About

My name is Rita Geraghty. I have been practicing mindfulness since 2008. I am certified to teach by Mindful Schools. I have taught adults in private and community college settings since 2016. My continuing education, since being certified, has been multiple programs and multi-day retreats from reputable teacher such as Rick Hanson, Matthew Brensilver, Chris McKenna, Megan Cowan, Vinny Ferraro, Gene Lushtak, Liz Stanley, David Treleavan. Coming from a trauma background I am careful and sensitive in my approach to teaching and coaching.

My path to teaching and coaching mindfulness unfolded from necessity. Being born into a family with lots of challenges made me chronically anxious and distrusting of life in general. As I grew and added my own family and work, things became increasingly unmanageable. Years of therapy, groups and self help books didn’t seem to make make much of a difference. One day while reading about mindfulness, I realized that, while doing the practice, I felt some semblance of peace for the first time ever. I finished the book and thought I had found the lasting solution to my suffering.

It wasn’t until a few months later and I had a meltdown at work which included, trashing my boss and quitting, that I realized maybe I needed a consistent practice. I vowed to give 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week to mindfulness. If it didn’t work by 6 months, then it was another ruse.

Initially, I had a hard time. In retrospect, I could have used the recent adaptations of Trauma Informed Mindfulness. But I persevered. About 3 months into the practice, one of my teens ended up in the emergency room. To my surprise I was uncharacteristically calm considering the situation. I realized that I was actually unconsciously using mindfulness and it was regulating my nervous system. At that moment I was sold and began to learn everything I could.

Mindfulness Trainings, Certifications and Retreats:

  • Personal practice and study starting 2008
  • 6 – week intro course with Mindful Schools, 2012
  • 8 – week intro course with MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction), 2012
  • 6 – week on-line  Spirit Rock Meditation Center, 2013
  • 3 – day retreat with Mindful Schools, 2014
  • 5 – day retreat with Mathew Brensilver, 2014
  • 16 – hours of Mindful Schools K-12 Curriculum Training, 2015
  • 2 -7 day retreats for year-long Mindful Schools certification, 2015, 2016
  • Day-long on Trauma and Mindfulness with Gene Lushtak at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, 2015
  • Mindful Schools Certified 2017. Certified Instructors 
  • 6 – week online course “Difficult Emotions” with Mindful Schools, 2016
  • 8 – week online training “Mindful Communication”, Mindful Schools, 2017
  • Mentor for cohort group of Mindful Schools current year-long certification students, 2017-18.
  • 7-day grad retreat, Mindful Schools, June 2018
  • 5-day mindfulness retreat Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Sept. 2019
  • On-line course,“Mindfulness Mind Fitness Training – stress resilience, Elizabeth Stanley, 2020.
  • On-line course, “The Complete Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Training”, David Treleavan, 2021