meditation tips

The simple way to get peace of mind

October 7, 2012

Don’t think meditation is just for new-age hippies. Scientists have found genuine benefits in ‘mindfulness’ – a combination of psychotherapy and meditation increasingly used by the NHS to treat disorders ranging from addiction to insomnia.

Regular practice of a few simple exercises can help to alleviate conditions by calming mind and body and breaking unhelpful thought patterns.

Here, in the first extract from his book, Dr Jonty Heaversedge describes an exercise that can help manage pain …

FOCUS ON BREATHING

Experience the sensation of air flowing into your nostrils, streaming down the back of your throat and into your lungs.

Notice the rising of your chest and the expansion of your abdomen as breath flows into your body. Feel the beating of your heart; visualise how it pumps oxygenated blood around your body.

Continue this awareness as you exhale, observing your breath as it merges with the air around you. Repeat until you feel ready to move on to the next stage.

ACKNOWLEDGE THE PAIN

Gently bring your awareness to your pain, even if your instinct is to recoil. Try to experience it fully: what kind of pain is it? Is it a long, dull ache or a sharp throbbing?

Investigate the shape and behaviour of your discomfort, without getting caught up in how it makes you feel emotionally.

When you are able to think about the sensation of your pain without strong emotions, slowly bring yourself back to how you feel towards it.

Are you trying to ignore it? Are you feeling hostile to it or desperately wanting it to stop? Notice these emotions in as friendly and compassionate way as possible.

RELEASE THE TENSION

Next, explore whether the pain in one place is causing tension elsewhere in your body, such as your shoulders, jaw or legs.

Release the tension if you’re holding it consciously but don’t struggle. If it seems stuck, accept it with as much compassion as you can.

GO WITH THE FLOW

Every time you breathe in, visualise your breath flowing into the painful part. With each exhalation, imagine the air flowing out of it, as if you are softly bathing the region with attention.

If this feels overwhelming, focus your mind back on simple breathing and allow the discomfort to exist at the fringes of your awareness.

Focus on other bodily sensations, such as where your body meets the ground or how your clothes feel against your skin.

DON’T GIVE UP

There is no right or wrong experience in mindfulness. Whether you find it scary, boring, frustrating or enjoyable, the practice is simply to notice the reactions themselves – to be with them and accept them as they are.

But this is not resignation. We are not giving up on our bodies, and we can continue to follow any sensible steps that are recommended by doctors.

We may still take medication, have surgery, or try some other form of therapy.

THE ICE-CUBE EXPERIMENT

During pain-free periods, try this experiment. Place a few ice cubes in a bowl. Take a few moments practising mindful breathing.

When you feel ready, place a cube in your hand, curl it into a fist and remember it is fine to put the ice back in the bowl at any time.

Now focus on your hand. Do the sensations change over time? Immerse yourself in the quality of the experience and notice how you automatically react.

Can you separate this reaction from the experience of the ice? If your attention strays from the sensation, gently bring it back. If the ice melts completely before you decide to stop, take another cube to see if the experience is any different.

Via the Daily Mail.

Ten tips for mindful working

September 4, 2012

Kulananda

on practice

If you walk to the bus stop, Tube or train station, turn off your phone. Feel your feet on the ground and the movement in your legs and hips. Notice how you’re breathing.
If you drive to work, take a few moments when you first get into your car just to notice your breath and your body.
As you sit at your desk or workstation, take a few moments from time to time to tune in to your body sensations. Notice any tension that might be there and breathe into it – softening and easing.
When you have a break, instead of reading the paper or searching on the internet, get away from your computer – take a short walk and get outside if you can.
At lunchtime, turn off your phone and get some air. Pause. If you meet with colleagues over lunch, try talking about things other than work.
Find ways of setting up mindfulness cues in your workspace. Perhaps when your phone rings you could use that as an opportunity to check in with your breathing.
Before heading home, review the day. Acknowledge what you’ve achieved, make a list of what you need to do tomorrow and, if you can, put your work down.
Use your journey home as a way of making a transition. Walk or drive mindfully. Take your time.
Change out of your work clothes soon after you get in and make a point of greeting everyone at home in turn.
If you live alone, feel what it is like to enter the quiet space of your own home.

From: The Mindful Workplace (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), by Michael Chaskalson, CEO of Mindfulness Works.

Five tips for National Relaxation Day

August 14, 2012

Bodhipaksa

on practice

In our fast-paced world it seems everyone’s stressed, hassled, and exhausted, so it’s a good thing that August 15, 2012 has been declared National Relaxation Day.

When they think about relaxing, most people would tend to hit upon rather conventional things, like soaking in the bath, having a glass of wine at the end of the evening, or watching a movie. But those things are temporary fixes that don’t lead to long-term change. Instead, I’d like to suggest five habits that can be cultivated and practiced every day. These are skills that can become a permanent part of the way you function in your daily life, and bring you long term benefits. And you can do them whether or not you have time for a long relaxing soak in the tub.

1. Take your time eating
We all have to eat, and we don’t generally do it very mindfully. We watch TV while we eat, or we read, or we’re caught up in a conversation, or we just space out. Sometimes, heaven help us, we even eat while we drive.

It’s very enriching, and deeply relaxing, to eat mindfully. It might not be feasible to eat every mouthful of food with complete attention, but what if we were to eat the first and last mouthful of a meal or snack mindfully? Whether you’re eating a gourmet meal or a candy bar, really notice the movements of your body as you transfer the food toward your mouth. Notice yourself receiving the food — how it feels, tastes. Eat slowly. Chew methodically. Savor the experience. If you find you’ve plowed into your food and are mindlessly scarfing it down, pause, and take the next bite with full awareness.

2. Give yourself short breathing breaks during the day
You may have heard of the three-minute breathing space, in which you spend a minute just tuning in to an awareness of your experience, a minute focusing on the sensations of the breathing in order to gather your attention, and a minute expanding your awareness so that you’re no longer noticing just the breathing, but also other sensations from the body, your mind and emotions, the sounds, light, and space around you. Even on the busiest of days it’s a good idea to take a few of these three minute breaks.

If that seems impossible, then just pause what you’re doing, take a few mindful breaths, and then bring your attention back to the task at hand.

3. Notice what your thinking is doing to you
A Harvard study of 250,000 people found that they spent almost 50% of their waking time thinking about something other than they were doing. What’s more, they found that the people who were most distracted were more likely to report feelings of unhappiness. Much of our thinking promotes unhappiness.

So develop the skill of checking in from time to time to see what your thoughts are doing to you. Notice whether you’re relaxed or tense, whether your overall experience is pleasant or unpleasant, whether you’re happy or distressed. Notice this without making any judgements about yourself. It doesn’t mean you’re “bad” or a “failure” for harboring thoughts that make you feel bad. But see if you can just notice those thoughts, and let them pass away. Actually, just to notice how you’re feeling you have to let go of some of the compulsion around these inner dramas.

4. Reduce input channels
One thing that really stresses us is being interrupted. So give yourself a chance to focus. If you’re writing a report, shut off your email program, turn your phone off (don’t just switch it to vibrate). Close any programs you don’t need to have open. It’s just you, and the task. You’ll find that when your concentration isn’t interrupted, you’re not only more relaxed and happy, but you get more done.

5. Give yourself a break from the news
We get really hooked on the news, and we stress about it. That politician and his lies! Those criminals! That tragic accident two cities away! It seems like it’s vital to keep in touch with what’s happening. What if a war were to break out and nobody told you? Well, I remember times I went abroad on vacation and didn’t have access to English-language news media. And you know what? When I got back, I felt like I hadn’t missed anything. Most of the news is the same old yadda-yadda, and the TV companies are trying to built it up so that you’ll get mad, be scared, and pay attention (and by the way, here’s an ad for a new wonder-drug).

Try unplugging from the news entirely for just a day. Or maybe for a week, go on a news fast and do nothing more than glance at the headlines in the newspapers. The world will go on, and you’ll be happier.

