Learn to be present NOW,
the only moment you are living your life.
FEELING OVERWHEALMED?
Learn to use Mindfulness as a tool to navigate the challenges and uncertainty you face in life in a better way. Learn to live present, connected to an inner steadiness to help you find happiness, no matter what.
Do you find yourself:
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Using a lot of time thinking about a past you cannot change? Or worry about something in the future you in reality have little control over?
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Do you get easily reactive, defensive, or unnecessarily aggressive?
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Or are you stressed, anxious, overthinking, overwhelmed, have trouble sleeping, concentration or memory issues, or dealing with imposter syndrome or bad self esteem?
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Mindfulness can help you:
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Live more present with what is here for you right now. In waking up to life through being fully present, we may discover that there is more here, now, than we thought - that we were missing out on when we were lost in worries or overthinking.
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Become less reactive, and more capable of thinking twice about a viewpoint or action before acting. Awareness helps us challenge our perspective, see beyond our bodies and brain's immediate autopilot responses, and be more capable of acting consciously and take wiser, complex decisions. An increased reactivity is not you or your personality, it is your brain and nervoussystem responding - and research shows for ex. stress, lack of sleep or trauma can cause changes in the brain that increases reactivity. Research also shows mindfulness can help us hack the system, and rewire the brain and nervoussystem.
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Manage stress and anxiety better, help you become aware of when you are overthinking, worrying unnecessary, etc. so you can choose to waste less time on it. It will give you tools on how to deal when you feel overwhelmed, help you sleep better, enhance concentration, memory, and creativity. As well as helping you meet yourself with kindness, and motivate yourself in a positive way instead of through negative self-talk. Become your own friend, and find self-esteem within.
Find the online course that is best for you!
Mindful reflection & direction
Who is this for?:
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Do you find yourself in the midst of life changes, uncertainty? Or you feel a bit overwhealmed or lost and need help to figure out what you want and where you wish to put your focus and priorities?
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No previous experience with mindfulness meditation needed.
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This online course consists of:
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27 videos - 5 hours of practice
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13 guided meditations
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9 guided writing exercises, goal setting, and more!
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Bonus:
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Get the habit tracker to help you fulfill what you decided on
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Get the PDF with written exercises to take your time.
1-1 guidance
1-1 classes are the perfect way to get a tailormade follow-up.
In 1-1 classes, I will be able to adapt how I guide you according to your needs and how you respond. We all react differently to different things, and in our time together I will be able to help you where you are at, with your specific challenges.
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This is especially beneficial if you struggle with pain or chronic illness.
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You can choose to book one session or a package.
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1-1 follow-up is done online, and in-person could sometimes be arranged in Milan or Oslo.
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There is high demand, so please write me to check for availability.
It is hard to put into words what an enormous difference Maria Waag has made in my life. She healed me of chronic 24/7 migraines that doctors and neurologists said would never go away.
She also healed me of my terrifying dread of a future restricted by my pains and disibilities.
Here is my story:
I used to have a 24/7 migraine headache that just would not leave. I had to drop out of university and stop working because the pain was too strong. I had tried every medicine and treatment there is for migraines and tension headaches, but none of them helped. My doctors and neurologists said that I would never get better. I was in complete panic, sorrow and despair. My future was gone, I would never be able to graduate from uni or work again. Until the day I had a life changing phonecall with Maria.
Maria taught me that it is possible to live a full and happy life even with crippling pain and disability.
She taught me that by being self aware and living in the moment, you can experience enormous happiness from small moments where others don`t even take notice.
She taught me to look at life from a new perspective, and that there are advantages to living a life that is outside of a normal life.
She taught me to let go of my anxiety and fear of a future with pain and illness. And when my fear and anxiety let go, MY HEADACHE DISAPPEARED.
Like absolute magic that I would never have imagined possible.
Maria taught me more during that ONE phonecall than years of help from psycologists and therapy has done.
I absolutely recommend her from the bottom of my heart. Thank you Maria,
I can not possibly tell you how grateful I am for you! Xxx
— Louise Dowsett, 1-1 mindfulness student and pain management follow-up.
Join the weekly live Meditation
Who is this for?:
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You who want to learn mindfulness meditation from scratch or deepen your practice with live guidance.
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You who want to explore the many things mindfulness can be, and how we can bring it into our everyday life.
Expect:
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To be deeply relaxed, but also challenged to reflect and grow.
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To learn to meet yourself with kindness and non-judgment, no matter what is here for you in this moment.
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To learn specific tools for how you can bring the practice with you into everyday life. I use examples from my life, teaching experience, and the latest research shows to help you relate and explore.
Practical:
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Weekly 18.30-19.30 CET live on zoom & we will soon start lunch sessions 12.30-12.50 CET 20min as well
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1-hour session consisting of guided meditation, and led reflections and discussion, 20min is just meditation.
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Participation: 20€ a month (you can choose to join one of the sessions or both)
If you want to access the yoga library + Mindufless you get both for 30€ (instead of 20+20=40€)
"For things to reveal themselves to us,
we need to be ready to abandon
our views about them"
- Thich Nhat Hanh
Pain Management
I am living with chronic nerve pain and headaches after a severe brain inflammation and since I am living with a benign brain tumor. I also have endometriosis and arthrosis as a consequence of the chemotherapy and prednisolone treatment. I have managed to transfer my own life through these techniques and practices. Join me!
Who is this for?:
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Living with chronic pain?
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Migraines?
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Chronic or severe illness?
Online course:
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Yoga and meditation programs specifically developed for pain management.
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Learn more about what pain is, what happens in our brain and nervous system - so that you can both be kinder with and understand your own responses, and learn to navigate your life in a way you perhaps never thought was possible.
the 8-week Pain Management Program started 5th of March 2022. If you want to join the next round or have more info about this and other pain-specific offers, click below.
Maria is JUST WONDERFUL!!! Both as a teacher and as a human being. She is definitely the best Meditation, Mindfullness, Yoga teacher and the sweetest teacher I have ever met! I attend her meditation and minfullness classes each wednesday with a small group of international students from all over Europe (I am French and Maria is from Norway living in Italy and more than fluent in English! Her classes, advices, discussions, guiding are just perfect for me, without forgetting the sweeteness of her voice.
I can see and feel my improvments in my practice and in my daily life. I am very grateful for that.
My Life has changed over the last months and Maria is pretty much responsible for all the changes:)
Thank you so much Maria Waag!!!
Bisous
— Marion, successful lawyer and supermum of four.
Practicing mindfulness and yoga with Maria, one gets the sense of being in a truly safe, and judgment-free space. I have practiced with many teachers all over the world, and yet Maria's space was one of the very few that I felt was truly welcoming me as I am, as opposed to offering a way to "improve" me. This means that the experience was safe, welcoming, relaxing, and it gave me the time and space to really connect to my deeper intuition.
I participated in Maria's mindfulness online mini-retreat, and found this to be worth every minute of my time. The experience of being mindful as led by her, is something that has stayed with me well after the workshop. Moreover, I joined the retreat with a pulsating headache, and found that after the first practice it was completely gone. I have to emphasize this point, because I suffer from strong headaches which never completely go away, even after I take high doses of ibuprofen (which I normally do). This was the very first time in my life where I felt such a bad headache leave me completely, with no need for medication.
In conclusion, I would recommend Maria's classes and workshops to anyone, because she knows how to hold a space for you and offers techniques which truly improve your quality of life.
— Yvonne, yoga therapy teacher
and student. Fysiotherapist to be.
Maria has the natural soul of a teacher, and a guide.
She is very professional, yet caring and warm, knowing how to make you feel safe during meditation sessions.
Each meditation session is well structured, you can see she puts a lot of work and passion into it, and she is also a very good listener, letting people talk about their experiences and allowing them to learn from each other as well as learn from her. She is an inspiration as well,
as she is very honest with herself and her own experience of meditation. I am very glad I came across her meditation group sessions.
Thank you Maria
— Marie
"You cannot stop the waves,
but you can learn how to surf"
- Jon Kabat-Zinn
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?
Mindfulness is originating from an ancient practice in the east, and Jon Kabat-Zinn brought it to the western world in the '70s. He started the research on Mindfulness as a tool to support health care and developed the MBSR - Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at UMASS - the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where I have had the honour to study Mindfulness with his team. These programs are now used all over the world. When research found that Mindfulness not only had a massive impact on the mental health of patients going through extreme challenges but also measurable effects on their brain and physical recovery - it became the big talk of our time. Now there are thousands of research studies all over the world and many papers published daily of the massive implications of Mindfulness not only in health care but in the happiness and performance of college students, in Trauma recovery, enhances sleep quality, or just generally for anyone that wants to boost their creativity, problem-solving capacity, concentration, and happiness. Mindfulness is now used all over the world by CEO's, professional athletes, and psychologists in their treatment, to mention a few.
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An important, big and famous study from Harvard University for example showed that most of us are not present in the moment approximately 50% of the time on average. And that when we are able to be present in the moment we are living, we are reporting that we feel significantly happier.
What is Mindfulness?:
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Mindfulness is a practice of awareness: of paying attention to the present moment, without judgment.
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Mindfulness meditations are meditations where we practice being aware of what is here through different exercises. It is also learning to inquire and discover the patterns of our minds - with curiosity. Getting to know ourselves with compassion.
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The important aspects of Mindfulness of beginners mind, non-judgment, compassion, allowing, not to strive, and letting go - are not only concepts that are mentally healing for our wellbeing, but it literally changes the way our brain turns on different parts of our brain - making us more open to learning and growing and seeing new opportunities.
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Learning to live Mindfully throughout our day - beyond our meditation practice, is what has the potential to truly transform the way we live and see our lives. Both the formal practice (the meditation) and the informal practices (exercises we do to learn how to implement Mindfulness in daily living) are important here.
What does research show?:
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Research shows that Mindfulness Meditation changes several areas in our brain. Some examples: it can reduce the size and activity of the Amygdala which is the fear centre in our brain - making us less reactive, and anxious when we don't need to be. It enhances our memory capacity (hippocampus), and enhances the grey matter of our prefrontal cortex - the part of the brain that is responsible for making wise decisions, reflect, be present, problem solve etc.
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Research also shows it literally can alter the body's nervous system health and resilience, our immune response, and even down to a cellular level - its ability to heal faster, as well as for example slow down the aging process (protecting our telomeres, which protects our DNA from aging)
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These are only a few examples, and of course, explained in a simplified manner as these mechanisms are complex, and as research is ever-evolving. But these are some examples of fascinating findings so far.
Thank you for all the preparations, and for practicing (the probable challenging) skill of combining so many different activities for 3,5 hours - it was really cool.
I loved the way you combined the progressive and structured way + that you emphasised that you invited us to trust the process. It must take a lot of experience to arrange this, and it was very impressive.
— Martine, after taking the Mindful Reflection and Direction online course
