Dr. Mark Westmoquette did his degree (2003) and PhD (2007) in Astrophysics at University College London and subsequently spent seven years as a professional astronomer working in London and Munich, Germany. His main area of research was galaxy evolution, particularly the galaxy-wide effects of rapid bursts of star formation known as starbursts. 

In 2009 Mark trained as a yoga teacher with Zenways school based in the UK, which teaches a style of yoga based in Zen-Buddhist philosophy. In 2013 he decided to shift gears out of academia to focus on teaching yoga and meditation. Since then, Mark has taught extensively, including on the Zenways 200hr Yoga Teacher training course.  

Mark has been studying Zen with Zen Master Daizan Skinner for over 10 years. In 2015 he spent a period as a Zen monk, carrying out a 500 mile (800 km) pilgrimage walk through the UK, living only on alms food. In 2016 he was given permission to teach dharma at the junior-teacher level. 

He is the author of three books that are about exploring the connection between astronomy and mindfulness in a way that’s accessible, thought provoking and inspiring: ‘Mindful Thoughts for Stargazers’ (2019), ‘Stars: A Practical Guide to the Key Constellations’ (2020), ‘The Mindful Universe’ (2020). His latest book, ‘Zen and the Art of Dealing with Difficult People’ is forthcoming in Dec 2021. 

After recently returning from living for two years on the remote island of St Helena in the South Atlantic, he now teaches yoga, Zen and mindful stargazing from his base in London.