Ad Brugman

His search for happiness led him to the practice of Mindfulness Meditation and T’ai-Ji starting in 1975. Dutch by birth, he came to the UK in 1979 to work more closely with his first meditation teacher John Garrie Roshi.

Until 1989 he worked for a period of 18 years in Africa. First for 6 years as a hydro-geologist in Tanzania and Kenya and then as a project consultant for rural development with local communities in both east and west Africa.

As Ad’s teaching commitments increased he stopped working in Africa to solely focus on developing his teaching skills and The Orchard as a meditation centre.

“Touching Stillness” expresses a unique blend of mindfulness meditation and T’ai-Ji as evolved over a period of more than 23 years of teaching both in the UK and abroad.

A profound deepening of his meditation practice occurred under the late Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche with whom he studied intensively during retreats ranging from two weeks to six months.

His deepest gratitude goes to his teachers for their generous sharing from their treasure of wisdom and compassion: John Garrie Roshi, Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche, Chungliang Al Huang and Suprapto Suryodarmo.
To enhance his teaching skills he completed a diploma course in counselling and a one-year training in sensorimotor psychotherapy for trauma recovery.

For his own personal growth and out of respect for his students, Ad continues his studies by going regularly on retreats each year.

Ad is a member of the Living Tao Foundation (USA) and Living Tao UK

What others say about the leadership:
“ ...leads with care and humour..”
“ ...committed, powerful, patient and fun...”
“ ...relaxed, non-dogmatic, experiential approach..”
"..no gimmicks, nothing superficial, or"instant", just a generous sharing of his belief.."