THE MEDITATION MAN
Kadeem One is a meditation teacher, holistic wellness coach and an author based in the USA, who’s worked with brands like Google, Yahoo and Bloomberg. Not only does he believe that meditation is for everyone, he also insists it can be fun!
Kadeem One is a meditation and holistic wellness practitioner — with a bit of sass! The US-based instructor loves helping people, but doesn’t see why wellness or meditation have to be so serious and stoic all the time.
He runs online classes and courses, as well as in-person sessions, plus a popular weekly live online meditative therapy group. This 45-minute session includes various types of meditative techniques while employing therapeutic systems such as sound therapy, hypnotherapy and energy healing.
What you see and experience may not be like any other holistic wellness site, however, with Kadeem One always keen to do things in his own unique way. He chatted to OM recently about his wellness story and what makes him tick — and why we all need meditation in our lives.
Tell us about your own journey into meditation?
I started getting into mediation, initially, because I started learning more about energy healing. The energy healing system that I practice is called Pranic Healing. Although it’s an energy healing system allowing people to clean and balance their energy, it’s very much geared towards helping people enhance their own spirituality. The founder of Pranic Healing, Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, believed that meditation is important as a part of one’s journey in regards to helping them tap more into their spiritual nature, in addition to energy healing.
Who inspired you in the early days?
Initially my mother because that’s how I first found out about energy healing. I had an injury in college and I went to different doctors, but they didn’t know what was wrong with me. They tried to throw a bunch of pills at me and it wasn’t working as I still had pain. My body was actually starting to get sick in the process because I was taking so many pills.
So my mother said: “Well, let me try some of this stuff that I’ve learned and see if it works on you.” After 20 minutes, the pain was gone! The pain that I had for about five or six months went away within 20 minutes. So essentially, that’s how everything first started.
What type of meditation do you practice today?
The main meditation I tend to do on a day-to-day basis is one called, the Meditation on Twin Hearts, which was created by Grand Master Choa Kok Sui. It is a fantastic meditation to not only clear the energy itself, but it also strengthens your energy as well. I love doing that on a daily basis.
Do you have any other favourite meditation teachers?
One of my favourite meditation teachers today is Master Stephen Co. He has a lot of free meditation resources online, on YouTube for example. He helps to guide you in a fantastic way by tapping into more of who you are and combining it with spiritual practice and energy healing. He also happens to be a master of energy healing and was trained directly under Grand Master Choa Kok Sui.
What does meditation bring to your life personally?
In many ways, it has been my life saver because I think about moments in my life that were really challenging and meditation helped me to find my balance. Although meditation is great in regards to helping you tap more into your spiritual nature, there are also so many scientific benefits to it. It helps you to find a state of homeostasis and balance the neurons in the brain, allowing the feel-good neurotransmitters to work and come out.
So meditation has really been a life saver for me, even in times where I was physically injured. I noticed that after doing meditation, I felt better. Meditation has been fantastic!
How did meditation help you during the past couple of years with lockdowns?
I found that I layered on a lot more meditations. I usually tend to meditate twice a day, but during the lockdown I increased it to three or four times a day. In addition, I was also practicing some Tai Chi and also some aromatherapy as well. So all the things and tools that I know really helped me during those lockdown moments.
What do you say to people who feel they can’t meditate?
I would say, erase the thought in your mind that meditation is about sitting and ‘clearing your mind’ because it’s not! It’s more about having one focus on one particular thing at one time, instead of trying to multitask, which I feel like we try to do on a day-to-day basis. Meditation allows you to focus on one particular thing in the moment, essentially allowing you to be with yourself and even have a moment of rest.
So for folks who feel like they can’t meditate, stop thinking that it’s all about clearing your mind or that it’s about getting in touch with the universe and the angels (although it can be).
But there are different forms of meditation. One meditation you can do is simply focusing on the breath. If you just meditate on your breath, inhale for four counts, hold your breath for four counts, exhale for four counts and hold your breath for counts; this is a very short meditation. You can get great benefits by repeating this series over and over for 30 seconds or go up to two minutes. This is a meditation.
Do you think meditation is even more important in modern times?
It’s important for everyone to tap into meditation in some form or another. In the same way that you take a physical shower every day to help cleanse yourself, meditation is a great way to help give yourself an emotional shower that you need on a day-to-day basis.
What do you do when you're outside of work and not doing meditation?
Rest! I really enjoy resting and sleeping late (that’s a hobby of mine!). I also enjoy watching Korean dramas, I’m a big fan of that. So resting, sleeping late, watching Korean dramas, oh and eating are some of the things I enjoy doing.
What’s your favourite or most inspiring quote?
I have a lot of quotes that inspire me, but I think the one at this moment which I feel most connected to is actually one of my own: “Take time for yourself, because no one else is going to give you time.” I just find it resonates with me at this moment in time.
Anything else?
I would say for people that have started their meditation journey, keep going. For those that may have started it and stopped, re-start it again. I believe that we’re going to need it as the world continues to change in this time and space. For those that haven’t started meditating, start somewhere. Again, as I mentioned before, start focusing on your breath by inhaling and exhaling. Set a timer for 30 seconds and just do that.
Find out more about Kadeem One at: kadeemone.com or connect via Instagram @kadeemone
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