Lindsay Stefans, CMT-P

Please tell us about your secular mindfulness meditation background and the population you serve.

Selfspace is a meditation studio and collective where you can feel supported and safe with your meditation practice. We provide a creative simple setting with cushions, chairs and meditation guides. We exist to so that people of all ages and backgrounds can come together and sit together with no pretenses or expectations. Just sitting. We offer the space, people and techniques to practice meditation with others and welcome all traditions, races, creeds, and non-creeds. An inviting atmosphere for learning and practicing.  Lindsay Stefans is a certified mindfulness teacher by IMTA (International Mindfulness Teachers Association). She founded Selfspace Meditation Studio, as a way to offer mindfulness teaching in a contemporary setting with a focus on serving urban communities, BIPOC, and those looking to practice mindfulness in a setting that honors various belief systems and cultural backgrounds. She has guided hundreds of people in meditation in the Cleveland area for eight years. She collaborates with leading education and cultural institutions including Oberlin College and Conservatory, Encore Chamber Music Festival and Hidden Valley Music Festival. Her teachings have been of particular interest to musicians and artists looking to deepen their concentration and sense awareness.

Tell us what secular mindfulness looks like in your part of the world.

I have studied meditation from leading meditation teachers in a Buddhist setting for three decades, and am myself a Zen practitioner. However, I recognize that there are many people who would like to learn mindfulness meditation but do not wish to go on a Buddhist retreat nor join a sangha. I consider myself as someone who has feet in both worlds, both secular and Buddhist. This is both literally and symbolically. I am half Asian with a mother who is a Buddhist and was raised within a Buddhist philosophical framework. I started my meditation practice as a teenager and have practiced both within the US and Asia. I founded my own meditation studio in 2017 as a way to incorporate knowledge from the many retreats and trainings I have attended, yet offer a context that is culturally welcoming to various people, in particular, urban communities and BIPOC communities. I am still pondering the word "secular" and what that actually means, as some people have told me that their practice is "sacred". Therefore, I tend to use the word "contemporary" when describing my meditation studio. 

Any additional information about you and your practice you would like us to review for inclusion in this article.

I am a dedicated meditation instructor with 1000s of hours of meditation experience. I was first introduced to meditation as a teenager in New York City when I attended Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center. Since then I have received training from prominent meditation teachers within various traditions and have attended rigorous meditation retreats in the US and India over the past 25 years. I first began teaching mindfulness when I became a certified Natural Childbirth educator in the Hypnobirthing method in 2004. Since founding my own secular meditation studio, Selfspace, in 2017 I have provided guidance and structure for people looking to continue their practice or begin a new practice. It has been truly rewarding to be able to share the knowledge I have gained from the many years of training with others and from my own daily meditation practice. On a more academic level, I have studied the origins and philosophy of contemplative Buddhist practices in the Mahayana tradition and lived in Japan for 6 years as an East Asian studies major as an undergraduate. Additionally, I have (and still do) read many texts, articles, and books on the subject of neuroscience and meditation as well as attend seminars in the field of mindfulness and brain health. Selfspace Meditation studio is active and thriving and we are going to partner with some community health organizations, educational institutions and cultural institutions. We would like to expand our teachings to have programs for teenagers in the future.