My friend Sonia Moriceau, who has died of complications arising from Parkinson's disease aged 59, was a brilliant and compassionate meditation teacher who helped transform many lives.
The bedrock of her life's work was Satipatthana, the Way of Mindfulness. She studied shiatsu with Master Ohashi in New York and in time created a unique approach to touch called healing-shiatsu. She practised as a therapist and established a healing-shiatsu education centre, the Orchard, at Lower Maescoed, Herefordshire, offering a three-year professional training course, the first of its kind in the UK. In her 40s, she studied Vajrayana Buddhism under the guidance of Namgyal Rinpoche.
She was born in Mamers, France, the second of four children. In her teens, she was an international table-tennis player and five times French national champion. She moved to Britain in the mid-1970s, prompted by a meeting with the Zen Buddhist meditation teacher John Garrie Roshi. This was her first step on a journey of exploration, to understand the roots of human suffering and promote healing and well-being.
Sonia met her future husband, Ad Brugman, in 1978 – their partnership proved an effective combination of Gallic fire and Dutch pragmatism. In the mid-1980s, they bought a remote property in the foothills of the Black Mountains and developed the Orchard, a meditation centre of great calmness in the midst of wild beauty. From there Sonia offered retreats, and travelled to teach and practise in Canada, New Zealand, France, Switzerland and Germany.
Sonia was beautiful and petite, with quicksilver energy and sharp intelligence, capable of both serenity and a teasing playfulness. She enjoyed beautiful clothes, objets d'art and being with her friends – preferably eating good food.
In 2007, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's, which recently became aggressive. Nevertheless, she continued with her planned programme and always taught by example. She had been due to teach on a retreat entitled "How to prepare for death, leaving fear behind".
She is survived by Ad.