Take a few deep breaths and call to mind the moon. Perhaps you saw a really impressive full moon one time that made an impression in your mind. Call in that image. Can you feel its energy?
Take a few more deep breaths and imagine yourself gazing at the moon. You look and feel healthy and vibrant. You are smiling and vibrating internally- FEEL your beauty, your passion, your wisdom, your LIGHT! BASK IN IT. OWN IT!
You are standing with a basket of flower petals near a body of water. Each flower petal represents that which you are releasing - that which no longer serves you.
Take a deep breath and say aloud (or in your head) - “As I synchronize with the energy of the full moon tonight, I willingly let go of what no longer empowers and nourishes me.”
Notice the warmth of the moon beaming down on you and the breath of fresh air dancing on your skin. With each exhalation pause and drop flower petals into the water.
Marvel at the gentle ripples they create in the water... ripples through your energy, ripples through your life. With each petal you drop, release the things you need to break your attachments to, things you are ready to move on without, things weighing you down on your journey.
We can release the following together, and repeat after me out loud or inwardly.
When you no longer have any more petals in your basket, and you have released everything not serving you, notice how light you feel. Observe how beautifully the flower petals are guiding you down the path, ushering you into a new month, new moon cycle, new way of being, New life with FREEDOM to BE YOU.
All of the struggles, hardships, failures, disappointments and sadness were all lessons... all ripples guiding you, strengthening you, and preparing you for the magnificence that you emanate now.
Look up once again at the glorious full moon overlooking the water. Take a deep breath and say out loud (or in your head) - “I welcome the clarity, strength and the many blessings that the moon offers me. I trust my intuition and guides to point me towards relationships and situations that will serve my highest good.”
We take a moment to enjoy this feeling of blessing and gratitude. And we also call to mind all the experiences, and all of the people who have come into and out of your life, that we are thankful for. We offer this good feeling to them and all beings.
Now set your intentions... for JOY, for LOVE, for PEACE... for whatever your heart desires.
Be sure that you state them out loud or in my mind as if they are already here - FEEL THEM as if they already exist - feeling it is what makes it real.
Speak from your heart, from the deepest part of your soul. Speak with love and light.
When you have finished setting your intentions, pause for a few moments to let that energy wash over you.
Look at the calm waters with the moon’s reflection & energy rippling through.
When you are ready, take a deep breath and take the plunge! Jump, dive or twirl into the water. It is invigorating as the cool water washes away all the stale energy of the past, wipes the slate clean and releases all that no longer serves you.
The water readies you for the life you deserve - the life of LOVE, PASSION, JOY, MEANING, ABUNDANCE.
Stay underneath as long as you like and enjoy the weightlessness and ease with which you glide through. You emerge REBIRTHED, REINVIGORATED, REVITALIZED.
Float as long as you like in the calm, peacefulness of your own radiant awareness.
]]>your posture tall during this session.
Begin by acknowledging something that is keeping you alive since
the very beginning of your life, oxygen.
Breathing is the most important thing we do,
we cannot go for longer than 2 minutes or so without breath,
yet most of us do not even notice we are breathing all day.
So, let’s honor our breath now by taking 5 deep and full breaths together
in a moment, letting each breath fill you will energy,
and each time you exhale, allow yourself to feel deeply relaxed.
Take 5 significant and purposeful breaths.
1 fully inhale…. expanding your belly and chest as much as you can.
Holding it for a moment…and exhale….
feeling a wave of relaxation sweep over you…
2 inhale…. filling your entire breathing system with fresh oxygen.
Hold it…and exhale…. the wave of relaxation gently sweeping over you…
3 inhale…. so that you are brimming with air.
Holding it….. soaking in oxygen…and exhale….
your body relaxes in different areas, without any effort…
4 fully inhale…. feeling these breaths purifying your entire body…
Exhaling…. just notice how you are feeling…
And 5…. a beautiful breath coming in.…
Hold it, feeling invigorated from oxygen…
and exhale…. allowing relaxation to sweep over you…
Take note of how you feel at this very moment.
You now have an abundance of oxygen.
Remember breath is life, and feel connected to your aliveness.
Breathing deeply and fully is an expression of self-compassion.
Let your breath flow naturally now, and notice how you feel.
Now, Return your focus on your spine.
Is it straight, radiating confidence in yourself?
Make your posture tall and proud, but keep the chin tucked slightly,
gaze downward or eyes closed.
Allow your eyelids to relax and do whatever feels most natural for you.
This relaxation in your eyelids is so comforting, that you let it grow
and begin to fill your entire body with calmness.
Become aware of your head now. Just notice your eyes…..and ears….
what sounds can you hear?....now notice your nose and can you feel
the air gently coming in?.....now notice your mouth, and chin.
Let your awareness go down your neck, and shoulders,
down each arm, and all the way to the tip of each finger.
Become aware of your lungs now, expanding and contracting.
And notice your heart beating strongly.
Notice your belly, and hips.
All the way down each leg, to notice your feet and each toe.
Take another nice deep breath in and allow a smile come across your face.
Bring into your mind a memory when you were laughing. It could be a memory from long ago, or a funny moment that happened recently.
Just let the feeling of laughter and joy rise in your body
as it comes into your mind. Vividly see yourself laughing.
Now hear yourself saying:
“When I laugh, I am calm and relaxed.
Whenever I am in a stressful time, it is helpful for me to smile
even just a little and remember that this stress shall pass on by.
When I breathe deeply and focus on a time when I was laughing, I can bring the feeling of happiness and joy, back to the very moment of now.
I am an important addition to this world.
I accomplish things in my own time.
I am worthy and I deserve goodness.
When I relax, I can focus. I don’t have to worry about
what I will be, because I already am.”
(pause)
Vividly see yourself now accomplishing all that you want to do.
See this in as much detail as you can. The more details you can add
to your imagination of yourself achieving goals, the better.
(pause)
Now whenever you are ready to come back to the present moment,
take a nice deep refreshing breath, feeling energized
and ready to accomplish your goals.
When we open our eyes we will return to a beautiful world that’s yours to explore. That you are a part of and not separate from.
We dedicate all the good from this practice to all sentient beings.
May they be happy and free from suffering.
And when we are ready we can gently open our eyes and
ease back into our present space and surroundings.
]]>Starting at the top of your head, relax your scalp completely. Feel the skin of your forehead and temples relax. Allow your eye muscles to release, your jaw to soften, and let your ears, nose, chin, teeth, tongue, and gums relax.
Now, just let this peaceful feeling flow down your neck. Feel it soothe your throat and dissolve any tension on contact as it glides down to your shoulders, upper arms, forearms, wrists, and hands.
Let this peaceful sensation of relaxation begin to fill your torso. Feel it relax your chest, giving your heart more room to grow more expansive; more loving, giving, and forgiving. Soften your belly muscles and let this relaxation penetrate even deeper, releasing any tension from your internal organs.
Now let it wrap around you, enveloping you in love and peace as it softens all the back muscles all the way down to the base of your spine.
Continue to breathe in deep, fluid breaths. Breathe in health, happiness, and harmony. Breathe out any tension, toxins, worries, or disease, allowing anything that does not serve you to leave your body like a dark cloud.
Send this peaceful feeling into your hips and behind. Let it glide down your thighs, relaxing your legs completely as it flows down to your knees, calves, ankles, and feet. Allow any remaining tension from anywhere in your body to flow out your toes, leaving your whole body feeling very comfortable, peaceful, and relaxed.
Continue to breathe deep relaxing breaths, feeling your belly rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale. Notice how the air feels cooler as you breathe in, and warmer as you breathe out. Now, imagine a golden glowing ball of light about a foot above the crown of your head.
On an inhalation, breathe that light in through the top of your head through the center line of your body, right down to the tailbone. On the exhalation, breathe that light back up the way it came, and out the top of your head. We’ll do this 3 times to begin to balance and align your chakras.
Begin to focus on your Root chakra at the base of your spine and visualize a vibrant red glowing ball of light, or if you prefer, imagine a red crystal, flower or fruit. This chakra brings health, security, and dynamic presence. Feel it empower you as it connects you to earth energies. You’re radiating power, and vitality.
Breathe the color red in and out and see yourself living your healthy ideal, feeling happy, and grateful for radiant health and boundless energy, weighing your perfect weight with a strong, balanced immune system. Feel how good it feels to have all the energy you need to do all the things you love to do.
You feel so grateful for this magnificent body that moves so freely and well and looks so good. Feel yourself healthier than you’ve ever felt before. Now let this vibrant red chakra continue to glow and spin as you move up to your Sacral chakra, located between your root chakra and your navel.
Here, see a radiant glowing orange ball of light. This chakra holds the energy of money, power, sexuality, and creativity. Breathe in a rich beautiful orange color and feel it bring the gifts of being happy, enthusiastic, sexually fulfilled, prosperous and abundant.
See yourself experiencing true wealth on every level, being grateful for the abundance in your life now, and imagine riches flowing to you in expected and unexpected ways. Let this chakra continue to glow and spin as you move up to your Solar chakra located a few inches above your navel.
Here, see a beautiful sunny yellow glowing ball of light, or visualize a lemon or a sunflower. As you breathe in a vibrant yellow color, feel it expand your joy, self-worth, and personal power. See yourself successful and deeply fulfilled in your dream job.
Feel the glowing yellow chakra empower you as you move up to your Heart chakra at the center of your chest, and visualize a beautiful emerald green or a soft pink glowing ball of light.
This is the chakra of love for yourself and others. Let it glow, bringing gifts of compassion, self-acceptance, and the ability to love deeply. Breathe in pink or green and let these feelings expand, seeing yourself living in perfect harmony with everyone in your life.
Let it fill you with gratitude for this opportunity to live in this wonderful world. Feel your heart swell with compassion and forgiveness for yourself and others.
Now let this chakra continue to glow and spin, and gently move up to your Throat chakra located at your throat, visualizing a beautiful blue color. This chakra enables you to communicate with truth and wisdom and express yourself with confidence.
Breathing blue in and out, see yourself happily expressing your uniqueness through a creative outlet you enjoy such as singing, dancing, playing a sport, anything you do for fun. Let this chakra continue to glow and spin and gently move up to your 3rd eye chakra located at the center of your forehead.
See a beautiful deep purpley blue indigo colored glowing ball of light. As it glows, it expands your imagination, psychic abilities, inner knowing and wisdom. Feel fully supported by the Universe as you pursue your personal growth goals, happily following your highest path. See yourself living your ideal in the personal growth area of your life, whatever that means to you.
Now let this indigo light continue to glow and spin as you gently move up to your Crown chakra at the top of your head. This is the chakra of spirituality, thought, and service to others.
Breathe in violet or white, gold or silver and let this chakra glow as it brings gifts of self-knowledge, spiritual connection and bliss. See yourself living in wisdom and awareness, surrendering into divine love, joyfully contributing to the world in the way most meaningful for you.
Let this chakra glow and spin as you bring your awareness back to the golden glowing light above your head. Watch as it transforms into a golden Pot. Now breathe it in through your Crown chakra to your 3ed eye chakra, Throat chakra, Heart chakra, Solar and Sacral chakra, right down to your root chakra.
On exhalation breathe it back up the way it came. As it passes through each chakra see the pot filling with gold coins representing the gifts and attributes of each one.
Now visualize this beautiful Pot of Gold above your head once again overflowing with sparkling gold coins. This is your unique pot of gold, filled with everything you could ever want.
Let them rain down on you. Spend as long as you like in this peaceful state visualizing all your dreams coming true as you finally lay claim to your pot of gold.
Learn more about the Chakra System Here. https://belindagrace.com/energy-healing/7-chakras-balancing-health-spiritual-connections/
]]>Tonglen is Tibetan for ‘giving and taking’ (or sending and receiving). It is also known as exchanging self with other. The practice originated in 12th Century Tibet and is one of the fundamental practices in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition.
“Giving and Taking” practice:
Bodhicitta is “enlightenment-mind”, or the mind that strives toward awakening, empathy, and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Tonglen is the seventh slogan, under Relative Bodhichitta, in a mind training practice called Lojong. Learn more about Tonglen here.
The heart chakra, or Anahata means ‘unstruck sound’ in Sanskrit. It holds the center of love, empathy, and compassion. When fully open, the heart chakra becomes a channel for Universal Compassion.
We are so excited to be partnering with one of our yogi crushes, Cari Rogers, to present our first series of Wisdom Workshops.
In the first installment of Cari's Elemental Series, we explored Grounding with Earth using the 5 senses to ground and center ourselves via connection to Earth. We came away with various tools to use when we are feeling untethered, disconnected, unsafe or anxious. Below is some homework Cari invited us to help us connect with the Earth element.
Sights:
Sounds:
Tastes:
Touch:
Smells:
The Elemental Series continues with the following line up:
Newcomers welcome. No special clothing or gear required. Register for any or all of the above using the coupon code: WiseYogi to receive $5 off
Money is a source of deep stress in most people’s lives. According to SaveYourDollars, many Americans have trouble with managing debt and finances, and “more than half of the American population have debt. About 81.5% of millennial's, 79.9% of the Gen X generation, and 80.9% of baby boomers are in debt.” That’s a tremendous amount of debt—and a tremendous amount of unhealthy stress to go along with it.
While it would be irresponsible to claim that mindfulness and meditation will make all your money problems go away, that doesn’t mean meditation can’t be part of a multi-faceted solution. It can, and here’s how:
Believe it or not, your mindset plays a large role in financial success. In order manifest the wealth that you dream of, you must make sure you're mentally in a clear-headed, positive, and future-thinking place.
How you handle money as an adult has a lot to do with your financial experiences growing up. For example, some people grow up with the mindset that money is morally bad, or that finances should never be discussed. In these situations, some people develop a negative mindset about money, and it gives them anxiety or shame in relation to their finances. Use meditation as a tool to ease that anxiety and train yourself to think positively about money. Instead of apprehensively approaching the topic of finances, allow meditation to ease your thoughts and balance your emotions, so that you can focus on the best financial path for yourself.
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Money, like energy, is always transferring from one place to another, whether it is done mindfully or not. If you don’t focus your money in a particular direction, then just like energy, it will move in whatever direction it wants and it will disappear. Just as you would meditate to focus and center your energy, meditate to focus and center your money. Calmly contemplate your earnings and your spending habits. Are you focusing your money and your energy in a good direction? Respond to your financial energy positively by always being aware of where your money is going and how it will return to you.
While you may currently have less money than you'd like, the only way to get more is to give more. Many people who are anxious about money are unable to let it go when they receive it, even if they are financially stable. They hold tightly to their money, hoarding it away. This fundamental fear of losing money comes from a fear of scarcity, a fear that the world is ungiving. Meditate about the purpose of money and about your financial fears. Again, money is like energy, meant to move around from place to place, to bless the people who use it. Money, when used wisely, improves lives. Are you using money to improve your life? Or are you too afraid of losing money to let it go? Use meditation to let go of fear. Choose to believe that the world is a generous and giving place, and be part of that world.
Meditating your way to a better mindset is a very real and effective way to relieve stress and improve your finances. Follow these four game-changing tips to put your money where your mind is.
]]>Ok, maybe the official day isn't until June 21 in the US, but it FEELS like summer! I've even started working on getting that nice golden brown tan I promise myself every year.
It seems like once memorial day rolls around everyone lights up and starts heading out as much as possible. The beaches here in Chicago become full all day and night and there is an unending stream of smoke from grills all around the city.
Along with all the tan lines and delicious grilled meat come the constant flow of ambulances and police cars near the major beaches.
Every year without fail there is an increase in crime and people that end up in the hospital from drinking all day in the sun.
As I drove down Lake Shore Drive yesterday and watched the ambulance lights pass me I thought of what it means to be a yogi.
More so, what does it mean to dedicate yourself to developing your highest potential in a world with limitless distractions?
And the truth is ... it's hard.
I should say working with our habits are hard. Hitting the meditation cushion or yoga mat is a mostly joyful activity. It's the other 23 hours of the day that seem to be the most challenging!
Every moment of every day you're faced with a million tiny decisions that we think will make us happy.
Coke or Sprite
Blonde or Brunette
Kombucha or Cognac
Then that briefest desire is either fulfilled or not and we jump to the next instant of a something that never lasts.
Its in this stream of decisions that we can so easily lose our awareness -- instead of holding that state of mind we experienced in meditation we take that 12th shot and punch a lifeguard!
Lack of awareness meet consequences.
The summer often feels like the breeding ground for forgetting all the work we put into developing clarity of mind. That as the sun beats on our tanned skin we forget that its so much more joyful to enjoy a stable mind instead of making another less than useful decision.
As we pull out the volley ball net and those stupid sandals with a bottle opener on the bottom -- remember that hour on the cushion or the mat is only the starting point. That place of openness and awareness that we try to carry into every moment of every day until that experience becomes effortless.
Then we're truly unshakable
Do you remember the last time you smiled so much your face hurt?
That feeling when everything feels so right that it radiates out.
Seeping through your pores and touching every moment.
Every atom vibrating with joy and kept together by love.
This is our natural state.
Completely limitless, without fear, every moment shining with joy and compassion filling our heart. Every thought, word and action being used to benefit others.
This is what meditation shows us.
It doesn't create anything new in us or take something away.
Instead, meditation helps us have the awareness to see things as they are -- and naturally, this is joyful.
And every time you sit down to meditate you get a little taste of this experience.
Bit by bit this becomes your experience of the world.
Then gradually it becomes easier to take this experience off the cushion and into your daily life.
Then your ex calls and your zen is totally blown!
All you have to do is find your cushion, get back to center and let yourself smile again.
Remembering that this joy is your natural state.
May all beings be happy!
There are a lot of meditations in the world.
Incredibly powerful Hindu tantric methods that are supposed to give one incredible power over phenomena.
Simple mindfulness techniques.
As well as methods meant to delve into the very depths of the mind.
But what good is sitting on a cloud all by yourself?
What can you do for others if everything you do is for yourself?
This is why cultivating compassion is so important.
Not only does it make sense when we do some simple math and see that there are just one you and countless others.
See also: How to Get the Most from Your Meditation Practice
In Buddhist Mahayana schools there is an emphasis on the union of compassion and wisdom. That both qualities, fully developed, and working in equal parts creates highest functioning.
Because if one has all the greatest insight in the world, and laser sharp wisdom that always sees things as they are, but lacks compassion -- you become cold and distant.
Always with your nose too high and looking at everything from your perch of wisdom, you quickly become useless.
RELATED CONTENT: How to Make Meditation a Habit
On the other hand, those who can't wear white shirts because their heart is bleeding everywhere are equally useless. Crying every time the wind blows doesn't benefit anyone.
By cultivating these two together, compassion is an incredible power. If wisdom points to what needs to be done, compassion gives you the power to do something about it.
You see this with protesters all the time.
One can debate until the end of time how effective the act of protesting is, but you can't deny that it generates energy. It brings attention to a cause and empowers people with compassionate hearts.
This is the power compassion can bring.
The power to bring about change in ourselves and the world.
]]>1) Meditation Oasis Meditations to help you relax deeply, be more present and flow more easily with life. We offer a variety of guided meditations with and without music, as well as instructions for meditations you can do on your own. We wish you a peaceful mind and open heart.
2) Learn To Meditate - Meditation Podcast This beginners meditation course features a variety of meditation techniques including mantra, meditating with the breathe and music, concentration and meditation on an object. Each class includes a discussion topic and a guided meditation exercise. The Meditation Society of Australia has no religious, political or financial affiliates, it a community organization designed to help people meditate.
3) The Meditation Podcast The Meditation Podcast creates an extraordinary meditation experience for people in their everyday lives. The guided meditations contain audio technology that amplify slower brain waves to induce a relaxed and powerful altered meditative state of consciousness. Please use headphones, and do not listen while driving or operating machinery. See their Patreon site to support their mission.
4) Meditation Minis Podcast Join host Hypnotherapist Chel Hamilton for short, guided meditations to calm your anxiety, overcome negative thinking, increase your confidence, and more - in 15 minutes or less!
5) Meditation Station by Stin Hansen Regular meditations designed to turn your desires into reality and still some of the craziness with Stin Hansen.
6) Untangle, The Podcast from Meditation Studio Untangle, is the podcast from the 5-star app, Meditation Studio. Experts and ‘real people’ share stories about how mindfulness practices have changed their lives. Hear experiences from business leaders, psychologists, cancer survivors, moms, neuroscientists, nutritionists, authors, mindfulness teachers, storytellers and more. We cover everything from why it’s important to meditate to how self-compassion practices change us from the inside out to why meditation helps with anxiety in adults and kids. A rich collection of interviews with a range of thoughtful guests who share their true and heartfelt experiences with mindfulness and other contemplative practices.
7) Hay House Meditations Hay House presents Guided Meditations featuring your favorite authors guiding you through meditations designed to help you relax and rejuvenate. Each week we bring you a new mediation with a featured author taking you on a meditational journey ranging from numerous topics on health, healing, overcoming fears and blocks and much more.
8) Dharmaseed.org: dharma talks and meditation instruction Dharma Seed is dedicated to preserving and sharing the spoken teachings of Theravada Buddhism in modern languages. Since the early 1980's, Dharma Seed has collected and distributed dharma talks by teachers offering the vipassana (insight) and metta (lovingkindness) practices of Theravada Buddhism. New recordings are being added continuously from contemporary dharma teachers.
9) Morning Mindfulness - Two Positive Minutes to Start Your Day with Dr. Jin This podcast is about mindfulness. No, no, no, not about just sitting and doing nothing and emptying your mind. That is not mindfulness, that would be mindlessness. But we are talking about mindfulness. It is about being in the moment. It is about paying attention. It is about nonjudgmental attitude. It is about awareness. It is about making wiser decisions.
10 ) I Should Be Meditating with Alan Klima: Guided Mindfulness Meditation and Discussion Sit down with Alan for guided mindfulness Meditation, talks, and questions answered to keep up a constant connection and reminder to be present. Each meditation contains tips, tweaks, new and surprising approaches to how we can pay attention, with many new takes on familiar practices like breath meditation, body awareness, loving kindness, and spiritual inquiry. It is perfect for a meditator looking to pick up new tools to investigate their experience so that we stay interested and inquiring, and mindfulness meditation stays fascinating.
1) 10% Happier with Dan Harris Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical ABC newsman who had a panic attack live on Good Morning America, which led him to something he always thought was ridiculous: meditation. He wrote the bestselling book, "10% Happier," started an app -- "10% Happier: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics" -- and now, in this podcast, Dan talks with smart people about whether there's anything beyond 10%. Basically, here's what this podcast is obsessed with: Can you be an ambitious person and still strive for enlightenment (whatever that means)? New episodes every Wednesday morning.
2) Bulletproof Radio Bulletproof Executive Radio was born out of a fifteen-year single-minded crusade to upgrade the human being using every available technology. It distills the knowledge of world-class MDs, biochemists, Olympic nutritionists, meditation experts, and more than $250,000 spent on personal self-experiments. From private brain EEG facilities hidden in a Canadian forest to remote monasteries in Tibet, from Silicon Valley to the Andes, high tech entrepreneur Dave Asprey used hacking techniques and tried everything himself, obsessively focused on discovering: What are the simplest things you can do to be better at everything? Welcome to being Bulletproof, the State of High Performance where you take control and improve your biochemistry, your body, and your mind so they work in unison, helping you execute at levels far beyond what you’d expect, without burning out, getting sick, or just acting like a stressed-out a-hole. It used to take a lifetime to radically rewire the human body and mind this way. Technology has changed the rules. Follow along as Dave Asprey and guests provide you with everything you need to upgrade your mind, body, and life.
3) Meditation Minis Podcast Join host Hypnotherapist Chel Hamilton for short, guided meditations to calm your anxiety, overcome negative thinking, increase your confidence in 15 minutes or less! Please Note: The meditations presented in this series are from a wide variety of sources and do not subscribe to any particular religious ideology. Every effort is made to present the meditation imagery and topics in a non-dogmatic, non-religious based way. Please do not listen to this meditation podcast or any other meditations while doing something that requires your complete attention like driving your car. Stay safe - thanks! For more information and meditations visit: http://ChelHamilton.com
4) The Well Want to live a happier, healthier life, without the woo-woo, the hours of meditation, or adult colouring-in books? Join radio and TV host Robin Bailey and author Rebecca Sparrow as they roadtest techniques for a better, happier, and more meaningful life. Whether it's relationships, work, families, exercise or your life admin that needs a lift, learn the habits, tips and tricks to make your life happier and more meaningful, day to day.
