affected my daily life. If you are interested in learning and practicing a skill that will enhance you from age eighteen to eighty, then this is the class for you. I hope to make what I have learned a daily habit and continue to reap the benefits as taught by Dr. Welaratna.

Kindness, insight and understanding

I participated in Usha Welaratna’s eight-week Mindfulness Meditation course when it was offered by the City of Los Altos in the winter of 2014. I was originally introduced to meditation several years ago when I lived in Canada and had continued practicing meditation on my own over the intervening years.

I moved to California about two years before I read about Usha’s course in the local newspaper and decided it offered a very welcome and timely opportunity for a mindfulness meditation “refresher” as I adjusted to my new life and surroundings.

Usha is very knowledgeable in this field and guided us with great kindness, insight and understanding and I am most grateful for the contribution she has made to my own, personal, mindfulness meditation practice.

“Usha is very knowledgeable in this field and guided us with great kindness, insight and understanding.”

— Erika W., Los Altos

"I CAN control my response to stressful situations"

I met Usha Welaratna through my work. It is an extremely stressful job and i was suffering all of the side affects of that stress, from sleeplessness to headaches to occasional chest pains, along with a lot of anger and frustration. Usha's calm demeanor and air of serenity immediately struck me. As we got to know each other, she revealed that she teaches mindfulness meditation and that it has been shown to help people with symptoms like mine.

Under normal circumstances, I might have nodded politely and moved on to another subject, but Usha is a poster child for the person I want to be, so I signed up. I have now completed the 8 week "beginner's" course. I cannot claim to be as diligent as Usha in finding a set time to meditate every day, and I cannot claim to have been a model student. However, I DID find more peace than I thought possible.

As obvious a truth as it should have been before, I finally accepted that I do not have to let toxicity into my mind and into my life. I CAN control my response to stressful situations and now I do...at least a lot of the time (there is room for improvement). I practice a full meditation when I can, but I have the mindfulness words forever running in the back of my mind and I practice the various meditations where and when I can, if only for abbreviated sessions. I cannot claim to have no stress in my life now, but I definitely have less.

In addition to the actual meditation, I enjoyed learning more about Usha's background and beliefs, but I must stress that this is not a religious class and that Usha discussed her Buddhist beliefs in response to my direct questions.

I recommend mindfulness meditation for everyone!

“I recommend mindfulness meditation for everyone!”

— Trish E., East Palo Alto