Who we are
Kovido Maddick and Eric Chagnon are the co-founders and certified mindfulness meditation teachers at Mindfulness Dunedin. Their very different backgrounds and teaching styles complement each other for a holistic - and sometimes eclectic - approach to mindfulness and meditation. They share the belief that nature should be an integral part of one’s well-being. They also strongly advocate that mindfulness and meditation do not have to be practiced alone. We are all in this together, and growing lovingkindness and compassion is better achieved in the company of others.
Kovido Maddick
Kovido has over 40 years’ experience in mindfulness and meditation and spent 10 years training as a Buddhist Monk, in the Thai Forest Tradition, under Ajahn Sumedho.
He has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programmes since 1996. He is a certified teacher and coach with Mindfulness Works whose courses he has taught for 10 years. He is co-facilitator of the Dunedin Men’s group and is a Hakomi Graduate.
Although his training is primarily Buddhist he is very eclectic, drawing on the wisdom of many different traditions and contemporary teachers including Rumi, Osho, Ajahn Chah, Ram Dass, Jeff Foster and Thich Naht Hanh. Probably his greatest teachers have been his two foster children, Mason and Savannah, who could take him from love, joy, delight to rage and frustration and despair on a daily basis.
For many many years, Kovido tried to get enlightened, improve himself, get better at meditation but constantly failed. Gradually his focus has changed to more self-acceptance, trusting his own intuition and being with life as it is on this wonder-full and mysterious journey as a human being.
Recently he walked the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route in Northern Spain, which has greatly affected his attitude to meditation practice and life.
Eric Chagnon
Eric’s journey of self-discovery began more than 30 years ago during a backpacking trip in Western Canada. There, he felt a profound connection with nature and the people he encountered. This experience led him to explore meditation and mysticism through the Rosicrucian Order Amorc for about five years.
Life’s responsibilities shifted his focus when he started a family and embarked on a corporate career. Having climbed the ladder of professional success, Eric understands the pressures and stresses of working in competitive and often toxic environments. Ten years ago, he decided to leave the corporate world to spend more time with his young family. This experience gave him first hand insight into the challenges of raising children and managing a household.
In Canada, where he is from, Eric embraced teaching functional fitness in nature as a Movnat Certified Trainer and Personal Trainer Specialist. Although he no longer operates this business since relocating to New Zealand, he continues to train in Dunedin’s urban bush twice a week, sharing his passion with friends.
Currently, Eric's days are filled with making pavlovas at a local manufacturer, while his evenings are dedicated to teaching mindfulness. His discovery and immersion into mindfulness meditation culminated in obtaining a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certificate from renowned instructors Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, through the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California Berkeley and Sounds True.
Eric offers mindfulness courses, day-retreats, and monthly Mindfulness Nature Walks around Dunedin. He finds joy in guiding others on their paths of self-discovery and is eager to share the benefits of mindfulness with anyone keen to seek within.