For many people, meditation may seem outside their comfort zone. To those people, the thought of the man who owns a company called The Boston Buddha drinking a beer and rooting for the New England Patriots may seem far-fetched.

But Milton resident Andy Kelley is just as likely to be cheering for Boston sports teams as he is to be meditating, a practice he's done daily for just over five years. Kelley hasn't always been the harmonious mix of a relaxed Chopra Center-certified meditation teacher and a guy's guy that he is today.

Five years ago he was a career-driven broadcast professional with his nose to the grindstone, constantly seeking advancement. He was also worn down and struggling to sleep through the night.

A transformation began in Kelley's life when he finally picked up a birthday gift from his wife, Catharine Uyenoyama that sat on a shelf for months. Deepak Chopra's "Perfect Health" was a book he figured he'd never even leaf through.

While Uyenoyama has always had a spiritual side, Kelley was less open-minded. "I didn't care about energy," Kelley said. "I didn't care about the hippy dippy stuff."

The book opened Kelley's eyes to the health benefits and the science behind Chopra's message about meditation, so he picked up another books, and another.

Eventually, Kelley took a meditation class, and turned it into a habit.

"I wasn't wrapped in a blanket of bliss, but I knew if I stuck with it I could sleep through the night," Kelley said.

Kelley said sleeping better led to happier relationships. He even began to disassociate himself with the possessions he was so driven to attain.

Kelley explained that mantra-based meditation is really a way to dial back through years of conditioning. He explained that since birth, people are conditioned to feel and react certain ways, burying their true selves. As he began to find himself, Kelley went to the Chopra Center in 2008 where he was certified as a Primordial Sound Meditation Instructor.

For about the last year and a half, Kelley has been teaching meditation to groups, individuals and children with the everyman approach that is rarely associated with the activity.

 "I wanted to take these ancient teachings and give them a more mainstream approach," said Kelley, who added his wife calls him the "steak and potatoes meditation instructor."

Kelley said his changed lifestyle has given him a new confidence. Not to say the hard-charging director wasn't confident, but the new Kelley now has a true grasp on the word, not letting others affect him.

With that confidence, Kelley left the broadcast world for good about a month ago to focus on The Boston Buddha, which has drawn a larger clientele in the past six months.

"I left a pretty good job in probably the worst economy since the Great Depression," Kelley said levelly.

He's had plenty to keep him busy thus far. Kelley has started a before school mindfulness workshop at Glover Elementary School, where his eight-year-old son, Hayden, is a second-grader. The 10-week program meets once a week for 45 minutes.

The sessions begin with a game or activity, move to a teaching objective and end with an introspective meditative period, focusing on breath awareness. It is Kelley's hope that the class will someday be available at the other schools in Milton.

Kelley, who sees great value in teaching meditation to children, even offers free lessons to his client's children of a certain age.

Sticking with his belief that everyone should be able to approach and appreciate meditation, Kelley has taught a free class at the Milton Public Library once a quarter for the past year. During the hour and a half class, Kelley discusses stress and the positive effects of meditation, before giving some instruction. He always takes questions, allowing him to further learn from his students.

His next Introduction to Meditation class will be October 16, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Keys Community Room.

With the growing popularity of TheBostonBuddha.com, Kelley hopes to continue to expand, with different courses including a mind and body boot camp. He also hopes to open a welcoming wellness center at some point.

Kelley is careful to look too far into the future as the transformed man is now focused on the present.