Online Day: The ABC of Meditation
17th May 2026
All you need to know about life's greatest skill.
Everyone can meditate. And your mind is perfectly equipped.
When I tell people that I'm a long-term meditator, they often say:
"Oh, I'd love to meditate, but my mind is just too busy."
And I always reply, with a laugh,
"But that's exactly why you should meditate!"
We all have busy minds.
When I first started meditating and listened to my mind, I thought I had opened the door onto a madhouse: voices and images careening around like a crazy, hallucinogenic and bad-tempered funfair.
But even after a short while, I discovered the benefits. And the benefits have continued to multiply, some 26 years later.
One day to get your bearings. A life-time of possibilities.
This one-day seminar, the ABC of Meditation, is designed for you. If you feel a need to understand your mind, but fear it, come along! From 10 am till 4 pm I'll unpack all the main types of meditation and give you simple pointers for each. As well as signposting where you can go for more support.
Here's what we'll cover.
a simple workable definition of what meditation is and what it is not.
a comprehensive road-map of all the different styles of meditation and what they're good for.
an ABC for beginning a regular meditation practice
a cheat-guide to navigate the pitfalls and beguiling moments of a meditator's life
practical and realistic benchmarks for practice
some of the benefits you can expect in a month, in a year, in ten years.
access to the Mindsprings video library and a taster subscription to our weekly Zooms
What to expect from a this online workshop
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This is an online workshop using Zoom. It is not an in-person retreat but we like to hold a strong container for the weekend. The zoom link will be sent to you when you register.
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We will begin on Sunday morning at 10 am (all times UK time) with introductions.
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We'll finish at 4 pm on Sunday and have an hour's break for lunch. There will be tea and pee breaks too.
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Alistair will teach and guide practice throughout the weekend. His teaching will be illustrated where necessary with slides.
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There'll be plenty of time to share experiences in break-out groups.
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The teaching and Q&A sessions will be recorded and shared with you after the retreat. (For reasons of confidentiality please don't share beyond the group!
About the teacher
Alistair is a broadcaster, psychotherapist and meditation teacher.
He's worked for the BBC for more than 20 years and works as a UKCP-accredited therapist in East Sussex. Since 2004, he's run Mindsprings, his therapeutic meditation organisation which teaches body-based and Buddhist solutions to many of our everyday problems.
Mindsprings offers popular meditation-based courses on many subjects:
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helping people with anxiety, dissociation, stress.
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working with mental health in the LGBTQ community.
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exploring the growing field of embodiment and somatic practices.
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teaching Buddhist practices for mental health and well-being
Alistair teaches in England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands.
