Elena Prokhorova

I have always been fascinated by ancient Indian philosophy and yoga. Luckily, I had a chance to live in India and Nepal for some years early in my adulthood. There I got a taste of yoga and meditation – an experience that eventually shaped my life. I have been practicing meditation ever since (while being mother, wife, academic, journalist, communications manager etc.), with mixed success. I tried various schools and teachers, and I read tons of books on the subject. The learning experience was patchy. Flashes of inner serenity and mental clarity would alternate with stretches of doubt and frustration. This lasted for many years, until one day I came across Palouse Mindfulness and decided to take the MBSR course. Some time into the programme I started noticing subtle transformations in my life. My habits, attitudes, and preferences were changing. I felt lighter and more at ease with life. At that point, I realised that what I most wanted was to practice mindfulness and learn more about its mechanisms, so that I could grow myself and share my discoveries with others.

This is what I do now, as a mindfulness coach and teacher.

And among my biggest discoveries in the mindfulness practice is the attitude of non-striving towards the practice itself. By this, I mean surrendering my expectations and trusting the wisdom of the universe. By non-striving, I also mean the profound realization that the spiritual path or the path of self-growth is not a highway to a certain destination but a constant process of cultivating and bringing into the world the virtues that are already present in one, in each of us.

I feel very lucky to be hosting Palouse zoom sessions. It’s a great opportunity to share with the like minded people my experience and insights that come from practicing Zen as well as working with trauma and chronic pain.

You can contact Elena through the Contact page.