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Yoga Farm Ithaca: Meditation 101

A self-paced introduction to meditation taught by Jeannie O'Neill at Yoga Farm Ithaca, a nonprofit Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School. Covers the five stages of meditation, breath-work techniques, and practical tools to build an authentic, structured personal practice. Qualifies for 10 CEU hours with Yoga Alliance.

Duration: 6h
Certification: CE credits
Format: self-paced
Skill level: beginner, intermediate
Career pathway: advanced training

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Course program

Meditation 101: Finding Your Authentic Path to Meditation is an online course from Yoga Farm Ithaca, a nonprofit Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School in Ithaca, New York. Led by Jeannie O’Neill, the program approaches meditation as a natural, built-in ability — reframing it as a kind of mental rest and preparation for activity rather than a state of forced calm.

This course is open to anyone curious about meditation, with no prior experience required. It suits beginners looking for a grounded, non-dogmatic entry point, as well as practitioners who want to deepen their understanding of how meditation actually works in the mind and body. Yoga teachers already registered with Yoga Alliance can also use the program to earn continuing education hours.

The course is built around engaging lectures and over six hours of total content. You’ll work through the five stages of meditation, learn how breath-work supports meditation practices, and explore a range of techniques designed to help you drop into a meditative state. The teaching frames meditation as an integration process the mind moves through naturally, including review of memories, release of physical and emotional stress, planning, and moments of quiet.

Rather than teaching meditation as a single technique, the course presents multiple tools so you can structure a practice that fits your own temperament and life. You’ll also gain a more realistic understanding of what meditation feels like — including the experience of busy or unsettled meditations — and how that contributes to feeling clearer and calmer afterward in daily activity.

The course is led by Jeannie O’Neill, Executive Director of Yoga Farm Ithaca. She trained in Kundalini Yoga through the Kundalini Research Institute and completed trauma-informed teaching study with Bessel van der Kolk. Her approach is intentionally non-dogmatic, shaped by a search for a path beyond the guru-centered and authoritarian frameworks she encountered in earlier training.

The course is delivered fully self-paced and online. After enrolling, you receive an email from support@yogafarm.us with access details, and you move through over six hours of recorded lectures at your own pace. There are no scheduled live sessions, assessments, or required check-ins — the format is designed for independent study around your own life and existing practice.

Meet your teacher

Jeannie O’Neill

Jeannie O'Neill is the Executive Director of Yoga Farm Ithaca and lead teacher of the Kundalini Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training. She trained in Kundalini Yoga through the Kundalini Research Institute and studied trauma-informed teaching with Bessel van der Kolk.

Host reviews

Shula Rose

Verified user

I have been part of Yoga Farm Ithaca since 2019. Both as a teacher and a student I absolutely love it. The trauma informed approach and the genuine care from the YFI staff and teachers is amazing. Highly recommend
Rosemarie Zonetti

Verified user

YFI is a gift to the Ithaca community! The studio space is not only beautiful but welcoming, accessible, and inclusive. The boutique is lovely and has lots of great local products. Classes are spacious and full of care. So excited to see this new space for our community downtown!
Sarah Smith

Verified user

Yoga Farm Ithaca is one of those rare places that feels deeply nourishing the moment you arrive and somehow continues to work on you long after you leave. In person, the land itself feels held and intentional. There is a sense of care woven into everything from the physical space to the pacing of the days to the people who gather there. The classes and offerings are thoughtful, embodied, and accessible without ever feeling watered down. Whether you are brand new to a practice or deeply experienced, you feel welcomed exactly as you are.
Kimberly Pollack

Verified user

I love Yoga Farm Ithaca! Their teacher training programs are safe, caring, welcoming online spaces where true healing and growth happens as you learn to teach others. I highly recommend YFI!!!
Lorena Abarr

Verified user

I'm forever grateful that I took YFI's Radiant Warrior 200 hour YTT. It changed my life in so many ways. The teachers are the real deal and are so heartfelt, kind and knowledgeable. This community is amazing.