5) The Recovery 2.0 Power Hour Podcast With Tommy Rosen Join in as addiction and recovery expert, Tommy Rosen interviews leaders in the field of addiction and recovery, spiritual teachers, medical doctors, nutritionists, yoga and meditation teachers and wisdom keepers all shedding light on living beyond addiction. Tap into new perspectives on addiction and cutting-edge philosophies and practices to heal and thrive on your amazing path of recovery. Episodes premiere every Tuesday and Friday and you will not want to miss a single one. Tommy Rosen is a yoga teacher and addiction recovery expert who has spent the last two decades immersed in yoga, recovery and wellness. He holds certifications in both Kundalini and Hatha Yoga and has 24 years of continuous recovery from drug addiction. Tommy is one of the pioneers in the field of Yoga and Recovery assisting others to holistically transcend addictions of all kinds. Tommy is the founder and host of the Recovery 2.0: Beyond Addiction Online Conference series and the #MoveBeyond Group Coaching Program. He leads Recovery 2.0 retreats and workshops internationally and presents regularly at yoga conferences and festivals. Tommy’s first book, Recovery 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life, was published by Hay House in October 2014.
6) The One You Feed - Learn Good Habits to Increase Mindfulness and Happiness and Decrease Anxiety and Depression Conversations about Creating a Life Worth Living- Named Best of 2014 by iTunes. Open minded discussions of habits, meditation, wisdom, depression, anxiety, happiness, psychology, philosophy, and motivation. "This podcast saved my life"- Amy W.
7) Meditation Oasis Meditations to help you relax deeply, be more present and flow more easily with life. We offer a variety of guided meditations with and without music, as well as instructions for meditations you can do on your own. We wish you a peaceful mind and open heart.
8) The Meditation Podcast The Meditation Podcast creates an extraordinary meditation experience for people in their everyday lives. The guided meditations contain audio technology that amplify slower brain waves to induce a relaxed and powerful altered meditative state of consciousness. Please use headphones, and do not listen while driving or operating machinery. See their Patreon site to support their mission.
9) I Should Be Meditating with Alan Klima: Guided Mindfulness Meditation and Discussion Stick with and Deepen Meditation
10) Against the Stream Dharma talks by Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx and Against the Stream, and other teachers at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society in Los Angeles, San Francisco and elsewhere.
1) Daily Meditation Podcast Guided meditations 7-days a week to sleep better, reduce stress and anxiety, and to be your most productive.
2) The Meditation Podcast Designed to help you benefit from meditation in your everyday life. It is produced by Jesse Stern & Jeane July-Stern. Unique because it uses binaural beats in the audio that actually affect the brain waves, inducing a deep state of relaxation, and a brain pattern similar to REM sleep. This has the potential to bring about profound healing.
3) Natural Meditation podcast Stephan Wormland, MA in clinical psychology and trained in Gestalt therapy. He has studied and practiced meditation in multiple Buddhist traditions for over 30 years and spent altogether 5 years in meditation retreats. Stephan was a monk in the Tibetan tradition for 11 years and teaches meditation in Buddhist centers in Europe.
4) POTH Meditation Podcast A podcast created by Pilgrimage of the Heart Yoga, a two studio operation out of San Diego, California, dedicated to giving YOU the tools to practice meditation in the comfort of your own home!
5) Awake in the World Podcast Awake in the World Podcast with Michael Stone is a library of talks on a wide-range of topics, including bringing mindfulness and meditation practice into daily life; personal and community issues regarding mental health; and social change.
6) Untangle Untangle, is the podcast from the 5-star app, Meditation Studio. Experts and ‘real people’ share stories about how mindfulness practices have changed their lives. Hear experiences from business leaders, psychologists, cancer survivors, moms, neuroscientists, nutritionists, authors, mindfulness teachers, storytellers and more.
7) Mindful Mindful is the voice of the emerging mindfulness community. We’re the place to go for insight, information, and inspiration to help us all live more mindfully.
8) Be Here Now Network The Be Here Now Network is dedicated to the gathering and dissemination of spiritual talks, podcasts and writings of master teachers of Spirituality, Mindfulness and Meditation. Our core teachers and thought leaders include Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Lama Surya Das, Krishna Das, Joseph Goldstein, Danny Goldberg, Chris Grosso and the Mindrolling Podcast.
9) Burgs: Art of Meditation Burgs ran his first retreat in 1996 in Asia and since then has hosted 100’s retreats, from 5 days to 5 months, having taught thousands of people from all walks of life. His students have ranged from absolute beginners to distinguished monks and nuns, from the homeless of Asia to many successful and influential business people. He gave up his life and successful career in search of more meaning to his life. His journeys took him to the islands of Indonesia, the foothills of the Himalaya’s in India, and the forests of Myanmar (Burma). After some years of retreat, he left the monastery where he had resided and decided to travel back home to the West to teach. His decision to do so was rooted in a determination to discover for himself whether these practices and the wisdom they pointed to could be upheld and developed within the context of a modern western life. Today he teaches those who wish to learn meditation on retreats across the UK and in France.
10) Conscious Media Conscious Media provides free podcasts and meditation-transmissions to inspire, uplift, inform and awaken. Meditation-transmissions are channeled recordings that help you connect to a variety of uplifting spiritual forces within yourself and in the universe. Podcast-Interviews are with a range of spiritual and self-help authors. I want to share spiritual philosophy, information and techniques to help awaken your higher consciousness to guide and protect you on your earth walk. Some of these podcasts include meditations.
1) Deep Energy 2.0 - Music for Sleep, Meditation, Relaxation, Massage and Yoga Deep Energy Podcast is a podcast of ambient and new age music for Sleep, Meditation, Relaxation, Massage, Yoga, Reiki and Therapy.
2) Meditation in the City: A Shambhala Podcast Mindfulness and Meditation in New York City.
3) Mindfulness of Breath Meditation for Beginners Lisa Dale Miller, MA, LMFT, LPCC, SEP is a private practice psychotherapist in Los Gatos, CA, specializing in mindfulness psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing therapy for depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction and chronic pain. She is also an outpatient provider for the VA San Jose. Lisa is the author of a highly regarded textbook on Buddhist psychology for mental health professionals, Effortless Mindfulness: Genuine mental health through awakened presence. Training clinicians in the practical application of Buddhist psychology is her greatest joy. Lisa has been a yogic and Buddhist meditation practitioner for four decades.
4) Meditation Oasis Meditations to help you to relax deeply, be more present and flow more easily with life. We offer a variety of guided meditations with and without music, as well as instructions for meditations you can do on your own. We wish you a peaceful mind and open heart.
5) Tara Brach Tara Brach is a leading western teacher of Buddhist (mindfulness) meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening. She is author of Radical Acceptance (2003), and True Refuge (2013). Senior teacher at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington D.C. (IMCW), Tara shares a weekly talk on Buddhist teachings and practices. Visit http://www.tarabrach.com for more information.
6) The Meditation for Health Podcast The Meditation for Health Podcast offers quick visits to the world of meditation with Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D. Episodes alternate in topic to cover three different areas of interest: 1.) Guided Meditations by Dr. Puff help you relax. 2.) The latest research on meditation, showing the multitude of health and wellness benefits, including stress management, which are the reason so many health professionals recommend meditation. 3.) Tips on how to begin or deepen your own meditation practice. This podcast is designed for those new to mediation as well as those who already practice.
7) The Deeper Meditation Podcast This ain’t your average meditation podcast. Learn to meditate your way as a unique individual and learn how to make meditation much much easier. You’ll get guided meditation techniques and top notch instruction designed for busy and non-busy people from all backgrounds and paths. Hosted by Tom Von Deck, author of Oceanic Mind – The Deeper Meditation Training Course.
8) Radio Headspace Inspiration for a healthier, happier life.
9) The Yoga, Meditation, and Inspiration Podcast for Beginners Sharing simple tips for stress free yoga at home.
10) Buddhist Geeks Buddhist Geeks was original conceived by Vincent Horn & Ryan Oelke in 2006 and the Buddhist Geeks Podcast was subsequently launched at the beginning 2007. It instantly become one of the most downloaded podcast in the Buddhist category, and has since been downloaded 10+ million times. In 2010 Vincent Horn took over as the sole creative behind Buddhist Geeks and launched a Digital Magazine & In-Person Conference. The Buddhist Geeks Conference continued for 4 years (2011-2014), with over a 1000 people attending the event during this time. The exposure from the Conference helped propel Buddhist Geeks to a new level of public notoriety and cultural influence. During this time the Buddhist Geeks also experimented with a number of virtual practice & community forms, including the Buddhist Geeks Life Retreat & Buddhist Geeks Dojo. These projects were put to rest when Vincent Horn & Emily Horn moved their formal teaching activities to a new project, Meditate.io. Soon after this Buddhist Geeks itself was shut down (there was even a Death Poem). In 2017 Buddhist Geeks began to once again stir from the bardo and has subsequently been reborn. Going back to it's roots, it has come back with the Buddhist Geeks Podcast and is kicking off with a new series (more info forthcoming!)
Whenever we enter into something new, I find there is always a mixture of excitement and maybe a little fear.
The openness and excitement that comes with new possibilities.
And the fear that it won’t meet expectations.
Starting a meditation practice can be daunting. You have the hope that it will bring greater stability of mind, happiness and all those great benefits every article seems to talk about.
Then your knees start to hurt.
Your mind starts to wander.
And why can’t I stop thinking about that email from last week I never responded to?!
Stop.
Take a breath.
Take a moment and remember what meditation really is.
Meditation is the opportunity to see your own mind and work with what’s there. It helps to create more awareness and get some internal space from our own thoughts and ideas – then let go of what's not useful.
Unfortunately, we go into every situation with expectations, and I don’t think there has ever been a moment in history when our fantasy and reality matched.
Leave the expectations at the door.
Open yourself to discover your most authentic self.
It won’t always be pretty or nice, but at least you have plenty of material to work with.
Then inch-by-inch, day-by-day, as the light of awareness shines brighter and brighter, you become the you that you want to share with the world.
Finding your sacred space for meditation and your innermost development can be a daunting task.
Dreams of the Himalayas or looking out from your beachfront home with bay windows on the coast may be a little beyond your reach right now, but we work with what we have.
Even though we are looking inward with meditation, that doesn't mean your outer space can't be used as inspiration for your inner space.
Since meditation can be done anywhere, your new meditation room can be as simple or extravagant as you like.
See the 10 Ways to Create Your Perfect Meditation Space
Beginning a new habit can be tough.
Even more so when it's something like meditation that can create new changes in you.
You really are starting a journey of self-discovery and even more importantly, letting go of the useless clutter. Just like our home, stuff accumulates in the mind.
The countless impressions from the moment we're born. A seemingly endless mixture of negative and positive, all of which has formed us.
All these tiny moments equal who we think we are right now.
All these impressions shape our view of the world -- and our reality.
When you start meditating you are deciding to look under the bed. Finding layers of dust and loose socks that have been missing for years!
That's why we all need a little help from our friends.
Creating an environment of emotional support is important for everyone; even more so on this journey of looking inward.
As you kick up the dust of your mind, having trusted friends is critical for a safe and stable development. People to give feedback, insight and make sure you're not getting too strange!
Yes, I'm talking to that girl that ate nothing but orange things. ;)
I designed the meditation challenge with support in mind; that's why the Facebook group was created. Whether you check in with the group or have your inner circle to do the challenge with -- check in.
Because everyone deserves a chance to discover your new you.
]]>The openness and excitement that comes with new possibilities.
And the fear that it won’t meet expectations.
Starting a meditation practice can be daunting. You have the hope that it will bring greater stability of mind, happiness and all those great benefits every article seems to talk about.
Then your knees start to hurt.
Your mind starts to wander.
And why can’t I stop thinking about that email from last week I never responded to?!
Stop.
Take a breath.
Take a moment and remember what meditation really is.
Meditation is the opportunity to see your own mind and work with what’s there. It helps to create more awareness and get some internal space from our own thoughts and ideas – then let go of what's not useful.
Unfortunately, we go into every situation with expectations, and I don’t think there has ever been a moment in history when our fantasy and reality matched.
So, as you begin this new challenge … let go.
Leave the expectations at the door.
Open yourself to discover your most authentic self.
It won’t always be pretty or nice, but at least you have plenty of material to work with.
Then inch-by-inch, day-by-day, as the light of awareness shines brighter and brighter, you become the you that you want to share with the world.
See also: How to Make Meditation a Habit
]]>If you've started to meditate for a week or more you already know it isn't easy! Between sore knees and sore egos keeping on track can easily waiver.
That's why I want you to make a commitment right now.
Commit to yourself.
My meditation teacher often says, "meditation is mind's gift to itself."
Truer words have never been spoken.
Many Buddhist refer to meditating as practice.
But if you're doing an action, why is it practice? Because in Buddhism, every time you meditate, you are practicing at being a Buddha.
The same is with meditation.
Every time you sit and meditate, you are practicing at being your best self. Daring to imagine yourself without limiting ideas, difficulties or all that noise in your head that keeps you from appreciating every moment of your life.
Until it's as true as breathing.
That you've practiced at being your ideal you so often that there really is no difference. Your inner world is so open and full of possibilities that everything is meaningful.
I honestly believe that one of the greatest gifts we can give the world is a stable mind and this is my gift to you.
Do you know where your awareness is?
Meditation is primarily meant to develop awareness.
Developing that keen sense of how things are. Our view of the world no longer being clouded by our disturbances and funny ideas.
Just a clear awareness that radiates joy ...
on the good days.
While the above is true, it takes a lot of practice to recognize our own mind and everyone else's in its ideal state. That's why it's so important to bring your meditation into your daily life.
Why limit your practice to the twenty minutes on the cushion?
Especially when you have twenty-three hours and forty minutes left in the day!
The trick is to try and extend that centered feeling you had in meditation and stretch it out afterward. Holding a clear view in every thought, word and action as you move through the world.
Just like we talked about dropping thoughts and distractions during meditation and re-centering your mind.
Do the same throughout the day.
As the stress rises, the to-do list stretches and a co-worker ate your lunch again -- just bring your awareness back.
Back to your center point.
Feel the air at your nose coming and going.
Remember, your nature is this always centered, stable and joyful.
Then go back into the world with a clearer view and hopefully a bigger smile.
I think the biggest challenge when trying to do something good for myself is ... doing something good for myself!
Creating a new habit can be so difficult!
Like going to the gym or anything else, the benefit comes from continued action.
One of the most powerful methods I've ever used is from the book, "The Power of Habit."
The basic idea of how to most easily create a new habit is to hijack our pre-existing habit loops.
QUE - The trigger that starts you on your routine.
ROUTINE - The action you repeatedly do.
REWARD - The pleasurable reinforcement of the habit.
By understanding your own habit loops you can use this new found awareness to start meditating every day.
Let's say that every time you see a political post on Facebook you don't like, you immediately click that angry face, then reward yourself with a cat video.
Take the same loop and remove the angry face.
Add a quick two-minute meditation.
Hello, new habit!
At the end of the day, we all want to be happy. So, we should use every tool we have to make that happen!
]]>Yeah, it's not so easy. Unfortunately, that seems to be the more or less what I see around the internet. Here are some fundamental tips on how to meditate.
It's funny, one of the questions I hear all the time is, "how am I supposed to sit?"
Since we're used to sitting in chairs and not on a meditation cushion, this can be awkward at first. There are just a few key things to remember.
A comfortable cushion to act as a wedge to elevate your seat and align your spine helps a lot. This becomes even more important when you start doing longer and longer meditation sessions.
Here is a short video we did with Dr. Nolan Lee:
How To Align Your Spine for Meditation
Obviously we are partial to Kathmandu Yogi cushions, but any solid cushion with a bit of give may work.
Stability is more important than looking like a pretzel.
I'm sure you've seen that yogi that's been doing yoga for ten years easily sitting in full lotus posture (left foot on right thigh and vice versa). While this is a great ideal, most of us can't manage it.
If you can't manage the full lotus then sitting comfortably with your left foot tucked in toward your pelvis or right thigh. Then your right foot either on top or in front of the left leg.
Don't force yourself into an uncomfortable position!
The most important thing is that you create a stable base with a straight spine.
One of the greatest gifts we have is our breath.
It is life.
It is also one of the best tools we have to use to aid our meditation practice. It’s normal to get distracted during meditation. Thoughts will inevitably come up.
There is nothing wrong with this – you’re doing great. It means you are alive. You are a living and breathing human being.
The goal of meditation is not having NO thoughts. It’s to observe and rest in what is.
Thoughts will arise.
Allow them to do so.
Watch them come up in your mind, play around and return to space.
In order to avoid getting absorbed in the rabbit hole of your thoughts and stay with the meditation, use your breath.
When thoughts come up it is natural for you to engage with them.
Once you realize you are thinking and not meditating, don’t scold yourself or panic. Simply bring the focus back to your meditation, back to your breath.
Our breath is like an anchor.
Notice how the breath comes and goes at the tip of your nose.
Don’t control it -- breathe normally -- notice your own natural rhythm.
Be aware of being alive.
Be aware of your body.
Be present.
Your mind will wander and that’s ok. Just use your breath to bring you back. You may even want to count your breaths.
Counting is another tool that keeps us engaged in the meditation. In fact that’s what malas are used for (they’re not just for looking pretty).
[More on using malas in your practice later]
When you get distracted don’t forget ... keep calm and breathe on.
How has your visualization been?
Visualizing during meditation can be very new to many people.
A lot of the mindfulness meditations or what you would learn in a yoga class usually doesn't include visualizations.
These types of practices are often seen in tantric Buddhist and Hindu practices.
Just to be clear, tantra means to weave.
Tantric meditations are meant to develop specific qualities like compassion, generosity or directly experience the state of a Buddha. We are using the meditation to identify and mix, or weave, with these qualities we want to develop.
So when I refer to tantra, I'm not referring to sexual union practices.
Although these sexual meditation practices exist, they are not common and only used by highly developed meditators.
Now that that's out of the way, back to learning to visualize.
One important thing to keep in mind about the visualizations is that it's no big deal if you don't "see" the visualizations.
The key is to "know" that what you are bringing to mind is there in your awareness.
Since in its essence, it is still your own mind.
Still, I know a lot of people would like to be able to see the visualizations better when they meditate.
First, you get an image or statue of what you are visualizing on.
If it's a Buddha form, then you would want a quality painting or statue of the historical Buddha. Or whatever the practice is on.
Then take a piece of paper and poke a hole in it with a pencil.
Now stare at the one tenth of the bottom of the image through the hole for five minutes. Gradually working your way up in five-minute increments.
This helps to kind of "burn" the image in your mind's eye so the details quickly appear when you think of them.
A more modern approach is to use an image on your phone.
You do the same gradual process, but with the zoom.
I haven't confirmed how well the phone version works yet. If you try it please let me know if it helps with the visualization.
Like I said, the important thing is to you have confidence in your mind's ability to be aware. Don't be concerned if you happen to not be the visual type.
The meditations work anyway. =)
]]>Now that you've started meditating here are some steps to get the most of your meditation practice.
Being thankful is probably the most skillful way to develop and be happy. It requires next to no effort and can have a profound affect on you.
If we're really honest with ourselves, so much of the wellness/yoga/guru world is narcissistic. Filled with an endless stream of yoga pics and selfies.
Taking every opportunity to show how cool my zen is.
Just like we talked about with disturbing emotions, this becomes a habit. Every time that bliss-brag goes out into the world we program ourselves.
We program ourselves to hoard the good impressions.
Keeping it so tight that eventually, it slips from our hands.
Until those good feelings finally dry up.
That is why we work with gratitude and express thankfulness every time we meditate. Even better if we bring gratitude into every aspect of our lives.
By being thankful for the good experiences, opportunities, and joys of others we amplify the good impressions in our mind.
Programming our self to recognize the best in every experience and in everyone around us. Creating an internal joy factory that never stops working.
Create, share and be thankful.
And you will always experience and give the best of yourself effortlessly.
It's been nearly a month, how are you feeling?
Have you started to notice any shifts in your perception?
I hope mostly good, but meditation isn't about om sweet om. It's about working with our mind and developing into our most true and beneficial selves.
When you start digging into the mind inevitably you start to find some weeds. Strange and sometimes unpleasant habits you may have. Or remembering times when you caused harm or enjoyed seeing someone suffer.
At a minimum, we have had our lifetime to accumulate an infinite range of impressions in our mind.
Both nice and not so nice.
As the awareness of the unpleasant stuff arises it becomes increasingly important to have a support system. Of course, it's good to have your friends and family available, but it's especially important to have access to others that meditate.
People in your life that have also started this journey of self-discovery and are actively working through their own experiences.
This can be crucial to keeping yourself on a consistent path as you develop the lifetime habit of meditating.
Whether it's a group of people that all do the same meditation or a digital family that are developmentally orientated. The key is to get feedback.
Feedback that's both sweet and sometimes not so sweet.
It doesn't do us any good if everyone always agrees that you're the best thing ever. Otherwise, how can you learn when you get funny ideas and start eating nothing but carrots?
Don't forget that we all need a little help from our friends along the way.
Have you checked out different meditation centers yet?
It's an incredibly wide world to explore. Everything from ancient traditions to far out new age gadgets.
I think people have always been inspired to look inward.
Once the stomach is full and you're nice and warm, the mind naturally starts to contemplate itself. Who am I? How did I become me? Do I need to shower everyday?
You know, the big questions!
Out of this drive to understand ourselves better, methods and techniques evolved to help us gain greater insight. Hindu and Buddhist traditions are especially famous for their use of meditation.
Even our modern day mindfulness meditations can find it's roots in research done on Buddhist techniques.
While meditation methods have long been a part of Eastern culture, it's said that Franciscan nuns have developed their own techniques that produce similar effects in the brain as some Buddhist meditations.
So there is a lot to experience in the mind.
Sometimes if one is open enough to other religions, Buddhism tends to be the most easily accessible for many westerners.
If you prefer to hold on to your existing religion there are a myriad of meditation techniques like those we've used in during this challenge that aren't specific to any religion.
The key is to go in with both a critical and open mind.
While there are a lot of interesting things in the world, it's important to check the teacher you receive meditation instruction from. That the teacher does and say the same things, and is someone you want to learn from.
At the end of the day, the Buddha's advice is sound, "be your own guiding light."
Have you made wishes at the end of meditation yet?
This single act is one of the most clever developmental "hacks" that you should use every time you meditate.
Sometimes referred to as dedications, the making of wishes isn't about you.
It's about everyone else.
While you were meditating you were filling your mind with good impressions. When you're in that centered and blissful state, your mind is experiencing the best of everything ... even if it's subconscious.
So you've done all this work, have this wonderful feeling, now why keep it for yourself?
Give it away!
Give it all away!
We make wishes that all beings can experience such pleasant and joyful experiences. That everyone can experience the most wonderful of everything and quickly develop and help others do the same.
It's also nice to make wishes for any teachers you've had along the way. That they have long healthy lives and can continue to benefit others the way they have benefited you.
Now, why is this such an amazing thing to do?
By doing this it creates a kind of positive impression loop in the mind. Giving away your good impressions amplifies the good impressions!
Very clever, I know.
Even more importantly is this habit of making wishes and dedicating the best of everything to others lets you program yourself.
We can all do with a little brainwashing and tuning your mind toward greater compassion is always a good idea.
So, get the most out of every moment in your life and give it all away!
Do you look the same as you did ten years ago?
Have the same ideas about the world?
Think the same thoughts?
Obviously, the answer is no. These things are in a constant state of change. Always moving around and becoming something new.
So why do we act like everything will last forever?
That all these conditions have come together that make it possible for us to even think about development. That we in a sense, have such incredible luxury that we can worry so much about ourselves.
When we take a look at the world it's clear most people on this planet are struggling to survive. Always worrying about having enough to eat, getting sick or fearing for their safety.
And my biggest concern is if there is a Starbuck's near my meeting today.
I don't know about you, but I can't see the future. What I do know is I've been high and I've been low.
Sometimes really low.
The only thing I've learned I can count on is everything will change.
That's why it's so important to take advantage of this opportunity.
When we embark on a path of development like meditation, it's good to recognize that it is rare.
Very few people really meditate.
Even in Asian countries that are primarily Buddhist, most of the people rarely if ever meditate.
Meditation is such an incredibly precious gift that we know works and yet so few really use it. Hearing about it in blogs and on Oprah; maybe even buying a meditation cushion.
But our meditation cushions aren't just meant to look pretty -- they are meant to be used. Cushions that slowly fade with the last remnants of your neurosis and confusion.
Meditation isn't something to be kept in ancient books.
It is active and alive!
It changes us in so many ways that we become an extension of meditation. As we grow and develop we become an example of a stable mind.
Because there is no greater gift to the world than a stable mind.
Distractions are the biggest plague we have in modern culture. An endless stream of tweets, ads and "Likes" assault us every day until we all get diagnosed with ADHD. That's why isolating our new meditation room is key. By designating a sacred space you tune yourself to a 'developmental' state of mind. You know the moment you walk into this room that you will meditate. If you don't have an entire room to devote to meditation, you'll have to get creative. Make liberal use of heavy curtains, drapes or folding room dividers to partition a section of your room to create a sense of isolation.
