Bringing calm to Creston

Keri Anderson has been practicing yoga since 2019. As much as she enjoyed it, she was looking for something more, something that would focus on improving her mind. That’s how she found meditation.

The Mayo Clinic describes meditation as a “mind-body medicine” through which one “develops intentional focus and minimizes random thoughts about the past or future.” While some people use it to better their mental health, others simply use it to keep a calm state of mind.

“Just between work, family, all the things that we all deal with, I was just looking for something to add to that that would be good for the mind,” Anderson said. “I began to listen to meditations on YouTube. I stumbled across this podcast called Mindful in Minutes, and I guess that’s what really started my meditation journey. I just began to listen to it every week.”

It didn’t take long for Anderson to experience the benefits of meditation.

“I began to experience healing in all these areas in my life that I hadn’t found through other things. That’s when I really began to fall in love with meditation,” Anderson said.

In the last few years, Anderson took her love of yoga and meditation to a new level, training to teach both.

“Recently, I got certified as a yoga instructor this year. We did focus on meditation on that program,” Anderson said. “Then I enrolled in a meditation teacher training with Kelly Smith, who is the same person whose podcast I listened to in the first place, so that’s really cool that I’m able to connect with her.”

As a yoga and meditation instructor, Anderson has taught a variety of classes in the area, including chair yoga at the Gibson Memorial Library. This October, she will be leading a four-week class on meditation at the new Radiant Wellness Solutions located at 122 N. Maple St. in uptown Creston. More information about Radiant Wellness Solutions will be available in the CNA next week.

The class will run at 9 a.m. every Wednesday of October, lasting for about 45 minutes. Anderson said the goal with this class is to get the people of Creston familiar with meditation.

“I want to give people the opportunity to just drop in and say, ‘hey, do I like this? Is this for me?’ Just give them a chance to get to know me and see if I’m a good meditation teacher for them before having to commit to a whole four weeks,” Anderson said.

The classes themselves will include guided meditations, as well as lessons on how to continue these meditations by oneself.

“The cool thing about this course that I’m going to be doing here in Creston, I’m not just guiding them through a meditation,” Anderson said. “I’m taking things I’ve learned from my teacher trainings and giving it to them: this is how you can have a successful meditation practice on your own, answer any questions or challenges they may be having, discuss different things that help. It’s kind of a whole package, not just that I had a good experience today, but they can take that with them and do it on their own now.”

For those unsure about meditation, Anderson explained the practice isn’t hard.

“It’s really not this difficult practice that people might think it is,” Anderson said. “It would be described as single-pointed concentration, so it’s just taking whatever theme or whatever topic or whatever emotion or object that you want to focus on, and for that time, that is your point of concentration for the meditation. If your mind was to wander, that’s OK, you just gently return your focus to what is your focus for that day.”

Those interested in joining the October classes can RSVP to Anderson through her email at calmwithkeri@gmail.com. Drop-ins are also welcome. There is a fee.