I’m not suggesting that you abstain from news for life, but at least for a while give yourself a break so that reading or watching the news is a choice and not a compulsion. And you’ll realize how much your own habits stop you from being relaxed.

Ten tips for setting up a meditation practice

May 3, 2012

Vishvapani

on practice

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The benefits of meditation come with regular practice, and that means making it part of your life. That’s one of the great challenges of learning meditation, so here are ten tips for establishing a meditation practice.

1. Get some instruction

You can learn the techniques of meditation from books and CDs: there are some good ones around (check out our shop). There are also meditation apps. But it helps a lot to learn from a live class if you can make it to one. Take a course – or go to a class where you can ask questions about the issues. In time, it helps to have friends or teachers who are more experienced meditators than you are.

2. Settle on a practice that suits you

On an meditation course there are three main practices – the mindfulness of breathing, the body scan and mindful movement, and there are many others out there. It’s worth experimenting a bit and then settling on the practice, or combination of practices, that work for you.

3. Find a regular time for practice

You might start off thinking you’ll just try fitting meditation into your day somehow or other, but establishing a practice means finding a time that works for you. For many people, first thing in the morning before the day starts up is a good time; others prefer the evening. There are pros and cons with either so you’ll need to experiment.

4. Set up a meditation place

You can meditate anywhere, but if you sit down amid clutter it has an effect. So set aside a space that evokes the feeling of meditation. Some flowers, a candle or an image on a table can be enough to encourage the feeling that you’re leaving aside the usual preoccupations. It also helps to set aside the cushions or chair that need for meditation, and it’s worth thinking about getting some meditation cushions or a stool.

5. Talk to your family or housemates

To avoid people barging in or turning up the music just as you start to get settled, talk to the people you live with and let them know what you are doing. Don’t worry if they thing you’re weird: if they notice you’re calmer and happier they’ll soon change.

6. Meditate with others

It’s hard to keep anything going on your own, at least to start with. We all need encouragement and guidance. Many people find a setting where they can meditate with others: Buddhist centres, sitting groups, and even virtual settings, like a videoconference or app.

7. Go on retreat

Retreats are a chance to get away from all the things that usually fill up our lives. They vary in length: you can find day retreats or residential retreats for a weekend or longer. Just being quiet and meditating several times a day lets everything settle down so your experience can go deeper. On an intensive retreat you don’t do much apart from meditate, but there are less demanding options as well.

8. Take your practice off the cushion

If you think of meditation as something that only happens in the formal practice time, it will be hard to maintain. So look for ways to keep the thread of mindfulness and meditation alive through the day. The Three Minute Breathing Space gives you time to stop and connect with mindfulness, and you can find many more, informal ways to do the same.

9. Reflect on your values

Most of us get enthusiastic, every so often, about a certain kind of exercise or studying a particular subject. But, looking back, we only maintain a few of these. They are the ones that touch on the values at the core of our lives. If you can make the connection between something that is a deep-seated drive like helping others or understanding the truth, or a pressing concern like not getting depressed or being more effective as a parent, then you’re much more likely to be able to sustain it.

10. Be patient … and persistent

Establishing a regular meditation practice is a long-term project. You may miss days, get discouraged or just forget about meditation for a while. The key thing is to keep going. If you force yourself to meditate when you really don’t feel like it, you’ll probably have a reaction to the whole idea; but if you wait until you do feel like it before you pick your practice up again, it may never happen. But with time, you figure out ways to make your practice happen.

Tips for Type A’s who can’t meditate

April 23, 2012

Wildmind Meditation News

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Adriana Barton: Meditation can change the brain from a mass of neurons twitching with anxiety to grey matter humming on a Zen wavelength. And you needn’t be a Buddhist monk to benefit.

Neuroscientists have discovered that after just eight weeks, non-meditators who start a mindfulness practice show decreased brain activity in the amygdala – the brain region that controls anxiety – and increased grey matter in regions involved in perspective-taking and regulating emotions.

Too bad the idea of meditation stresses people out.