As with all rooms, lighting can make or break a space. Having a lot of natural light with a southern exposure is always ideal, but may not be possible. Mainly you want to have bright, clear light filling the space. You may come across many meditation rooms with soft and warm orange light. While incredibly cozy and relaxing, this isn't the best lighting for meditation. Remember, the point of meditation is development and clarity of mind. That warm glow has a tendency to make you sleepy and a little too relaxed. At the same time, you don't want to be overwhelmed with a bright spotlight shining in your face. Track lighting for meditation in the evening works very well, and I personally love using natural light bulbs to give a clean and neutral light for both inner and outer clarity.
Being surrounded by inspirational reminders of why you're meditating can be incredibly useful. I'm not saying put up a bunch of corporate aspirational posters with jets flying toward a win; but symbolic images that represent what you want to achieve. In Tibetan Buddhism, many archetypical paintings and statues that represent fully developed aspects of mind are used. These are tools for visualization within the meditations as well. That's why high-quality Buddha statues and paintings can be hard to find. So surround yourself with images of the state of mind you wish to achieve. These can be pictures of a meditation teacher, Buddhas or even images that fill you with a sense of wholeness.
Our sense of smell is one of the most powerful triggers we have. It can instantly put us into a state of nostalgic warmth from our first kiss. Or caught by the paralyzing fear of heartbreak from a whiff of cologne. The beauty is we can use this to shift our state of mind. Find some incense, scented candle or aromatherapy spritzers that you find attractive and pleasant. Ideally, one that you don't normally come across. That way when you begin your meditation practice you either light the incense, candle or spray the scent. You can create a kind of ritual and scent trigger to put yourself into a state of mind that is clear and blissful.
There is nothing like the feel of perfectly spun silk or fine cotton. We are sensual creatures that need positive feedback through touch. Unfortunately so much of our textile world has become synthetic. Using carpeting, curtains, and fabrics that are natural and pleasant to the touch can help in creating a complete sensory experience. The most sense points we can engage to more complete the experience.
You can guess that we think meditation cushions are pretty important! Visually it should be attractive and inviting, and as mentioned before fabric choice is another important tactile aspect. A great meditation cushion should also mold to your shape while giving solid support. This becomes even more important the longer you meditate. As you get more and more comfortable with your meditation practice you may find yourself sitting for an hour or two at a time. Something that is just made out of cotton or stuffed with standard pillow filling won't give much support at all. Most meditation centers and long-time meditation practitioners use buckwheat filled cushions. They have a bit of give and adjust to the person but remain firm. Plus that added support under your tail helps your spinal alignment to keep your comfortable and aware throughout your meditations.
Meditation music is surprisingly controversial in meditation circles. People tend to be on either side of this concept. Mainly because many meditators follow guided meditations from booklets or audio recordings. It really depends on the type of meditation you're doing. If you're mainly looking to relax a little after a long day at work, then by all means, turn up meditation to the oldies! Seriously though, there are a lot of very pleasant ambient and meditative albums out there to soothe your mood.
The beauty of meditation is it creates for clarity of mind. This can be difficult if your meditation room is filled with clutter and stale air. When designing your space, keep in mind clean lines and symmetry. Keeping your field of view relatively neutral without distracting clutter can help you maintain your focus. And don't forget to open the windows! Oftentimes you may not want the windows open during your meditation because of outside noise like traffic. Which makes it a good idea to air out the room regularly or invest in a quality air purifier.
There can be a surprising amount of things you'll need for your meditation sessions. Obviously you need your seat, your meditation cushion. An extra blanket in case your legs get cold is a great idea. If you use a meditation booklet, tablet or phone for your guided meditations, a small stand can come in handy. A mala with 108 beads is also a great tool if you're doing a meditation with mantras. When choosing one, first see which stones you are attracted to. This process is both visual and intuitive. Every gemstone has healing properties, and after you choose from your gut, you often learn that whatever the stone is known for enhancing or assisting with is exactly what you need in that moment. Next, see how it feels. Run the beads through your fingers and find one that feels natural. It's also a good idea to have a spare mala. You might be more attracted to one over another on any given day. And after a lot of use mala strings tend to break, which is actually a great sign that you are meditating well! And don't forget your fragrance. Have whatever you like for aromatherapy on-hand and easily accessible. Mainly you want to make sure you have everything you need in your designated meditation space. That way if you have to get something you don't have to leave your space and shift your state of mind again.
A floor mat or rug with some nice cushion can go a long way to keeping your knees comfortable. Especially in the beginning when you're getting used to sitting in meditation posture. Over time your hips tend to open and you find yourself comfortable sitting in meditation posture anyway. Besides the knees, a nice rug can help capture your personal style. It is a good idea to not choose a carpet that has too many contrasting colors or is very busy, since this can create a visual distraction from your practice. Neutral or more calming colors tend to work best.
The meditation on loving kindness is meant to cultivate love for both all others and ourselves. Opening our compassion and letting go of all suffering.
You can either follow along with the audio guided meditation or read through the meditation transcript beneath.
A big thank you to Palouse Mindfulness for this wonderful meditation!
See original post here: https://palousemindfulness.com/
This meditation can be done in any position, and begins by taking a moment to be aware of any thoughts or feelings you may be experiencing right now, acknowledging how things are for you right now… and when you are ready, beginning to bring awareness to body: feeling your feet… legs… hips… lower and upper body… arms… shoulders… neck… head…, beginning to feel the movement of your breath, the actual sensations of breathing, reminding yourself that you are here, alive, whole…
When you’re ready, you might bring to mind the image of a person who you know or you’ve known in your life to be loving and kind to you, someone who easily evokes feelings of warmth and love, it could be a spouse or partner, parent or family member, a mentor or close friend… someone who has been good to you, helps you feel safe and whole, whose caring easily emanates from them to you.
And if a person, past or present, doesn’t come to mind, maybe someone who know to be inspirational may come, someone it is easy to imagine sending wishes of well-being to, wishing them well, and if it feels right, imagining saying to them:
May you be happy, healthy and whole, (picturing them receiving your wishes for them)
May you have love, warmth and affection,
May you be protected from harm and free from fear,
May you be alive, engaged and joyful
…may you experience inner peace and ease
You may have your own words and wishes for them, so feel free to use words that resonate with you…
Taking a few minutes now to feel how it is to wish these things for them, letting yourself have the sense of the wishes for well-being emanating from you to them, connecting you to them…
…noticing how it feels inside you, as you send these wishes of well-being to this person you love or care about.
When you are ready, seeing if you can imagine this person or figure wishing these very same things for you, knowing that they have your well-being in their heart, imagining them saying to you:
May you be happy, healthy and whole,
May you have love, warmth and affection in your life, (imagining them close to you, feeling their presence and unconditional love for you, as they say):
May you be protected from harm and free from fear,
May you be alive, engaged and joyful,
May you experience inner peace and ease…
Letting those feelings wash over you, feeling their unconditional love and caring for you, letting the feelings of love and safety grow in you, knowing there is nothing you have to do to deserve these feelings and wishes, that they are given freely, without condition. Seeing if you can connect to the meaning of these phrases even if you might not feel all the safety and warmth right now, knowing that is their wish for you, and now seeing if you can have these wishes for yourself, hearing yourself say to yourself:
May I be happy and healthy and loved,
May I be safe and protected,
May I be alive and free,
May I experience inner peace and ease.
You may have loved ones for whom it’s also easy to have these wishes for, a child or family member or dear friend, or even a loved pet, and if it feels right, saying to them, in your own way and with your own words:
May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life,
May you be safe and protected, and not suffer,
May you be alive and joyful,
May you have inner peace and ease.
If it feels right, seeing if there are others in your life you can extend these good wishes to, a friend, a coworker,
a neighbor, saying to yourself, to them:
May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life,
May you be safe and protected, free from harm,
May you be alive and joyful,
And may you have inner peace and ease.
It might even be possible to expand even further out, to acquaintances, people you know of but don’t have a personal relationship with: the people you see around town, your neighbors, even people you don’t have strong
feelings about, like the salesperson who checks your groceries, saying to these people:
May you be happy and healthy and loved,
May you be safe and protected, free from suffering
May you be alive, engaged and joyful,
And may you have inner peace and ease.
