We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. The class was dedicated to the memory of Kim Werdel and her family. We practiced an adaptation of Dr. Rick Hanson‘s guided meditation called Expanding the Circle of Loving Kindness. The meditation is drawn from his book, The Buddha’s Brain: the Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom.
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced Dr. Rick Hanson‘s guided meditation called Opening to a Growing Sense of Contentment. The meditation is drawn from his audio series, The Enlightened Brain. In this meditation we experienced empathy and acceptance by attuning to our own bodies, emotions and thoughts.
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced a loving kindness meditation inspired by author and meditation instructor, Tara Brach. We discussed some of the neurological underpinnings of empathy as outlined by Dr. Rick Hanson in his book, The Buddha’s Brain: the Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom. We also discussed some of the exciting new research about stress that Dr. Kelly McGonigal outlined in her TED Talk entitled, How to Make Stress Your Friend.
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced Dr. Rick Hanson‘s guided meditation called Equanimity. The meditation is drawn from his book, The Buddha’s Brain: the Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom.
The meditation encourages students to explore the “mind of no preferences”. My partner Tim’s photo of this amazing mushroom inspires me to reflect on equanimity. We’ve recently enjoyed one of the most beautiful summers ever – day after day of sunshine followed by intense thunder storms. Rather than be dismayed at the returning rain, Tim and I have been enraptured by these magical mushrooms blanketing the forest floor near our home. It’s described as a fungus, developing from a primordium. It’s fruiting body eventually to be surrounded by a universal veil. Now how cool is that!?!
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced Dr. Rick Hanson‘s guided meditation called Feeling Strong. The meditation is drawn from his book, The Buddha’s Brain: the Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom.
Rick explores what motivates our behavior. A guiding principle of his work is the practice of using our minds to change our brains – which in turn predisposes us to have healthier minds. He asserts that it’s important to cool causes of suffering and to warm up causes of happiness with our intentions. Intentions involve strength applied to clear and appropriate goals, sustained over time. Acting with healthy intentions requires awareness. Yet most intentions are operating outside our awareness!
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced Dr. Rick Hanson‘s guided meditation called Feeling Connected. The meditation is drawn from his excellent audio program called Stress-Proof Your Brain: Meditations to Rewire Neural Pathways for Stress Relief and Unconditional Happiness.
Rick observes that most of us live our lives at a slow simmer of tension. He offers a variety of “mind-body” tools to cool the fires of stress. He suggests that the most powerful way to use the mind body connections to improve mental and physical health is through guiding the autonomic nervous system – specifically the parasympathetic nervous or “rest & digest” system. Every time we calm your nervous system we tilt body/brain/mind increasingly toward inner peace and well being.
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced Dr. Kristin Neff‘s guided meditation called Self Compassion. Kristin is a professor of psychology and author of Self Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up & Leave Insecurity Behind. She’s conducted pioneering research into self-compassion and has developed an 8-week program to teach self-compassion skills. I learned about Kristin after listening to and interview with her in Rick Hanson‘s Compassionate Brain series. I encourage you to investigate these resources as both are generously offered as a community service.
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced a guided meditation called Taking in the Good from The Buddha’s Brain: the Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom.
Neuropsychologist, author and instructor, Rick Hanson, suggests this practice to help overcome what scientists believe is the brain’s built-in “negativity bias.” Rick suggests intentionally practicing ways to “take in the good” to improve how you feel, get things done and treat others.
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced a guided meditation called Befriending Your Body from The Buddha’s Brain: the Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom. Neuropsychologist, author and instructor, Rick Hanson, suggests this practice to help build the neural circuitry of self compassion.
Rick observes how we commonly push our bodies and ignore their needs until they get intense. We get disappointed, frustrated, impatient or even hostile toward our bodies. As if aging, illness and perceived imperfections were a matter of choice. He warns of the big price we pay for these attitudes and behaviors since we’re not separate from our bodies. Their needs and pleasures are our own. He suggests that if we treat our bodies like good friends, we’ll feel better, have more energy, be more resilient and probably live longer. Why live longer? This is a question you’ve probably considered more deeply after experiencing a serious illness or the loss of a loved one. I find motivational energy in this question. It gives me a willingness to explore the mystery of life beyond the limiting attitudes of my fixed beliefs.
We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss. We practiced a guided meditation called Being on Your Own Side. Neuropsychologist, author and instructor, Rick Hanson, uses this practice to help us explore how caring for ourselves can enhance our mind and brain health.
In Rick’s book, The Buddha’s Brain: the Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom, he describes how we can use our minds to change our brains and how positive changes in our neural circuitry, in turn, help us cultivate healthier mental states. It starts with befriending ourselves. It sounds simple – just like the meditation instruction to follow the breath. Yet when it comes to practice we discover how difficult this can be – especially when we doubt the value of what we’re doing.