Sita Brand is a storyteller and mindfulness practitioner. She was born and raised in Bombay and has traveled widely. She has been telling stories for over 30 years. She grew up surrounded by stories told to her by her mother and aunts.
She is a student of the late Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh and was ordained as a member of the Order of the Interbeing in 2006.
At the age of six, Sita wanted to devote her life to prayer… though life had other plans. After graduating from Exeter University with a degree in Drama she studied meditation and Buddhism throughout her 20s and 30s, visiting Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
In 2005, she journeyed through Vietnam with him and an international delegation of monks and nuns to record and present a programme for BBC Radio 4 about him, The Vietnamese Buddha.
After a career in theatre she settled in the Yorkshire Dales for a quiet life, but ended up establishing Settle Stories. Working in Settle is very different from working in London. Sita loves the intimacy of working in a small rural community.
She runs a daily meditation group and is a Buddhist prison chaplain. She is also a Quaker, a practitioner of silent prayer with a strong belief in seeing God in everyone and the power of transformation no matter what a person’s personal circumstances may be.
She is passionate about myths and folktales and what they can teach us in modern life. She combines her love of story and mindfulness when leading retreats. She offers participants guided meditation and calm creative instruction to lead them on a journey of self-discovery. She welcomes people of every background, and is able to create a safe space in which they can all think and reflect.
