I just don't get meditation...

One of my students said to me recently "I just don't get meditation."  I can understand why he said that - there's often no immediate gratification when we start meditating.  Rather, beginning meditators often experience frustration, great discomfort, overwhelm.  It takes alot of trust that the process will yield results. With that said, I wanted to share what meditation does for me and some of the great research that has been done into the effectiveness of meditation. Who knows maybe it will inspire trust in your own process...

For me, meditation helps release the emotional attachments to thoughts so I can think clearly. I sit and the same thoughts cycle and cycle til they are almost meaningless, then a state of bliss descends. This is really nice!  If I stop then, I am happy for the rest of the day, but left feeling like I may have cheated myself of some meaningful exploration and am living in an illusion.    

If I stay past this blissful point, things change and I feel like rather like Dorothy entering the forest in the Wizard of Oz: scary creaks, darkness, unknown shadows all seeming to follow me... Except, unlike Dorothy, I KNOW this is all in my head and I know that the only way out is though.  That's not to say that its enjoyable, but I can watch it like I watch a scary movie - I feel my breath quicken, sometimes my body tightens, sometimes I cry.  Haven't screamed yet ;-).  But I can simply watch it.  And when its over, I can walk away; altered from where/what I was before but better for the journey.

In essence, my meditation practice most days is almost like I encounter the the Emerald City before the forest.  But that further (seemingly backward) journey, should I choose to make it, is like clicking my heels together and the magic of life happens in the most wonderful way!

There are HUGE health benefits to meditating on a regular basis, including stress reduction, lowering blood pressure, easing fibromyalgia, reducing anxiety, reducing insomnia and pain management to name a few.  Here are some resources to help you learn more:

Check out what the Mayo Clinic has to say about meditation, including the benefits to physical and mental health as well as some methods of meditation.

The National Institute of Health also has some great resources on the benefits of meditation, including links to reputable studies on the use of meditation.

For inquiring minds: No, I do not meditate everyday.  Self-discipline has never been my strong point and there is little that I absolutely do every single day.  Sometimes I can pull it off for weeks at a time, sometimes its a here and there practice.  But, you know what? I surely do notice the difference when I do sit, even just for 5 minutes.  ENORMOUS difference.  In times of great stress, I do find the discipline to do it at least once a day because it means the difference between being able to deal with the stress and succumbing to it.

Why practice mindfulness?

We will be hosting a workshop entitled Exploring Mindfulness at my yoga studio next Saturday.  I've taken this workshop with Halli Bourne in the past and found it to be very helpful, filled with practical tools to enhance my life.  I know Halli well (I should after leading 10+ retreats with her!) but I wanted to give you an introduction so I asked her if she could briefly explain what it means to be mindful (something that we will be learning in the workshop)... Here's her response...

Many of us struggle with the overwhelm of multitasking and cramming our heads with thoughts that trap us in habitual, reactive, uncreative modes of living.  Neuroscience has shown that every thought we think has a physiological response, meaning that if we are thinking negative, restrictive, stressful thoughts, our body will react in a stressed way.   Mindfulness does not mean ridding ourselves of thoughts, but rather acknowledging and recognizing thoughts and choosing to remain non-reactive in relationship to them.  The more we practice non-reactivity, the more peaceful we become.  

Hmmm....  I thought, sounds alot like where meditation and yoga take me. A true dedicated practice requires that we be mindful.  Our time on the mat is just experimentation for how to live our lives off the mat, yes? I know, the more I practice, the more I can live in the moment, without letting stories with no basis cycle through my head and the more I can see when I am on the right track instead of flailing about with the appearance of knowing where I am going :-).  

I wondered how Halli came to mindfulness and she shared her story...

As a young person, sensitive by nature, I felt buffeted by society's demands to produce and to put forth stoicism regardless of personal cost.  In my early twenties I had a near-fatal car accident that led me through an odyssey of healing and recovery.  The physical rehabilitation grounded me in my body and put me in touch with the need to change my relationship to my thoughts.  The challenges of this life---which are by no means unique to me---caused me to initiate a daily meditation practice and have fueled a passion for the tools of introspection and their power to revolutionize personal experience. 

Wow - to hold up under such intensity, mindfulness is a powerful practice that seems to create a quiet power within the practitioner.  If mindfulness can help in such adversity, just think how it could enhance your life in times of joy... definitely food for thought and exploration.

If you are in the Lemitar area, please join us Saturday 5/16 3-5pm for this provocative and deep workshop.  You can pre-register and find more information on our website - www.yogadelsolstudio.com.  To learn more about Halli, visit www.true-self-coaching.com.