People think they have to sit in a formal cross-legged pose and “get rid of their thoughts,” says Dee Willock, the …

Read the original article »

Four tips for mindful eating

April 18, 2012

Wildmind Meditation News

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Joanne Cohen-Katz, a psychologist and co-director of the Center for Mindfulness at Lehigh Valley Health Network, gave reporter Alisa Bowman some great tips on mindful eating. Although the emphasis was on mindful eating for weight loss, this advice will help enrich the quality of your life generally.

Meditate on one bite. You won’t be able to do this with every single bite of food, but try to do it periodically. Try, for instance, to be completely mindful as you eat a raisin. Hold it in your hand. Notice what it looks like. Smell it. Roll it in your fingers. Then place it on your tongue, but don’t chew it just yet. What does it feel like there? Then slowly chew it, noticing how that changes the taste sensation in your mouth. Really enjoy this raisin. After you’ve finished, think about how you usually eat.
Pause before digging in. Create a pre-eating ritual. Look at the food on your plate. Take it in visually. Think about how it got from farm to plate. Or you might feel thankful that you have food to eat and consider that not everyone does.
Notice at least two bites. Meditate on at least the first bite and the last bite of every meal.
Ban distractions. Don’t read. Don’t watch TV. Don’t play games. Tune out from your smart phone. Tune into your meal instead.

Learn how to beat stress

January 25, 2012

Wildmind Meditation News

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Helena Oliviera, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Naomi Tsu battles high levels of stress every day at work. And increasingly, the Atlanta attorney, doesn’t always cut it off when she goes home.

“It’s hard to put down that BlackBerry,” laments Tsu.

Tsu carves out time every day to rest her busy mind and ease her stress levels. She enjoys cooking and spending time with friends. And she routinely begins her day with meditation — lasting anywhere between five minutes to an hour. With every breath in — and out — she feels her body relax.

“It makes my stress level livable,” she said. “After I meditate, things don’t bother me as much. … If I have a tough conversation with opposing counsel, I don’t carry around with me all day.”

Stress levels in Atlanta may have dipped slightly since the worst of the economic crisis, but new survey results released by the American Psychological Association suggest stress levels continue to hover at unhealthy levels.

Stress levels here averaged 5.3 on a 10-point scale (in which 1 is little or no stress and 10 is a great deal of stress), according to a 2011 survey conducted by Harris Interactive, polling 1,226 adults, including 279 adults living in metro Atlanta.

The peak was 2008 at 6.1.

Employment-related jitters remain a constant source of tension.

Of those surveyed, 77 percent pointed to work as a significant source of stress.

Dr. J. Kip Matthews, an Athens psychologist, said even though the economic crisis has eased, job stability concerns linger among this group. These people include those feeling survivor’s guilt for having held onto their jobs while others lost theirs, those anxious they could be next in line to get axed, those still looking for jobs and those who landed a job but worry it may not last.

The big problem, he said, is many people don’t know how to curb acute stress.

As a society, he believes the lack of emphasis on preventative care spills over into the way Americans handle stress. In other words, Americans don’t tackle the stress; they wait  until it’s serious and causing health problems such as heart disease.

“People may know stress is not good for them, but there is a disconnect between recognizing they need to make changes and having the tools and the ability to make those changes,” he said.

In fact, the Stress in America study found only a third of those surveyed in Atlanta said they knew how to manage or reduce stress once they experienced it.

And while it’s normal to experience occasional spikes in stress levels, it’s not healthy to face chronic, sharp levels of stress.

Matthews said excessive stress levels release the stress hormone (cortisol) into the body and can lead to a build-up of plaque in the arteries.

Stress levels vary. When working quietly on your taxes, they should be low. If you are a lineman on a football team, they will rise. And while stress levels fluctuate, Matthews believes a healthy range, on average, is between three and four on the 10-point scale.

Among those surveyed in Atlanta, popular ways to lower stress included listening to music and exercising.

Kashi Atlanta yoga studio has seen an uptick in devotees at its Wednesday evening classes, with close to 100 participants.

Long-time yoga and meditation instructor Jaya Devi Bhagavati said she sees burnt-out Atlantans seeking more peace and balance in their lives.