And even if the wishes aren’t infused with the same warmth and love as they were with a loved one, seeing if you can extend the wish, without the expectation that it should make you or them feel in any particular way,
connecting with what these wishes represent, keeping these people in your awareness as you send these good wishes:
Wishing for them to be healthy and whole,
Wishing for them to have aliveness and love in their lives,
And if you feel strong and secure, and you’re comfortable with this, you might try extending these wishes to someone who’s difficult for you right now, not necessarily the most difficult person in your life, just someone for
whom there’s been some sort of frustration or misunderstanding. In doing this, it might help to remember that, just like you, they want to be loved… And just like you, they want peace in their life, you could say to yourself:
Just like me, they want to feel happiness and joy,
Just like me, they want peace and ease,
And they want to be loved and to know their loved ones are safe and healthy,
And just like me, they are doing the best they can with what inner and outer resources they have,
And if this feels possible to you, silently saying to them…
May you feel peace and ease (remembering that if this were really true for them, that they would certainly be easier to get along with)
May you have love and warmth in your life,
May you be happy, healthy and whole
Even if this is difficult, there’s value in noticing what it’s like to extend the wish, recognizing that you are not condoning their actions, but seeing in them a human being with some of the same needs as you: to be loved, to be safe, to be at peace.
And, if this is possible, remember the circle that began with yourself and the persons you loved the most, family and friends, extending the circle to include all the many people you don’t know who may live far away, in other countries or cultures, saying:
May you be happy and healthy,
May you have peace and ease.
May you have love and warmth in your life.
You could even imagine extending these wishes to include the animals and plants, all life on our planet and beyond, including ourselves, saying
May we all be happy and healthy,
May we all be safe and protected,
May we all live together in peace, ease and happiness
And now, as this lovingkindness meditation comes to an end, taking time to appreciate and feel what’s been generated through this practice. And even if there have been difficult parts of this practice, knowing that this practice has the potential to increase your sense of aliveness, of connection and of belonging…
And when you are ready, letting yourself feel again your physical presence, sensations of your body, feet, seat, upper torso, neck and head, beginning to notice the movement of your own breath, bringing aliveness and nourishment to your body as a whole, just as your wishes of good will bring aliveness and nourishment to those around you…
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]]>We wanted to see whether doing LKM towards a member of another ethnic group would reduce the automatic preference people tend to show for their own ethnic group.
The practice of cultivating compassion through meditation has long been at the crux of Buddhist practices. Meditating on the form of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara is common throughout Tibet and Nepal. You can often find his mantra Om Ma Ni Pei Mei Hung carved in stones on mountain tops. Or hear monks and lay meditators reciting millions of 'mani' mantras as they circle stupas in Kathmandu. In the Mahayana and Vajrayana schools of Buddhism the idea of the bodhisattva is essential. These so called Bodhisattvas are those with high realization that dedicate themselves to the benefit of all beings. That their eventual enlightenment is a byproduct of this wish for all beings to experience endless joy in the here and now.
Racism and unconscious racial bias is something difficult for all people to work with. It's really wonderful to see science proving that cultivating love and kindness can help remove this age old problem. That when we stop thinking about ourselves we recognize each other's qualities.
See original University of Sussex article: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/33129
Academic Study: Brief loving-kindness meditation reduces racial bias, mediated by positive other-regarding emotions
]]>Interview with Dr. Nolan Lee
Hometown- where are you from originally?
Chicago
What was your aha moment that got you into Yoga?
My first yoga class was a sweaty Bikram class. A very good friend of mine suggested that I tried yoga to de-stress from my 18hr work days. As a single, high-strung businessman I found an activity with a very healthy female to male ratio that reduced my stress, and I was sold.
Seriously, though the practice made a huge impact on my perspective and mental balance, and from there I kept moving forward with it and have never looked back with any regrets.
Why Yoga plus Chiropractic Care. How do the two work together?
I think the two work hand in hand together. I can only see my patients and be with them for a limited time. Yoga with proper instruction can be an excellent way to maintain the benefits of in office treatments, rehab injuries and prevent future issues.
I love incorporating yoga into my treatment protocols. It is so great to be able to combine the things that I love doing!
Tell us about Vibe-Up? Is it accurate to say that you are a founding member? What inspires you to be involved with that organization and what do you collectively aspire to achieve through these events?
VIBEUP is a unique health and wellness community that I have been involved in from the very beginning, and I continue to be highly involved in it's growth and operations.
My good friend, Luke Jensen, planted the seed, and he and I along with a few others continue to foster its growth. We started with unique social events incorporating yoga at venues like upscale hotels, innovative climbing gyms, and popular lounges with the intention to build and connect a like-minded community that is interested in living the health and wellness lifestyle.
We are building this community to make it easy for people to make healthy and socially conscious choices for every aspect of their lives. It has received tremendous support, and we are very excited about what is to come in the future.
What's your personal Mantra?
"Dripping water penetrates stone." It's painfully tattooed to my side. It is a reminder to me to have determination, consistency and patience above all. The seemingly impossible is achievable with dedication and patience.
What's one thing you couldn't live without?
Amazon! Goodness, it saves me so much time!
What does the Yogi lifestyle mean to you?
My yogi lifestyle has really lead me to where I am and who I am today, so it is fundamentally a part of me.
It's more than a lifestyle. It is just my life. With teaching, my chiropractic practice and VIBEUP, it has turned me from a self-interested businessmen to an individual that seeks to benefit others with all that I do. With that said, I guess that means a lot.
Natasha Casanova: Hi, I'm Natasha Casanova. I'm the founder of Kathmandu Yogi. We're a producer of Fairtrade and hand-made meditation and yoga accessories made in the Himalayas by artisans that are wonderful for westerners and give socio-economical opportunities to people that are in the east. And I'm here with Doctor Nolan Lee.
We're here to learn how the meditation cushion can actually support our spinal alignment from Nolan here.
Dr. Nolan Lee: Yes, great. The whole thing about spinal alignment is it’s so hard to sit without a good, supported, long, neutral spine. And people that sit all day, one of the problems is they slump, and they're rounded in their low back. If we sit for any length of time, you can feel these back muscles slump. These back muscles give out-- it’s about two minutes on average before people’s muscles give out and they slump in the lower back.
The lower back and the hips are really tied together. It’s called the lumbo-pelvic rhythm. If you start to-- most people when they flex their hips, bringing their thighs up towards themselves, after about 70, 80 degrees, the spine will start to move with it and round. And whenever you’re sitting, for example, get off the pillow. If we get off the pillow right now, these hips are really flexed past 90 degrees. To make space for your hips to go under your knees, you have to bring you hips way past 90 degrees in flexion. You feel-- it brings immediate pressure to round your spine.
So essentially what the pillow will do, if you sit on the pillow, is it’s going to lessen this angle of hip flexion. When you raise the hips off the ground a little bit, the hips will “unflex”, if that’s a word, “unfelt,” a little bit. So if you guys get back on the pillow, you can immediately feel the difference.
Natasha Casanova: That feels so much better.
Dr. Nolan Lee: You can feel it’s a lot easier. It’s a lot easier to keep the spine tall; it’s a lot easier to take that roundness out. And that’s what will be a great benefit in using a meditation pillow. And with proper spinal alignment, that will make your breathing much easier, and with the proper breathing, your nervous system will be more balanced, and you'll be less stressed. And definitely that is much needed aspect of meditation.
Corielle Heath: Oh wow. This is really the first time I've felt this. What you said is true. It’s like and unlocking of the front. My legs are out of the way, so my hips, my pelvis can rotate properly into place. Okay. I need a bigger one.
Natasha Casanova: Haha. Yeah, need to upgrade.
Corielle Heath: I do need to upgrade!
Dr. Lee is a board certified and licensed chiropractic physician and certified acupuncturist specializing in movement assessment and dysfunction. He has a passion for functional anatomy and biomechanics and believes that movement is life. His goal for his patients is to keep them moving optimally and pain free to pursue all the life activities that they desire. Dr. Lee has a long history of involvement in movement arts and body work including martial arts, yoga and Thai massage. He received a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences and Doctorate of Chiropractic from the National University of Health Sciences where he graduated as valedictorian for both degrees. He is also an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) through Yoga Alliance and a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) through National Academy of Sports Medicine. In his personal time, he enjoys yoga, working out, and cooking. When not treating patients or teaching yoga, he also leads lectures and workshops on functional yoga anatomy. Learn more at http://www.nolanlee.com