This month, we celebrate our wonderful register member Emma Cruickshank a meditation teacher based in Gorleston, Norfolk. Emma’s business ‘watch the sunrise’ offers meditation and mindfulness classes both online and in person. Sessions are for beginners onwards, with a range of classes and courses.
We asked Emma to share some information about her business, her teachings and her own meditation experience, so that you can get to know her better.
Here is what Emma told us about her own meditation experience…
“Finding a booked called ‘Teach yourself to Meditate’ by Eric Harrison in a quirky, cosy, secondhand book shop changed the trajectory of my life. I was 21 and had been suffering years of night-time terrors – teeth grinding to the point of lock jaw, bouts of insomnia and nightmares that had haunted me since I could remember. I felt nervous and self-conscious that first time I sat to meditate, until I realised with a huge sense of relief that it wasn’t worlds away from the relaxation at the end of yoga that I’d been doing since I was 13 and had found so deeply grounding and peaceful I almost couldn’t believe I could access it whenever I felt like it.
That first tentative practice was over 17 years ago now and my meditation journey has been anything but a straight line; gaping holes where I didn’t practice, followed by just as many re-discoveries of this incredible tool that never judged me and always offered a doorway to calm, and a pathway to insights, if I was ready to receive them.
My routine the last few years has been as consistent as it is varied; I will always meditate each day, almost always early in the morning, and often at several other times, but I incorporate many types and techniques into my practice and the range of places I meditate is steadily growing (in the bath is a new favourite!). I love the sense of excitement I still have for allowing my body and mind to select what feels right each day and what my reality allows; mindfulness and chanting with my children joining in, contemplation, mantra or silent meditation when I’m alone. Laying on the floor, sitting in a chair, cross legged on the grass or at the beach. But I do usually start with breath, and I do have my own personal affirmations and visualisations that I practice regularly. These are the repetitions that I cherish, where I remind myself to maintain a beginner’s mind.”
Emma trained with BSoM to become an externally accredited meditation teacher because…
“After a thorough research project into how I could become a meditation teacher (finding some very basic and unconvincing options along the way), I chose to train with the BSoM because they stood out significantly above every other course or organisation I found. The fact that the BSoM qualification is externally accredited (the only provider in Europe who can say this), has 5 full days of taught content split over the course, and requires coursework and other assessed elements over all units, were the key aspects that initially attracted me. I wanted to be properly trained; I wanted to teach with knowledge and confidence, and most importantly, with integrity.
Once my interest was piqued, I found out more about the BSoM that made me 100% certain that their qualification was the only route for me. The 3 directors of the organisation are not only approachable and supportive but extremely knowledgeable and experienced in their fields. The membership option to join once you qualify is outstanding and makes everything about setting up your own business more straightforward, from the amazing CPD opportunities to having a place to turn to with any question you could possibly think of. But more than all of that, I got a feeling about the people and the ethos of the BSoM – watching the information video and reading the course details made it clear how passionate they are about meditation and about sharing it in a way that exceeds best practice and embraces creativity and connectivity”.
What she loved about the training was…
“There were many aspects of the training I loved, from discovering and experiencing more types of meditation I’d known existed, to learning more about the history of various schools of meditation and meeting the other students on the course. As much as I thrive on self-study, you cannot recreate the discussion, sharing of ideas and collaborating that a group provides, where answers to questions become so much richer having come from many minds onto one page.
I’ve always loved learning about the brain. The interest has always been there but became stronger when I worked for a brain injury charity. Attending conferences and speaking to medical professionals about neurology and how the brain can be changed and can recover following injury entranced me and since then I’ve scoured my local libraries for books on the workings of the brain. This meant I found the science behind meditation within the course particularly poignant and also comforting in a way, to know that I would be able to explain to people attending classes with me what was happening physiologically the moment they sat to meditate, as well as what was going on in their brain as they went about their daily life and experienced the wide range of human emotions and the chaotic monkey mind.
The level of detail that we covered in terms of ethics, health and safety and policies was massively reassuring and made me feel ready to set up my business with the confidence I was doing things in a way that would deliver the best possible meditation sessions whilst also protecting myself and my students. “
About Emma’s business ‘Watch the Sunrise’…
“I currently teach two weekly classes in Gorleston, Norfolk, where I live. One of them is part of a Wellbeing Hub based in the local theatre. It is a drop-in group with beginner accessible content, a break in the middle for a hot drink and a very chilled vibe. The other is based in a beautiful Pilates studio and people pay for a block of 4 weeks, with each block having a different focus and building across the 4 sessions.
I have done one mini retreat with a local yoga teacher and plan to do more in Spring/Summer 2026 where I envisage events with specific themes such as focusing on mantra and affirmations or workshops all geared to meditation as a support through menopause and perimenopause…watch this space for news on these!
I have several sessions coming up soon in my local 6th Form College where I not only went myself but was working at this time last year, so I’m super excited to go back and deliver meditation and mindfulness sessions with both students and staff to support wellbeing. I’m keen to work with children in schools too, especially having seen over the last year how much my own children have benefitted from the meditation and mindfulness I’ve done with them…maybe this will wait until 2026 as the remainder of 2025 is looking quite busy!
I’ve done several taster sessions in my local area, and this is something I plan to continue as it is such an accessible way for people to dip their toe in the water with meditation without a big commitment. I have one soon in the local hospital for staff, which I’m doing free of charge – a small act of giving something back to the place that has taken care of me and my family all our lives - through my jaw procedure (from all that teeth grinding!) to my pregnancies (and 2 emergency C-sections!) and beyond.
Something I have found immense joy in is with recording my own guided meditations and sharing these with people – I usually share some of these with those attending my classes to support their self-practice but then decided to add them to a shop on my website and this has worked well. I want to share meditation with more people than just those I meet face to face, and this is the perfect way to do it. I’m planning to create and release a collection of meditation downloads each season, always offering one of them as a freebie, to remove any barriers to people trying it out in the comfort of their own home”.
Emma’s favourite aspect of teaching is…
“…when a student feeds back that something I’ve provided has benefited them or positively impacted their life. This might be a snippet of science I’ve explained or a breathing technique I’ve taught in a class, a guided meditation someone has downloaded from my website, or even something I’ve shared on social media. Each time someone makes the effort to tell me they’ve found calm, relaxation, positivity, clarity, or a sense of space and connection to the present moment because of something I’ve shared, I have a strong feeling of my purpose being fulfilled.
I also love the moment when everyone settles into the first meditation of a class, and you can feel the atmosphere and energy in the room shift…and as I read out my script, it feels like I’m communicating on a different level; I might be using the same words I use every day, but in those precious moments, it could be a different language I’m speaking…a language of kindness and openness, of acceptance and awareness…a language of now”.
How you can work with, or find out more about Emma and her meditation sessions:
https://watchthesunrise.co.uk/
watchthesunrise@outlook.com
https://www.instagram.com/watchthesunrise_uk
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577734731598
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-cruickshank-87b30025/