Sometimes, she said, those meditating are simply looking for an escape from technology.

They want to disconnect and unwind.

“Yes, I have seen people who say I need this hour and a half to unplug and get back into the natural rhythms of myself,” said Bhagavati.

——————–

Tips for reducing stress

Exercise and eating a healthy diet are always good ways to fight stress. Dr. J. Kip Matthews, an Athens psychologist, offers four more ways to ease stress.

● Nurture your spiritual health: Whether it’s through prayer, meditation or going to church, nourishing your spiritual health can promote a sense of purpose and give comfort.

● Find a hobby: A good way to take a mental break from the stress in your life and carve out some time just for you is to find a hobby. Take a dance class, start painting or gardening. And while some stresses in your life may feel out of control, you can see yourself get better as you become a better painter, grow a garden, etc.

● Be able to say no: It may sound simple, but many people struggle with saying no, worrying they might hurt feelings. But being assertive and saying, ‘No,’ can help people from overscheduling and burdening their lives.

● Simplify your life: De-clutter your house and you will have fewer distractions. It will also give you more clarity. Also, let some things go. Instead of worrying about making a cheesecake from scratch for the school potluck, it’s OK to pick up a box of store-made cookies from the grocery. “Rather than scrambling and worrying about making something perfect, grab something and go and you’ll be in a better frame of mind,” Matthews said.

● Unplug: If you are constantly checking your emails and smartphone when you are away from work — and reading news stories about the cruise ship sinking — don’t expect your stress level to fall. Instead, take a break from your phone, computer, iPad — all of it.

Original article no longer available »

Daily meditation practice tips for busy people

April 14, 2011

Saddhamala

on practice

Are you one of those people who would like to have a regular meditation practice but a list of things seem to get in the way?

People who are in this situation cite numerous reasons for this dilemma.

They say:

their family members are too noisy
they are too busy
they travel often
they have had a change in their daily routine which has upset their regular practice
they have been ill or are caring for someone who is ill
they have a visitor who was supposed to stay for 3 days and is still with them after 3 months!

All of these reasons that they do not have a regular (or daily) meditation practice are actually very good reasons to have one!

Here are some ways to begin a regular meditation practice, and reduce stress, even with everything else that is happening in your life:

If your family members are too noisy, you can wake up fifteen minutes before everyone else wakes up so that you can meditate when it is quiet.
If you are too busy, just meditate for ten minutes, anytime throughout the day and be mindful that if you really are too busy, it is even more important to meditate so that you remain calm and focused during your busy day.
If you travel often, you can meditate while you are waiting for the plane, or when you are on the plane, or in your hotel room before you unpack and get settled.
If you have had a change in your routine, you can consider how you can fit meditation into your new routine. For example, if you are leaving the house earlier in the morning, perhaps you can meditate when you come home in the evening, before dinner or before bedtime.
If you have been ill, it will be restorative to meditate when you feel that you can.
If you have been caring for someone who is ill, meditation will provide a needed way to care for yourself.
If your visitor is still with you, you can let him or her know how important your meditation practice is to you and then go outside for a walking meditation.

When our situations change it is easy to lose the momentum of a regular meditation practice. If we make our meditation practice a priority, we will find ways to meditate even if we are busy, if we travel, if our daily routines change, if we have been ill or have been taking care of someone who is ill.

And if we can figure out a way to meditate for thirty days, it will become a habit and easier to do no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.

15 ways to practice mindfulness

April 3, 2011

Saddhamala

on practice

Each and every day we have many opportunities to practice mindfulness.

Here is a list of ways to practice mindfulness. Choose one to practice for a day or a week and give it your wholehearted attention.

1. When you wake up in the morning, notice your breathing before you get out of bed. The quality of our breath tells us a lot about our state of being. When the breath is slow and steady we are calm and peaceful. When the breath is constricted we are tense.

