This thesis documents a self-­study of the author’s meditation and teaching practice. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of meditation to develop authentic teaching practice and to consider the applications of new understanding to the teaching environment. The process of meditation is the primary inquiry method supported by self-­study, an emergent teacher practitioner based methodology. Siddha Yoga meditation teaches that continual meditation practice leads to a direct experience and expanded awareness of your own Self.

A practice of regular meditation and journaling over a teaching semester identified four key themes. These themes span the personal inner experience and deepening spiritual awareness, through to the everyday professional practices and skills of a teacher. The themes acknowledge the mysterious and potent place of unknowing concealed deep within an individual; the experience of cultivating Self-­awareness which leads to a unified perspective of others; and finally describes the ways in which this new awareness influences the teacher-­student interaction, regarded in this study as the observable artefacts of the study. The study describes how a deepening awareness of oneself supports authentic development in one’s professional role as a teacher. Although there are definite challenges to using a model of contemplative self-­inquiry within an academic framework, there are clear benefits. This study can contribute to the development of new methodology that fully accepts the value of self-experience as a form of self-­knowledge, and which aligns with contemplative or integrative teaching approaches.