In October of 2018 I met Kirstin and Sam in Sri Lanka. We’d have no idea at the time that come December she’d have a terrifying series of seizures, hospitalising her in Sri Lanka and causing her to be airlifted to Thailand and then finally back home to New Zealand. Upon reaching home she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This is her story…
“Learning to meditate with Kate has been absolutely life changing in every way.
My husband Sam and I meet Kate in Sri Lanka in October 2018, and were immediately inspired by her positive outlook on life, her energy and her story of recovery through meditation. It was impossible not to be motivated by Kate and the way that she found purpose out of her accident, and has used her passion for wanting other people to be well by teaching others the tool of meditation that had a huge impact on her life.
Sam and I both have demanding careers, and Kate’s explanation of meditation as a tool to energise and gain greater access to better versions of ourselves really made so much sense. Although up until that point we’d felt like we didn’t have the time to meditate, Kate’s course structure and approach, and the small daily commitment of our time, made us feel that finally meditation was achievable for us.
A key thing I learnt from Kate was to engage with practices like meditation proactively. That is, to prioritise our wellness front-end before having a profound life experience and then needing this skill set. Sam and I were inspired to work with Kate and had planned to fly to Australia to do so in 2019. In December 2018 we were back in Sri Lanka, and I suffered seizures and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I contacted Kate as I knew she would be a huge help, and because I had been so inspired by her and her story. The way Kate had talked about continuously feeling better and better as she got into regular meditation when I first met her, was moving and stayed with me.
It was going to be sometime before I was able to fly after my brain surgeries, and I knew from Kate’s story that the sooner I could get meditation into my life the better. So we flew Kate from Australia to New Zealand in June 2019 to work with us. Before Kate arrived in New Zealand I had found a number of podcasts that Kate had been involved in were incredibly inspirational and I shared them with my friends and family in New Zealand that I thought could also benefit from learning to meditate with Kate, as well as articles she has written and had published. Others seemed to have concerns about whether they would be able to meditate or not, and listening to Kate’s podcasts really assisted them to understand more about meditation, the purpose of it, the benefits and ultimately inspired them to learn to meditate with Kate in New Zealand so as to attend to their wellness front-end. Everyone found the course exceptionally helpful.
It is almost impossible to describe how much I appreciate what Kate has given us. She was absolutely exceptional as a teacher, and her support, encouragement and positivity in leading us through her Vedic meditation course was outstanding. A key part of Kate teaching us to meditate was building it into our daily routine and taking the time to meditate twice a day. After learning, I often meditated more often, on Kate’s advise, as I found this to be a really enjoyable, self-empowering tool to help me recover from the brain surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy that I was having at the time. Immediately after learning with Kate I found I felt more relaxed within my mind and my body, and had so much more energy and perspective, which has been truly incredible.
Kate is an incredibly high quality, innovative teacher and her courses are useful to all. She explores the neuroscience around meditation, the biochemical changes that occur when meditating, and is encouraging in the way that she puts people at ease through her nature and approach, and ensures all participants questions are answered and everyone leaves feeling skilled up and confident to meditate on their own.
I realise through Kate’s course and her teaching that there is none of us that are unable to meditate and get key benefits from this tool, when instructed correctly. Meditation has had such a positive impact on all of our lives and we are so grateful to Kate for changing her entire career path so that we might experience the benefits that she experienced through meditation. She is an inspiration leader and I feel I owe so much to her.
After 3 months my cancer is gone, and I think that Vedic meditation and Kate’s support along the way, have contributed so much to that happening.
What a year 2019 has been, and at the end of it all I am nothing but grateful. I have learnt an incredible amount and wouldn’t want my life to look any different. This year has helped me to gain perspective, without that I wouldn’t have the courage and resilience that I ultimately required to overcome the challenges thrown my way.
To me success used to be based on perceptions; having a successful career, owning a home, everything looking perfect and being busy. I often think now in 20 years time, what would success look like and its none of the above. It’s taking time to live deeply in the present, spending time with all of the important people to me and having deep and meaningful discussions.
Cancer in no way defines who I am but I intend to use my journey to help others. It has led me to look deeper into my life and show gratitude in so many ways. I continue to develop a more open mind which has helped me to understand my own faith and spirituality” ~ Kirstin Hensman