Yoga
Shingetsu van der Groen (1933) is a yoga teacher. Zen made her develop her own style of yoga: a combination of Japanese yoga, Taoism and Oriental Medicine.

Shingetsu likes gardening, painting and drawing.

Zen past
In 1983 Shingetsu met Prabhasa Dharma, Zenji. She practised very intensively with her in Europe and the USA.

Zen present
Shingetsu has her own meditation center in Krimpen aan den IJssel in The Netherlands. In her meditation groups she pays a lot of attention to exercises which make sitting in zazen easier.

She also stresses the importance of love and compassion, qualities which arise spontaneously through meditation. Her device is: "Your relaxation is my liberation".

She often gives her students koans, for instance: "Can you hand me - a flower, a cushion or a box - without using your hands?

The central theme in Shingetsu's teaching is the development of awareness. Therefore she often practises with sayings from the Anapanasati sutra, the sutra of conscious breathing.

Shingetsu lives mindful of Prabhasa Dharma, Zenji's words: "Don't talk too much. Show it."
This way the teacher is a living example.

Shingetsu's favorite poem: