In our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss we practiced mindfulness of breathing and physical sensations in both sitting and walking meditation. We drew on guidance offered by author and meditation teacher, Michael Stone.  In a recent “dharma talk” or lecture he reminded aspiring meditators of the following:

As the breath gets quieter . . . the mind gets quieter; as the mind quiets the breath quiets . . .

He observed that when our minds get caught up in thinking or “story-making” our breath often becomes more labored.  One of our group members described her very stressful life and the difficulty she has breathing.  She often falls asleep in the final relaxation period in yoga class.  The breath is like a mirror or reflection for our state of mind.  We discussed ways that we can adapt our approach to mindfulness to support our current state of being.  In very stressful times – it may be most beneficial to relax and do some belly breathing.  While it may be really challenging to stop one’s busyness – a short afternoon nap might be what you really need.

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Now is the time

Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.
Now, why not consider
a lasting truce with yourself?
Now is the time to understand
that all your ideas of right and wrong
were just a child’s training wheels
to be laid aside,

When you can finally live
with veracity and love.
Now is the time for the world to know
that every thought and action is sacred.
That this is the time
for you to compute the impossibility
that there is anything
But Grace.
Now is the season to know
that everything you do
is Sacred.

by Hafiz

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In our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss we practiced mindfulness of the breath in both sitting and walking meditation.  We drew on guidance offered by Gil Fronsdal who is the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) of Redwood City, California. Gil is the author of various books and makes his courses and talks available on line at http://www.audiodharma.org.

I listened to one of his more recent talks focuses on Gratitude.  I appreciate his down to earth authenticity in speaking of all the things that go right in the world – there are so many of them we often don’t recognize them.  For many, 99.99% of life works to support our well being yet we focus on the 0.01% that may not be working.  My body is functioning,  I have food, shelter, electricity, transportation.  I could go on and on about the blessings I enjoy and often take for granted.

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In our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss we returned to the practice of building a posture of awareness.  Our bodies come to express the quality of attention we are cultivating with our minds.  We explored narrowing and broadening our focus using the breath as our home base.  We always begin with the physical sensations of breathing and then notice other sensations as they arise.  We investigate experience with bare attention, nothing added.

Then we notice our feeling response to sensation – whether it’s pleasant, unpleasant or simply neutral.  What is the direct experience of pleasant feeling?  Is “pleasant” in the body, the mind, the heart?  Does our response arise in thought forms?  Do these forms have bodies?  Can you explore the body of a thought?  Then we notice emotions – their arising and passing away.  What and how do anger, joy, irritation, boredom and love live in our experience?

As we open ourselves in pausing we come to know that nothing is still or solid.  All experience changes and it’s hard to find a lasting essence.  Even the “me” we navigate the world with is ever changing and can’t be known completely.  This realization is tinged with sadness and perhaps a sense of deep appreciation for the gift of life.

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In our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss we explored one of  Dr. Christopher Germer‘s “mindful self compassion” practices.  We began creating a state of mindfulness by feeling the six points of posture in our bodies.  Taking time at the beginning of a seated meditation period to adjust our position and build stability.  We used Dr. Germer’s guidance to cultivate a soft, allowing, loving attitude toward our bodies:  a mindful attitude.

He suggests we try his Soften, Allow and Love practice.  He explains that when we soften around our physical discomforts we might avoid the tendency to tense up and reject our experience.  Allowing refers to letting thoughts come and go without judging ourselves for their occurrence or content.  Cultivating self love and compassion can encourage us to respond to difficult feelings with tenderness.  I like the way he incorporates breathing, gestures and words or “mantras.”  You put your hand on your heart and breathe . . . direct love to any part of your being in distress . . . silently say soften, allow or love, love, love . . . Most of us would be happy to do this for a fretting child or elder in our care.  How willing are we to do this for ourselves?

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In our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss we focused on observing our mind’s activity.  We established concentration by focusing on the breath and physical sensations.  Our walking meditation almost felt like a procession.  We synchronized our pace and felt particularly attuned to each other.

