Robyn Beckman is a Certified Mindfulness Instructor with more than seven years’ experience in teaching mindfulness practices (meditation, mindful movement, mindful eating, mindful journaling, walking meditation, loving kindness, self compassion and body scans). Robyn was introduced to mindfulness meditation in August 2012 when she sought help to work with symptoms and effects of ADHD.  Her initial reaction to the suggestion by her therapist to try meditation was “there is no way I could possibly sit down and meditate; my mind is constantly racing with thoughts; I can’t even sit still!”

Robyn had begun to experience social anxiety and depression. She was in dire need of help to calm her restless, anxious, busy, distracted ADHD mind, tame her impulsivity and ease her anxiety and depression. So, she followed her counselor’s advice and gave meditation a try. She downloaded a meditation app called “Headspace” and started using the app to learn to meditate – 10 minutes a day for 10 days. She didn’t meditate every day at first. She did find it to be more relaxing and less difficult than she imagined it would be.  After only a few weeks, Robyn began noticing subtle changes in how she was reacting and dealing with people and situations.  Situations that would normally trigger an automatic reaction in her – of impatience, frustration, stress, anger, disappointment, agitation, anxiety, feelings of rejection, etc, were suddenly shifting.  Instead, she found herself beginning to pause and listen, mindfully, to situations and people  that normally triggered her and she began to respond instead of automatically reacting in her usual way. And this was all happening without even trying! These were not subtle changes she was experiencing. So, she continued to meditate.

It was readily obvious that the meditation was working; she became a much better listener, more patient and kind, she was better able to direct and sustain her attention and focus, her stress and anxiety decreased significantly, her confidence and trust in her own wisdom increased, there was a significant change in her judgmental mind.  She began to experience joy, compassion, enthusiasm and a softening in her heart and demeanor.  Thus began her journey to learn more about mindfulness meditation by fully immersing herself in books and articles, listening to talks, teachings and  podcasts, watching YouTube videos and attending in person lectures – in addition to her daily practice.  Over time, she increased her daily meditation practice to 15 minutes a day, then 30 and later – 40 minutes.

After three years of experiencing major transformative changes in her life by practicing meditation, Robyn had a strong desire to get trained so she could teach others; she knew she had to share this practice with people who were struggling with life.  In September 2015, she enrolled at the UC San Diego Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute – where she completed the Foundational Instructor Training of the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course.  She continued her studies and in June 2018, Robyn completed Mindfulness Northwest’s 9-month Mindfulness Teacher Training Certification program.

Robyn has been teaching mindfulness meditation classes online (via Zoom) and in Gig Harbor, Port Orchard and Tacoma, Washington since November 2015.

Robyn’s ongoing practice includes daily meditation, mindful movement, mindful self compassion, loving kindness meditation, annual silent mindfulness meditation retreats, attending weekly meditation practice groups, lectures and continuing education in mindfulness and other related areas.

When she’s not teaching, practicing meditation or spending time in spiritual training – Robyn enjoys everything dog-related (she has an 11 year-old BEAUTIFUL Australian Shepherd), writing, gardening, walking, golfing, going to the movies, reading, live music and art museums.

Robyn’s intention to help reduce the suffering in the world, is to introduce mindfulness practices to anyone interested in learning about them, to support those who wish to establish a regular meditation practice (or already have one) and to create a supportive community with other practitioners.