The Monk on a Motorbike

Today my guest is Ayala Gill. Ayala has been committed to a path of insight and awakening since her early twenties. She has been practicing Iyengar yoga since 1977 -aged just six years old- Insight Meditation and Dhamma since 1995, Insight Yoga (including yin yoga and psychospiritual enquiry) since 2001 and the animistic practices of the Andean-Inkan Holy Mountain tradition since 2017. She says she is humbled and fascinated by the potential of these practices to inform and enhance our relationship to body, heart, mind and spirit – and passionate in her commitment to translate this potential into everyday life. She has been teaching for 25 years, guides silent retreats in Europe which include yoga, meditation and ceremony, and is currently writing a book about integrating these practices into daily life. She has received authorisation to teach Insight Meditation from Martin Aylward, with whom she continues to study dharma. Ayala lives with her husband and their 3 children between London and Dorset, where they are using regenerative farming methods to enhance biodiversity.  I first met her at London insight retreat day. I was struck her commitment to both yoga and meditation. There are a lot of yoga teachers out there who teach a bit of meditation and meditation teacher who include yoga to  their practice but not many who have really combined the two. And then branched off into shamanistic practices as well I really enjoyed hearing her story. I hope you will too Enjoy!  

Today my guest is Ethan Pollock, meditation teacher and co-founder of Mindful Living Community. Ethan has been facilitating mindfulness groups and retreats for over a decade. In his early twenties he gave up a career as a commercially successful artist and spent five years training at Plum Village with the internationally recognized mindfulness teacher & Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a qualified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher. He facilitates and teaches around the UK including at the Sharpham Trust, Schumacher College, The Royal Drawing School, and local groups in Devon This is one of a series of interviews I am doing profiling meditation teachers linked with Gaia House I met Ethan on a recent retreat at the Barn which is closely linked with Gaia House where he was giving a talk. I was struck by how well he taught and interested to hear more about his training at Plum village I’m afraid my mic started to give up on this episode. I’ll have a nice shiny new one for my next podcast, I promise. Please enjoy

Today my guest is meditation teacher Kirsten Kratz. Born and brought up in Germany Kirsten has practiced Buddhist meditation in Asia and the West since 1993. She started teaching in 2006 and since 2015 she has been ‘teacher in residence’ at Gaia House meditation centre supporting those on personal retreat there. Her love and understanding of the Dhamma has been strongly influenced by, among others, the teachings of her friend and teaching colleague, the late Rob Burbea. One of her particular passions is exploring how wisdom teachings can foster appropriate responses to the challenges of our time, and Kirsten sees her involvement in activism as an important expression of her practice. She is co-initiator of the “Dharma Action Network for Climate Engagement” (DANCE) and supporting teacher of Freely Given Retreats. If you enjoy this episode or any other of the Monk on a Motorbike podcasts please write a review on Apple podcasts or any other platform that you use that accepts reviews or ratings. It really helps to spread the word. Thanks Enjoy

Today my guest is meditation teacher Gavin Milne. Gavin teaches at Gaia House retreat centre in Devon, one of the largest Buddhist meditation centres in Europe Gavin has been practicing meditation for twenty years and gave up a career as a design engineer for the Red Bull Formula One race team to travel to Asia and the US to explore the Dhamma intensively before returning to the UK. There he became involved with Gaia House and started his teacher training in 2015 and became authorized in 20219. His teachings emphasize exploring the path of practice amidst the challenges of daily life If you’d like to hear more of Gavin’s talks then go to dharrmaseed.org and search for his name If you enjoy this or any other Monk on a Motorbike podcast please leave a review on Apple podcasts (or whatever app your'e using). Thanks Enjoy