I continue to receive feedback from my participants who have experienced wonderful changes. I am very happy for them and continue to share their experiences with you.

M.K.

I had a very fulfilling 8 weeks. My awareness of being present in the moment has increased significantly. Now, when I get caught in thought spirals, I notice it and try to focus on my breath or my body.

I’m a very light sleeper. I’ve woken up at the slightest sound. If I wake up, it can be difficult for me to fall back asleep. In these 8 weeks, I realized that one of the biggest reasons I couldn’t fall back asleep was that my brain, now awake, would get lost in thoughts and get overwhelmed by them. Before, I would grab my phone and spend time on the internet trying to escape this. Recently, instead of reaching for my phone when I noticed these thought spirals in the middle of the night, I tried closing my eyes and focusing on my breath, and I realized I had fallen asleep on my own. It had an incredible impact on my life.

Also, I realized that gratitude, which we emphasized in the last broadcast, doesn’t have much of a place in my life. Like that participant, I decided to write down something that made me happy and that I’m grateful for each day. It’s a very inspiring routine.

N.E.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful things you’ve given me.
Eliminations, detox, and meditation. You’ve always been a source of healing for me. You healed my body with eliminations and detox, and my heart with meditation. The only danger of starting a program with you is becoming a habit. You always motivated me.
The biggest gift these 8 weeks brought me, I think, is that I’ve become a calmer, more peaceful person. I confronted myself. I learned to be grateful and to make peace with myself, even to forgive. Your audio meditation recordings are always there when I need them. I learned to create time for myself. How good those 10 minutes feel.
I love you very much. I’m sure our paths will cross again soon. Until then, I’m a follower on Instagram.

S.E.
After the program, a general calmness and serenity emerged. When something challenging happens, I immediately turn to my toolkit and say, ‘Which meditation should I do?’ Returning to breathwork really feels great. Life goes on at that moment, and it will continue whether I’m writhing in anxiety or not. Taking 5 minutes there to focus on my breathing is good for me at that moment, and it also reduces my stress for the rest of the day.

Even my general decisions seem to have been influenced; I’m not reacting impulsively to events anymore. Thank you so much!

B.S.

It was a wonderful 8-week journey. I participated in 6 of the live broadcasts as soon as they were online, and I watched the other 2 later from recordings without missing a single one. I was already curious about the world of mindfulness and had been reading about it, but I couldn’t quite make sense of it. First of all, I think your incredibly simple way of explaining things, as if you were talking to a child, was very effective. And finally, I understood 🙂 As you explained, the program definitely requires effort to set aside time for individual practice in addition to the teaching. Sometimes I found myself meditating every day, whether I wanted to or not, and sometimes I couldn’t, to be honest, but I never gave up. I always took a few days off and came back. And believe me, I found my extremely scattered brain, which couldn’t focus on anything, anchoring itself in the direction I wanted a few times, and I really enjoyed it. Even if I couldn’t do anything else from the program, the in-2-3-4, ex-2-3-4 breath equation, which I personally practice at least 20 times a day and which never leaves my mind, has created an incredible change in my daily life with just a small action. The second simplest thing is that surfing on waves is constantly on my mind. From now on, send me the waves, thanks to Sema Hanım, I can surf!!

Heartfelt thanks!

Z.Y.

What changes have you observed in yourself after the program?

Before the program, I experienced a lot of constant self-talk, inability to silence my mind, and getting lost in thoughts and various scenarios. The frequency of this has decreased significantly. I can recognize when I’m having such a moment, understand that it’s not real, and break free from the thought spiral. Another observation is that I can remain calmer in the face of situations and events in my life that I’m unhappy with because I’ve formed an acceptance within myself that they are temporary.

How did the program help you?

It helped me at least question, reflect upon, and become aware of the difference between what my mind produces and reality. It helped me pause and breathe during moments of boredom or simply to become aware of myself during the day. It allowed me to break free from the thought cycles I was caught in regarding my pain and difficulties—questions like, “Why is this happening?”, “Why isn’t it going away?”—and to remain more gentle. One of my most important realizations was that alongside the difficulties we perceive in life, we actually see and feel the ease and reasons for happiness we possess. I had rarely thought about this before.

How did you apply what you learned from the program to your life during difficult times?

I started asking myself questions like, “Is there a difference between what I feel and what is actually happening?”, “How difficult is this difficulty?”, “Is this a situation that requires me to stress?” I’m trying to gain the perspective of, “How significant is this difficulty in my life?” “Yes, there are difficulties, but like everything else, this is temporary.” I’m trying to remind myself of the truth.

B.A.

What changes have you observed in yourself after the program?

My goal in participating was to add something regular and routine to my life. I struggled, I struggled a lot, but despite that, I created a space for myself in my study. Every day I would sit in that corner, fighting with myself and my thoughts. Now I meditate routinely every weekday, but I can’t include it on weekends when my routine is disrupted.

I’m not worrying about it or fighting with myself about it right now. We encounter many problems during the day, and every time I face a problem, I breathe in and out; it certainly provides momentary relief. But I don’t think it’s very logical to get feedback from this training right now because I’m sure that after a few months, when I practice regularly, I’ll be able to provide accurate feedback. For now, it’s an exercise that I’m trying to incorporate into my daily routine, and it allows me to use my breath to return to the present moment when I encounter problems during the day.

How has the program helped you?

I’m developing routines, and I’m experiencing how to approach problems, especially when my anxieties start.

How have you applied what you learned in the program to your life when you’re struggling?

I have a dog, and unfortunately, there are a lot of stray dogs in our area. I get stressed before every walk. When I leave the house, I start imagining all sorts of scenarios: “What if a Sivas Kangal dog is in the neighborhood?”, “What if the neighbor’s unleashed Dogo Argentino escapes from the yard and attacks ‘Ice’ again before I get to the park?”, “What if the dogs are sleeping in the park when I go there to relieve myself?” Now I don’t create these scenarios anymore; I calmly count to four as I leave the house, inhaling and exhaling. After repeating this, we go for a walk, and if I encounter a dog outside, I try to move on calmly. In the worst-case scenario, I just say, “There’s water in a plastic bottle with you, Burçin, calm down,” and move on. Unfortunately, we’ve experienced many attacks from dogs in our neighborhood, hence this anxiety.