Brought up in the Roman Catholic tradition, Sarah began to be interested in meditation whilst a
graduate
student at Stanford University, USA where she completed her Masters Degree.
She began her training in meditation in 1986 whilst working towards a
PhD.on ‘Spirituality and Consciousness’ at Durham
University, UK.
This led her to intensive study and training within Hinduism and
eventually she went to India as a nun, where she studied under several
teachers and was taught on a one to one basis. On her return to
England, she studied and lived with Christian contemplatives and worked
for the
Westminster Interfaith Programme whilst leading retreats and continuing
her own yoga and meditation training with such teachers as Fr Bede
Griffiths, Sri Vandana Mataji and Sister Ishpriya Mataji, Ruth Burrows,
Fr Raimon Panikkar and Fr Laurence Freeman.Now her main teachers are Akong Tulku Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, and H.E. Tai Situpa within the Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. She attends courses at Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery, Scotland and spends some time each year at Sherab Ling Tibetan Monastery in the Himalayan range in India, which is the seat in India of H.E. Tai Situpa. Sarah tries to spend two months each year in retreat. Sarah lives in Derbyshire's High Peak and is married with two children.
She is a recognised tutor of the British Wheel of Yoga and leads inservice training days around the country for the British Wheel on the topic of Meditation and Mindfulness.
She teaches a four weekend course on meditation and mindfulness at Samye Ling Monastery starting each Autumn and also has a parallel course in London starting about the same time.
Sarah also teaches a course called 'Tools for a Calmer Life' twice a year at Samye Ling where she brings her 20 years of training and experience of meditation and mindfulness training together to teach how to learn to change the mind and over come unhappiness.
Sarah also teaches two one week retreats/ courses each June and September on Holy Island off Arran.
see
www.holyisle.org
Sarah is one of the founding members of Kagyu Samye Dzong Manchester which in January 2009 found a building to serve as its new centre.
She is well known for her engaging teaching style which is full of humour and stories and also for her warmth and kindness to her students.
She leads a meditation practice group each Sunday night in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire
see
www.highpeakdharmagroup.org
and in Stockport leads a mindfulness training group mainly for people with M.E. Two more courses which Sarah runs locally are 'The Mindful Way through Depression' and 'HERE FOR NOW, Living Well with Cancer Thorugh Mindfulness', both of which are eight week courses.
Sarah is currently engaged in creating greater understanding between the Christian contemplative tradition and the meditation tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by bringing together experienced practitioners of both in order to practice and share their experience and understanding. A slect group from each tradition will be meeting on Holy Isle off Arran in Sept 2009.