Zenways

Zenways facilitates activities and practices that enhance wellbeing, balance and awakening in the mo

Zen meditation and teaching, retreats and workshops
200 hour intensive Zen Yoga teacher training
Meditation & mindfulness teacher training

27/11/2025

What a wonderful sesshin retreat! 40+ people in-person and 8 people online (a first for this year) diving into Master Dogen’s teaching of “dropping off body and mind”.

Guided by Daizan Roshi’s talks and guidance through Master Keizan’s ‘Zazen Yojinki’ (practice manual).

Deep bows to all for your sincere practice. May our practice be of benefit to all beings.

17/11/2025

In Japan they love to miniaturise! The rakusu is is a mini-version of the robe worn by all Buddhist monks and worn by those (monks or laypeople) that have taken the precepts.

It is thought to have originated in a time when Buddhists were persecuted and weren’t allowed to wear their robes. The rakusu was discreet enough to be worn underneath other clothes so couldn’t be seen.

It retains the leftovers of the robe’s clasp on the left side. The rectangular front surface is made of a series of patches representing the “all is different” perspective, contained within the “all is one” border.

Black is the colour of fertile soil - potential, emptiness - from which our practice comes and returns.

Often teachers or senior monks have other colour rakusus.

11/11/2025

Over the years, thousands of students have reported life-changing shifts in awareness by following the dyad enquiry method of American teacher, Charles Berner. Our Breakthrough to Zen retreats take his work one step further, stabilising and grounding the practice through the “naikan” practices of Zen.

Our next Breakthrough to Zen retreat, run by Zen master Daizan Skinner, will be 4-7 Dec at the Noddfa centre in north Wales.

See Zenways.org/bzr for more details

09/11/2025

We’re just coming to the end of another Breakthrough to Zen retreat - this one was online with participants joining from all over the world.

These retreats focus specifically on looking into who you are. You spend three intense days questioning deeply “who am I?”and what people find through this process if utterly life changing.

There’s no “teaching” per se, just guidance on the retreat process. All the insights come from within you. In a sense, you wake up to what you’ve always known deep down. You realise your true nature.

Sound up your street? We’ve got two more coming up before the year’s end. Both in-person in the UK.

05/11/2025

Are you looking for a professional training that enables you to share the authenticated benefits of meditation and mindfulness practice, while at the same time supporting your own journey of development? Here’s a breakdown of how our mindfulness teacher training pathway works, and how our courses can help you develop as a teacher.

Our training path comprises a core foundation module plus two optional extension modules. Module 1 is stand-alone, and modules 2 & 3 are optional extension courses that will ultimately allow you to become an certified teacher with the International Mindfulness Teachers Association (IMTA).

We also offer an adjunct Zen Compassion Plus Teacher Training course open to any certified mindfulness teacher (from any school). This qualifies you to teach a stand-alone four-week course that introduces, shares and guides students through the four boundless meditations of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

Sound up your street? Find out more on www.zenways.org.

Find your truth, teach your truth, embody your Zen Way.

01/11/2025

The sign that hangs above the front door of our dojo in Camberwell, London.

It says Yugagyo Dojo 瑜伽行道場 its meaning yoga practice training hall.

Which has multiple meanings. It’s a yoga studio, but the broader meaning of yoga includes meditation, insight and wisdom. You could say the Buddha was really a yogi. Also, Yugagyo is the Japanese name of a central philosophy that underpins Zen, otherwise known as Yogacara or the Mind-only school.

Come along some time if you’re in the area. We’d love to meet you.

Sign carved by based on a calligraphy by the late Shinzan Roshi.

29/10/2025

This famous story of the Buddha holding up a flower and Mahakasho smiling is studied as a koan in our school.

The practice is to step into Mahakasho’s shoes - to literally become Mahakasho - and respond for ourselves from that place.

24/10/2025

As our dharma friend Daniel says, kensho (seeing your true nature) is a bit like the moment when you go from seeing two black faces to one white vase in this picture. What changes? Nothing. But actually everything changes, because your perspective shifts.

You go from seeing yourself as a separate, isolated individual with a defined edge, to seeing yourself more like a wave on the ocean - with an identity that’s part of the whole. There’s no more of you or less of you, but somehow everything is different. You no longer have to participate in the individual fight for survival - because it’s not “little old me” any more.

If you can let go of something as small as the self, you can gain something as large as the universe.

17/10/2025

Our Breakthrough to Zen retreats are designed specifically to create the ideal conditions for you to find your true nature – to find out who you really are (kensho in Japanese).

Our next retreat is 6-9 Nov and will be held online. All welcome - all we ask is for a donation.

Details on our website Zenways.org

15/10/2025

Bethan loved deepening her understanding of the theory and background of yoga on our 200hr yoga teacher training course.

Find out more about our unique course on www.zenways.org or get in touch if you have any questions.

Find your truth, teach your truth, embody your Zen Way.

08/08/2025

We’ve just released two new video courses that dive into the energetic dimension of Zen practice.

Japanese Yoga master Masahiro Oki defines practice as “delighting the life force.” That’s what these courses are ultimately aimed at.

Vital Zen explores the powerful energy work of Zen master Hakuin, step by step, with guidance and plenty of time to explore them in depth by yourself.

Here Be Dragons builds on that, moving into the deeper currents of spiritual development by finding and befriending your dragons.

Available on the Zenways website shop. Suitable for anyone with an established meditation practice.

26/07/2025

It’s not so well known that Zen Buddhism includes a number of movement practices. Most people just think of zazen - za means sitting, zen means meditation.

In our school we teach do-zen - where “do” here means moving (pronounced doh). Sometimes it’s called “taiso” meaning exercise, and sometimes we call it Zen yoga.

Zen yoga combines moves from Indian Hatha yoga, qigong and Zen energy work with a traditional Chinese energy framework (organs and meridians rather than chakras and nadis), and a Zen Buddhist philosophy with an emphasis on mindfulness and awakening through direct enquiry.

Read our book Practical Zen Yoga for a comprehensive introduction to the practice.

Yoga with a Buddhist philosophy sound up your street? Come to one of our regular weekly classes available to join online. More details on Zenways.org

Address

London
SE58RE

Telephone

+441698542677

Website

http://www.zenways.org/

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