2. Before you get out of bed, notice your thoughts. What was your first thought upon waking? This practice helps us get in touch with what is on the mind and in our dreams

3. When possible, eat silently. Before you eat, consider all the people involved in providing the food on your plate – farmers, truck drivers, people in supermarkets. Offer gratitude for all these people.

4. Notice your environment: sunlight, rain, the wind, trees, sights and sounds. On your way to work, school, an appointment or your daily errands, be mindful of driving your car, walking, sitting on the subway, arriving at your destination, your state of mind and your thoughts. Are you in the present moment or thinking ahead to what you will be doing next? Notice your body, and let your breathing help you relax your shoulders, soften your face.

5. Notice when you can stop the pressure of pushing to get where you are going and simply enjoy the process of getting there.

6. Practice mindful, conscious breathing throughout your day: at work, while sitting down, at your desk, at your computer, while speaking on the phone and in person.

7. Allow yourself to be calm and peaceful. Use daily cues as reminders to be mindful: the doorbell, the telephone, a mindfulness bell on your computer, turning on a light, checking your watch or a clock for the time.

8. Approach meals with mindfulness and gratitude. Really taste what you are eating.

9. As you leave your daily activities, take a moment to appreciate what you have accomplished and consider how you have interacted with others. Wash your speech kind, helpful and appropriate to the situation?

10. Consider your trip home as a transition time between your daily activities and your time at home.

11. Become aware of your breathing, smile, notice the quality of your thoughts and feelings.

12. Approach your homecoming and the people you come home to, with peacefulness and kindness.

13. You can use conscious breathing – awareness of the breath – as a foundation to encourage mindfulness in all of your daily activities, just as you use it as the foundation for your sitting and walking meditation practices.

14. Eat meals without doing anything else. Eat them sitting down, rather than standing up or in your car or on the run. Taste every morsel of food and enjoy the aroma and texture of your food.

15. As you go to bed and prepare for sleep, breathe, become aware of your body and relax, and let go of daily activities and of your anticipation of tomorrow.

Wishing you the gift of mindfulness each and every day.

How to meditate and live mindfully

March 4, 2011

Saddhamala

on practice

Meditation can be a mystery. It brings up questions.

How do I meditate?

Am I meditating correctly?

What is the purpose of meditation?

I would like to begin with a story. The story takes place each morning when I am on my way to work. I drive to the end of my road, take a left onto another road and then take a right onto a highway that brings me to work.

Very often, in the evening, I drive to the end of my road, take a left onto another road, and take a right onto the highway when, actually, I should take a left to go to the grocery store. When I do this, I am on automatic pilot.

Have you ever been on automatic pilot while driving or when thinking? Each time we are on automatic pilot, we act in habitual ways and those habits become more and more ingrained – more fixed.

We may sit down for meditation, and rather than focusing on our breath, or observing our thoughts, we start making a list of things to do – or we start thinking about what someone said or did that we reacted to with annoyance or irritability.

We spend a lot of time thinking about the past and/or worrying about the future.

So, what is it like to be in the present moment and how can stay there? We can practice being in the present moment by meditating – by sitting quietly and observing what is happening right here, right now.

The next time you sit down to meditate, ask yourself:

“What am I experiencing right now in my body?
What physical sensations am I experiencing?
What is my mind focusing on?
What am I experiencing in my thoughts? What emotions am I experiencing?
What is the feeling tone right now?”

When we acknowledge our experiences, even if those experiences are uncomfortable, we are dwelling in the present moment, we are being mindful.

When, in meditation, we find ourselves making a list of things to do later or compulsively thinking about what our partner said last night, we can bring our attention to the breath as an anchor to bring us back to the present moment and create stillness and awareness.

When we learn to be in the present moment in meditation, we are more likely to live in the present moment when we are working, when we are with our families, when we are with our friends and when we are on our own.

Larry Rosenberg outlines five steps of meditation practice.

“Whenever possible:

1. Just do one thing at a time.

2. Pay full attention to what it is you are doing.

3. When the mind wanders from the present moment, bring it back.

4. Repeat step 3 several billion times!

5. Investigate your distractions.

And remember… meditation may be simple, but that does not mean it is easy!”