Meditation classes in Perth

The Buddhist Society of WA's purpose-built retreat centre in a Darling Scarp valley beside Bodhinyana Monastery — sixty single rooms with ensuites, a large meditation hall and covered walking-meditation halls. Weekend and nine-day residential retreats are led by monastics, with long days of sitting and walking practice; experienced practitioners can arrange mentored self-retreats of a week or more.

Eric Harrison has taught meditation in Perth since 1987 — some twenty-five thousand students on — with an approach that is deliberately rational and practical, free of spiritual framing. Day-long mindfulness workshops run one Saturday a month ($210, $150 concession) and include his textbook and guided audio for home practice.

More than thirty-six classes a week across Ashtanga, Iyengar, Vinyasa, Hatha and Yin, seven days a week — including Mysore-style self-practice from 5.30am for the before-work crowd. The six-week Beginners Foundations course is the structured way in if you've never stepped on a mat.

A not-for-profit centre teaching modern Buddhist meditation, with its home in East Fremantle and weekly drop-in classes across the metro — Joondalup, Kingsley, Bayswater, Baldivis and free lunchtime sessions at the WA Museum. Drop-ins are $15, need no booking, and assume no background whatsoever.

Weekly crystal-bowl sound journeys at three venues across the metro — Trigg by the beach midweek and Sunday, with Fremantle and Victoria Park sessions on Sundays. Casual drop-ins run $44 and a three-session intro pack takes the edge off deciding. A guided meditation opens each session before the bowls take over.

The Buddhist Society of WA's city centre, fifteen minutes north of the CBD, running free guided meditation several times a week alongside Friday dhamma talks and WA's largest Buddhist library. The four-week introduction course starts on the first Saturday of each month, and newcomers are expected rather than merely tolerated.