We all experienced mental “busyness.”  One student shared a familiar feeling of anticipation.  She described “always feeling poised or perched” as her life’s stance.  We explored the way this impulse “to do” drives us forward – often away from experiences, issues and people we could benefit spending more time with.

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We had the Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss today: several guided meditations and a period of mindful walking.  We began by feeling our bodies in the areas of the six points of posture and then entrained our attention on the sensations of breathing.

Students used concentration techniques such as counting individual breaths to sustain their concentration.  While walking we maintained focus by taking a step upon inhaling and landing a step upon exhaling.  Nevertheless, we all lost our attention at times. In his book, Buddhism Without Beliefs, author and meditation teacher, Stephen Batchelor describes the mind’s inherent restlessness:

Focused awareness is both calm and clear.  Just as calmness is prevented by restlessness and distraction, so clarity is undermined by boredom and lethargy.  Drifting between these two poles, we spend much of our time either slightly hyper or slightly depressed.  . . . Distraction drugs us into forgetfulness.  Even when we yearn to be focused on something meaningful, it erupts again.  We cannot switch it off – and the more frustrated we get the worse it becomes.

He suggests embracing whatever mind state we find ourselves in:  accept this is how things are right now.  “Acceptance might even lead to understanding what it is that we’re running from.”  We could even bring a sense of compassion, patience or tenderness to our experience – we all share these very human mind states.

As a kid, I remember nagging my parents during our long road trips between California and Idaho:  Are we there yet?  As an adult I now wonder whether There is the place where we find ourselves suspended between restlessness and boredom.  It’s a place where we can be curious and open:  a place where our questions are as valued as our answers.  I sometimes feel the pull of resistance to experiences that I’ve framed as an obligations.  I want to let go of what I think the experience will be and just jump in.  Perhaps this is the journey we take together in meditation.  We take the plunge and see what happens.

Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class 58 Homework

We had the Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss yesterday: several guided meditations and a period of mindful walking.  We entrained our awareness on breathing while listening to silence – even the silence that exists within sound. Our practice was inspired by Matthew Sanford‘s experience of silence in healing after a traumatic injury that left him paralyzed at thirteen.

In The Body’s Grace, the interview with On Being radio journalist, Krista Tippett, Matthew describes the silences of separation, connection and integration.  In his  book, Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence, he recalls an inner silence he was forced into from which he eventually accessed a powerful yet subtle mind body connection.

In principle, my experience is not so different from yours, it is only more extreme. … My mind-body relationship changed in an instant — the time it took for my back to break. But the changing relationship between mind and body is a feature of everyone’s life. We are all leaving our bodies — this is the inevitable arc of living. Death cannot be avoided; neither can the inward silence that comes with the aging process.

I now experience a different, more subtle connection between mind and body. It does not require that I flex muscles. It does not dissipate in the presence of increasing inward silence.

… It does require, however, that I seek more profoundly within my own experience and do so with an open mind. It means that I must reach intuitively into what may feel like darkness.

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We had the Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss yesterday: several guided meditations and a period of mindful walking. We began with the practice of “Getting to Know Your Breath,” from Anne Cushman‘s new book, Moving Into Meditation.  We sensed breathing by “homing in” on four aspects:  location, length, texture and spacing between breaths.

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We had the Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss today: several guided meditations and a period of mindful walking.   We began with the first foundation of mindfulness: awareness of the body and, in particular, the senses.   I drew the guidance, Feeling Your Sense Gateways, from Anne Cushman‘s new book, Moving Into Meditation.  Seeing hearing, smelling, tasting and touching are all embodied experiences – like yoga – which we can include in our mindfulness practice.

In this practice, you consciously feel and relax the sense gateways of your eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin.  Have you ever tried to feel deep inside your ears?  How do you relax your eyes?  What happens when you simply “allow” your senses to receive stimulation?  It’s interesting to notice the difference between actively pursuing stimulation and passively receiving sensory experiences.  We talked about how loud the room became in our stillness.  You can appreciate the energy it takes to screen out the continuous “noise” of the world in order to focus on something of your own choosing.

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