The People of iRest: Beate Maaß on Presence, Facilitating, and Spontaneity

Beate arrives a day before her iRest workshop begins. The meditation center in Bavaria is about five hours from her home, and she likes to have time to greet the people who run it, settle into the space, and take a breath before everyone arrives. This is one of the ways she prepares. Arriving early helps her to be totally present during the workshop.

From Wednesday evening through Sunday midday, she gives herself to the group.

Beate Maaß is an iRest certified teacher and supervisor and a longtime teacher of German as a foreign language. When I asked her what it was like to be an iRest facilitator, she explained that she personally finds it very enriching to accompany people on their journey in this way. It is her contribution—as her yoga teacher Leopoldo Chariarse always said—to reducing tomorrow’s suffering in the world. For her, iRest is a profound yet very free practice, structured yet open, which she loves to teach in groups and to individuals. In groups, she enjoys creating a “choreography” in advance with varying possibilities, allowing students to experience the practice in a lively way. Day by day, Beate senses how the “dance” unfolds.

During her workshop, she guides participants through all 10 steps of iRest, so that by the last day the exercises already feel familiar and a sense of renewed self-efficacy can emerge.

The last day is always dedicated to integration of the steps. Nothing new. And then the inquiry, How do I bring iRest into daily life?

She finds that structure helps her hold the workshop, but she has learned not to hold it too tightly. “The structure is like a railing,” she says. “Nothing more.”

Each morning begins at 6:30 with quiet sitting, gentle movement, and awareness of body and breath. After breakfast, the group gathers again. There is time for practice, conversation, and individual sessions. During breaks, Beate may rethink what comes next based on what she has heard and felt in the room. At the end of the day, she takes a walk and goes to bed.

The groups are small, usually six to 10 people. Some participants have practiced yoga nidra; many are new to iRest. They bring different lives with them: work in health care, social services, skilled trades, sales, music, and technology, among other fields. Some return year after year. Others arrive simply curious, or longing for stillness and connection.

At the start of the workshop, Beate asks participants what they need to feel safe and at ease together. She writes their answers on a flip chart and keeps these thoughts in mind as the days unfold. For her, facilitating begins with being fully present and developing a sense of what each individual and the group as a whole need.

Trusting in the unfolding of the workshop has taken practice. Beate has an analytical mind, as she herself says, and likes to know what comes next. She realizes now that her mind is very helpful, but not always the greatest tool, and that the most valuable thing she can offer is an open space. Sometimes for silence, sometimes to spontaneously weave in something that feels right, and sometimes to allow a little more time for a participant’s question.

When she feels nervousness rising within her because the workshop is taking an unexpected turn, she knows how to come back to presence herself. “I remind myself to live what I teach,” she says, laughing. “Finding my way back to my own sense of being connected is the only way I can be authentic.”

The questions people bring are wonderfully human. How do I deal with my anger? Why can I meditate when life is calm, but forget everything I’ve learned in a difficult moment? How long should I practice?

To that last question, Beate answers playfully, drawing on ancient meditative sources: if you’re stressed, meditate for 30 minutes. If you’re very stressed, make it an hour. Then she offers her own gentler guidance. Around 20 minutes can be a useful guide, but the quality of attention matters more than the clock. Ten minutes spent feeling present are more beneficial to you than 30 minutes during which your mind is lost in the past or worrying about the future.

“Little and often” is her invitation, inspired by Richard Miller. Before answering the phone, feel your body and take one or two conscious breaths. While washing your hands, notice the water, your skin, the towel, the aliveness in your hands. Hold a warm cup of tea and feel the warmth and notice the fragrance. These small moments give the practice somewhere to live beyond the workshop and the practice of sitting. And people love these gentle gateways to meditation.

Beate also helps people look for their own sense of safety to carry with them during the workshop and in their daily lives. It need not be a grand or perfect feeling of safety. How does a “yes” feel in your body? How does a “no” feel? Or it might just be warmth from the sun, or the small relief of finding your keys. And if someone does not feel okay? That, too, can be a place to begin. Is it possible to be with that feeling for just a second or two?

Over the years, Beate has found herself offering less theory and more time to experience the practices. She makes space for lightness, humor, and joy when they arise. What each individual takes home with them varies and can be surprising. Often, people return to their daily lives feeling a lighter burden and with some tools to help them maintain that sense of ease.

What Beate offers is a welcoming space, a steady rhythm, and practices people can return to. Some arrive wondering whether they can bear the silence. By Sunday, they may wonder how they’ll return to the noise of daily life. Beate reminds them that iRest offers a way to be with whatever is present: turmoil, anxiety, uncertainty, anger, or grief. We don’t have to feel a particular way. We practice being with whatever arises.

Where Beate teaches

Beate’s most recent iRest retreat, Call of the Heart, took place at Benediktushof, a meditation center in Holzkirchen, Bavaria. Set in a former Benedictine monastery, the center welcomes people to explore contemplative practices from different traditions.

Beate’s connection to Benediktushof came through fellow Senior iRest teacher and trainer Nöle Giulini, who offered iRest and Practice of Welcoming courses there for 10 years before recommending Beate to continue the work.