The first peace, which is the most important,
is that which comes within the souls of people.
~ Black Elk (Heȟáka Sápa)
Find Your Calm: A 4-Week Mindfulness Course for Beginners
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Find sustained calm, clarity, and practical mindfulness tools over four weeks. Find Your Calm is a live, guided four-week course offered several times each year, with each cohort meeting on Saturday mornings (Pacific Time) to learn, practice, and reflect together. Each session combines guided meditation, accessible teachings, and space for questions so you leave with practices you can gradually integrate into everyday life. Whether you’re new to meditation or returning after a pause, this course offers compassionate guidance and steady support for learning meditation in a grounded, sustainable way.
Each week explores a different dimension of mindfulness practice, building skills that support awareness, emotional balance, and clarity. Rather than offering a quick fix, this course emphasizes understanding and sustained practice as the foundation for meaningful change.
While this course provides the practical tools to begin your practice, it is supported by a deeper philosophy of meeting life with kindness and presence. For a comprehensive look at the principles that inform this journey, we invite you to explore our foundational Mindfulness Meditation Guide. For those who wish to deepen or continue their practice, Myndtree offers several ongoing ways to practice beyond this course including our free weekly meditations, our community meditation groups, and our retreats.
What to Expect
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A live, guided mindfulness meditation session each week
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Time for reflection and questions in a supportive group setting
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Session recordings provided for registered participants
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Guided practices and reflections to explore between sessions, supporting learning through regular practice
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Three months of access to A Daily Dose of Peace, Myndtree’s guided meditation library, to support continued practice beyond the course
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A fee of $20 for the full four-week course. Full refund for cancellations up to one day before course begins.
Your Guide
The course is guided by Gayathri Narayanan, a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and the founder of Myndtree. Her approach emphasizes steady practice, clarity, and meeting experience with kindness rather than striving for quick results. Each cohort is guided with the same care and continuity, supporting participants in building a sustainable relationship with mindfulness.
Next Live Cohort
What is Mindfulness Meditation?
Mindfulness meditation is a practice that involves focusing your attention on the present moment with curiosity, openness and non-judgment. It helps bring awareness to your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, while letting go of distractions and reactive tendencies. Over time, a regular mindfulness practice can support greater steadiness in the face of difficulty, improved clarity and focus, and a more compassionate relationship with your inner life. Rather than trying to eliminate thoughts or emotions, mindfulness helps you relate to experience with awareness and care, allowing insight and balance to develop gradually through practice.
Session Details
Each week explores a distinct dimension of mindfulness practice, building toward a sustainable foundation.
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SESSION 1: Demystifying Mindfulness The first session will introduce you to mindfulness meditation and tips for everyday practice. You will learn simple exercises for calming the body and be introduced to mindfulness of breath and body to help bring attention to the present moment. After a brief guided meditation, Gayathri will discuss research-informed perspectives on mindfulness and answer questions the group may have.
SESSION 2: Befriending Thoughts and Emotions In the second session, we will explore how to bring a friendly attention to our thinking mind and work with difficult emotions. You will learn ways to shift your relationship with difficult thoughts and feelings from one of conflict and struggle to one of compassion and acceptance. Bring your questions from your practice the previous week.
SESSION 3: Connection Through Compassion For the third week, we will focus on Loving Kindness (Metta) and Compassion (Karuna) practices. These nurture positive emotions, foster empathy, and support emotional well-being. They help cultivate an open, loving heart towards ourselves and others, creating a foundation for deeper connection, healing, and inner peace.
SESSION 4: Building a Sustainable Practice The concluding session will review learnings from the series and provide participants with a roadmap for developing an ongoing, sustainable meditation practice. We will end with a guided gratitude meditation. As with previous sessions, we will have time for extended Q&A. Participants are encouraged to continue practicing in whatever ways feel supportive, whether independently or through ongoing Myndtree offerings.
Frequently Asked Questions
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1. What is Find Your Calm? Find Your Calm is a four-session online mindfulness meditation course for beginners. The course meets live on Zoom on Saturday mornings from 8:00–9:00 am PT with Gayathri Narayanan. Each session includes guided meditation, teaching, and time for questions. All live sessions are recorded. Participants also receive three months of complimentary access to A Daily Dose of Peace, our meditation library, to support daily reflection during the course and beyond.
2. Do I need previous meditation experience or a specific belief system? No prior meditation experience or spiritual beliefs are required. This course is designed as a supportive introduction to mindfulness meditation for adults (18+), with guidance for those who are learning meditation for the first time as well as those returning to practice. While mindfulness has roots in Buddhist contemplative traditions, it is taught here in a secular, non-religious way accessible to people of any background or none. What matters most is a willingness to engage with the material, bring questions to the group, and explore mindfulness as a practical support for everyday life over time.
3. What will I learn in this course? You'll develop practical skills for managing stress, working with difficult emotions and anxious thoughts, and cultivating present-moment awareness. The course covers mindfulness of breath and body, befriending thoughts, loving-kindness practices, and building sustainable daily practice. You'll gain both understanding and concrete tools to integrate mindfulness into your life.
4. How much does the course cost? The registration fee is $20 for the complete four-session course. Need-based scholarships are available; please email hello@myndtree.org if the fee presents a barrier. No explanation is needed. A full refund is available if you cancel up to one day before the course start date. After that, registration fees support our community programs and are non-refundable.
5. What if I can't attend all the live sessions? All Zoom sessions are recorded and shared with registered participants, so you can watch later if you miss a session. Live attendance is encouraged whenever possible, as it allows time for questions and shared reflection with the group. If you anticipate missing more than one session, we suggest waiting to register for a future course when your schedule allows fuller participation. You'll have access to A Daily Dose of Peace, our meditation library, for daily practice.
Stay in Touch 🌿
Gayathri’s calming voice and relaxed, friendly energy provides a wonderful atmosphere for learning and practicing mindfulness. There’s something special about being part of a live group sending loving kindness to all. When I’m feeling stressed from watching the news, Gayathri’s recorded meditations are a valuable resource for Finding my Calm and “being the change."
Tami D.
I loved the atmosphere of kindness, non-judgment, and acceptance that started with the teacher and was taken and returned by the group. I appreciated the connection – one could walk in not knowing anyone in the room and through the truthfulness of the teachings and the shared experience we all felt close and embarrassment and shame was gone.
Ganka H.
The Find Your Calm program was very impactful and meaningful to me. I found it easily accessible, without unnecessary jargon, while still capturing all the significant parts of mindfulness meditation. There was a perfect balance of didactic and experiential learning. Gayathri was warm, supportive and approachable, offering sustainable practices and making this a wonderful way to begin the day. Additionally, the emails after each session were helpful reminders of what to practice during the week. Highly recommend!
Jessica N.
I have a much greater sense of mindfulness after having taken this class. I’ve taken quite a few meditation/mindfulness classes and maybe I need a lot of repetition to internalize this, but I think it’s really due to Gayathri’s skill, vision and warmth.
Melanie L.
Practice with recorded guided meditations from Series 16. All 19 meditations are available to you with a free site membership. Sign up from the link at the top of the page
Join our daily online Community Meditation group to meditate live with a warm, friendly group of fellow practitioners. No experience needed, all are welcome.