Being Mindful - Group Meditation Evenings in Southsea.

Sam's Place - Grove Road, Southsea

Sam’s Place is a charity shop in Southsea, who work with the Samaritans.

Every Wednesday they hold meditation evenings, focusing on a different aspect of mindfulness each week.

Ben Gallagher from the Kadampa Meditation Centre in Southampton, has taught in Southsea for over 10 years.

‘You see loads of examples of everyone, just feeling more happy, more peaceful, gaining more direction in their life, just from training in meditation.’ said Ben,

‘I was wondering what to do with my life, someone gave me a book and was like - oh yea you can find happiness from inner peace - Then I decided to give [meditation] a try.’

Group meditation classes have become increasingly popular.

Tasmin Wood, 19, attended the session and said, ‘Being mindful is so important in today's society but so hard to achieve. Small comfortable classes like these make it more accessible.’

It is estimated that 1 in 4 people will suffer from some form of mental illness during their life.

'My brother suffers from depression,' said Ben, ‘I was talking to him about going to classes, he started training in meditation, since then his depression is much more under control.’.

Practicing mindfulness and meditation can help people to become more self aware and prevent the negative habit of giving negative thoughts control.