We had the third meeting of our four week Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss today. During the month of November we’re focusing on the basics in order to help each other build a personal practice.
We began with a body scan and revisited the six points of posture. Bringing awareness to feeling sensation in the whole body and then different body parts helps to calm and center our minds.
We brought a sense of being safe, satisfied and connected into our awareness. We shared a comfortable, warm and safe room. For the moment, our basic needs were substantially met. We were among accepting, supportive people with whom we could share a sense of connection. These are the three states that give rise to “homeostatic equilibrium.” This state is the foundation for an experience of well being, an ability to cope and an instinct to heal. Dr. Rick Hanson describes this as the brain being in the “Green Zone.”
During our formal mindfulness practice we enhanced our concentration by attending to “foundations of mindfulness.” As always, we started with the body and breath, then shifted to our feeling state in terms of being pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. We remained present with any arising emotions without trying to avoid or cling to them. We witnessed the nature of thoughts without judgment. We explored ways of expanding the spaciousness of awareness to enable us to stay present with experience yet let it move just like breathing.
We practiced formal walking meditation again exploring how we can balance awareness between our inner and outer experience.
During our discussion we observed how coming into stillness can be like opening a window to what has previously been unrecognized. The nature of feelings, emotions and thoughts that arise spontaneously reflect the inner workings of the mind and heart. Certainly this is not always easy. We talked about the ability of cultivating helpful mental states as a way of building resilience and sustaining our ability to ride strong waves of experience. Coming into stillness and using meditation techniques like concentration, open awareness and mindfulness can create fertile ground to begin working with more intentional cultivation practices, using what Rick Hanson calls “self directed neuroplasticity.”
I encourage you to explore this week’s homework suggestions and reflect on what might be the “antidote” or medicine that can support your well being. You can find it at: