Practice Guided Meditation in These Centres in Hong Kong

It has been a couple of weeks since we rang in the new year. By now, you're probably starting to feel some kind of tension or stress creeping in. This is okay. While radical compassion for the self was one of our New Year's resolution ideas for 2022, we also know that nobody lives in bliss constantly.

One of the ways you can deal with worries and anxieties is through meditation, which can help give you a sense of peace and balance in your daily life. Apart from reducing negative emotions, the Mayo Clinic supports the idea that meditation can also help you build skills to better manage stress, increase self-awareness, and gain a new perspective.

Stay on the path of inner peace this 2022. Check out these centres in Hong Kong where you can practice meditation.

Vipassana Hong Kong

Vipassana, which means "to see things as they really are," is one of India's most ancient meditation techniques. It is a non-sectarian technique taught by the late Satya Narayan Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin and is rooted to the Buddha from two and a half millennia ago. Similar to the Buddha's non-sectarian teaching of Dhamma or the way to liberation, S.N. Goenka's Vipassana meditation is universal and can be practiced by people from all walks of life.

Vipassana is taught in 10-day residential courses wherein participants must strictly follow a Code of Discipline. Vipassana Hong Kong has plotted their courses for 2022 here and we suggest you monitor this schedule in case of any changes due to COVID-19.

Kadampa Meditation Centre

Another place where you can practice guided meditation is at the Kadampa Meditation Centre along Connaught Road, Central. The centre, which integrates its approach with modern living, was established to give Hong Kongers the chance to learn the dharma. It offers meditation classes, weekend classes, meditation retreats, empowerments, and regular chanting, all of which are welcome to Buddhists and non-Buddhists, alike, as well as beginners and experienced practitioners.

Due to COVID-19, the centre has suspended its face-to-face classes until further notice, although there have been no changes in its online classes. We suggest you peruse Kadampa's monthly calendar for its latest courses on offer. 

Ananda Marga Meditation Centre

Ananda Marga Meditation Centre in the walled village of Tai Hong Wai in Kam Tin offers yoga, meditation, and vegetarian cooking classes, as well as yoga detox retreats to the people of Hong Kong. Ananda Marga, founded in 1955 in India by the late Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, "is a moral and spiritual movement dedicated to the all-round upliftment of the human condition – physical, mental, and spiritual."

Its meditation classes are taught by one of its yogic monks or nuns free of charge and are suited for those who are new to meditation and looking to incorporate the practice in their life. If you are interested to join the centre's meditation workshop, it is recommended that you contact them here.

Balance Health

Balance Health is a holistic health clinic along Arbuthnot Road, Central, that offers a wide variety of alternative integrative treatments, from natural medicine to physical therapies and mind-body connection. It offers group and private meditation classes under the mind-body connection treatment that are tailored for beginners and advanced students alike. Just some of its group meditation classes are hypno meditation, mindfulness for teens, Tibetan Buddhist Meditation, Tibetan Singing Bowls Meditation, and Yoga Nidra. For the full schedule of its group meditation classes, go here.

Meanwhile, you may contact the clinic here if you are interested in its private meditation classes.