Coming back to Center

Sometimes life gets away from us and it feels like we are traveling at the speed of light unable to focus and unable to stop.  Yoga can be an incredible tool for bringing us back to center.  Use this audiofile to put on the brakes and coast back to center in your life, leaving you more productive, more aware and maybe just bit more able to handle whatever is coming at you.  Centering is a great way to begin or end a practice or to find a moment of calm anytime during your day.  I hope you find it helpful in your life!

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Have a Seat! Yoga for a comfortable meditation.

Here's a little practice to help prepare you for seated meditation - its helps to open the hips for a more comfortable seat and strengthen your core for an easier seat.  While a comfortable seat is this practice's intended purpose, you will find it supports you well in everyday activities and improves your circulation, too.  We did this practice last night in my Yoga and Meditation class followed by a 20 minute sit with the mantra meditation "I am".  This mantra is a affirmation and a question, taking your mind and ego closer to knowing your true self.  Give it a try!

Five meditations to kickstart your practice

It can be hard to start a meditation practice... it can be harder to keep a meditation practice going.  If you are looking to start or looking to stay on track, here are a few practices to play with.

Remember to set your timer so there is no need to check your clock.  Ignore any and all outside distractions while you are meditating - this time is for you!  If you are new to meditating, start with just a few minutes and gradually build up to a time that feels right for you.  And on those more difficult days, remember there is a reason it is called a practice :-)

1.  Counting Meditation - Sit, counting your breaths up to 7, then begin again at 1.  If you get distracted, just start again at 1.
2.  Meditation on the Breath - Sit, feeling each and every aspect of your breath, nothing more.
3.  Observing Meditation - Sit, watch your thoughts as they move across the screen of your mind.  Watch, without becoming involved.
4. Mantra Meditation - Sit, repeating a mantra, continually emptying your mind of everything else.  I recommend the mantra "I am" (or in sanskrit "So Ham").
5. Mudra Meditation - Sit, bringing your hands in to an appropriate mudra for you (just google mudra, you will find many options, all of which are said to elicit different responses in your body and mind), let everything else go but the sensation of the mudra.

Try one or all of these meditation practices - different practices resonate differently with everyone, sometimes you have to try a few before you find the one(s) most helpful to you.  Do not be discouraged, you WILL find it.

Enjoy!

Pranayama and Meditation!

Change your energy and deepen your awareness with these pranayama (breathing) and meditation practices from our Hawaii Yoga and Meditation Retreat last month. For those of you that were there, I hope this will help ground your practice once again.  For those of you that missed it, I hope this will give you a jumping off point to expand your practice!  As always, let me know if you have any questions... play, enjoy!

Breathing Practices...

Dirgha

Ujayii

Nadi Shodhana

Anuloma Viloma

Anuloma Ujayii

Om-sounding breath

Meditations

Om - neverending

Pure Sound - hearing without dialogue

Smell - smelling without dialogue

Sight - seeing without dialogue

Touch (like mala beads or hands resting on the knees)

Conscious Eating (total awareness of taste, sight, sound, smell, sensation)

Object (Samyama)

Pure Awareness - just be with yourself

Ujayii (meditating on the sound)

Movement Meditation (like Sun Breath)

End of the Summer Gentle Yoga Class

Last class of summer term for my Gentle Yoga class at NMT last night.  Still VERY hot outside and in so we stayed low to the ground and mellow.  A lovely end to a class meant to help de-stress and relax :-)  Here's a rough outline of the class ...  Let go and practice well!

Supported Fish (reclined with rolled blanket under spine)
Dirgha Pranayam (full yogic breath)
Puvana Muktasana (reclined knee to chest)
Supta Matsyendrasna (reclined knee down twist)
Sun Breaths (seated, arms up and down with breath)
Side Stretch (seated)
6 Movements of the Spine (cat/dog, c-curves, thread the needle)
Shalabasana (locust pose)
Kapotasana (pigeon pose, up and down, then resting pigeon)
Upavista Konasana (wide angle forward fold)
Sitali Pranayama (cooling breath)
Meditation on the Breath
Savasana
Namaste!

Don't Just Sit There, Try a Moving Meditation Practice!

Can't handle sitting still, but know that meditation would be good for you?  Maybe moving meditations would be more your style.  Check out the video below based on our first class from this summer's Moving Meditation Class Series and see how it works for you!  After all, meditation is scientifically proven to be good for you :-)