Mindfulness is paying attention, non- judgmentally to whatever is happening, moment to moment. This mindfulness sitting meditation will help you return to the present moment when the mind wanders (which it will many times!) by guiding your focus and attention back to the breath, body sensations and sounds.
Mindfulness meditation helps build the muscle of focus and concentration so that you aren’t being swept away by life’s challenges and circumstances but are able to slow down enough and pause, to see clearly what is happening, so that you can respond and make choices from a place of wise discernment rather than habitual auto-pilot reactions.
Mindfulness research shows that nonjudgmental awareness of present moment experience helps reduce stress, anxiety and depression while enhancing focus, concentration and memory as well as increasing mental and emotional resilience.
The Body Scan is an investigation into the moment to moment experiences of the body by bringing awareness to each part of the body and noticing whatever sensations you feel or don’t feel – pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
During this process the body may show you where physical tension, emotions, feelings and thoughts reside in the body. You will be noticing and trying your best to feel any sensations directly, noticing the mind’s tendency to get triggered by certain sensations and get lost in labeling, judging or getting lost in a story. And when that happens, the moment you notice you have drifted off the practice, you guide your attention back to the body. You may fall asleep.
If that happens regularly, try to do the Body Scan at a different time of the day or do it sitting up. Make sure you are warm enough and have any props like a pillow under your head, a cushion under your knees and practice at a time when you will not be disturbed or interrupted.
Benefits of the Body Scan: Because you are bringing focused attention to your entire body one part at a time, and to the best of your ability, learning how to be with whatever you are sensing and feeling without, pushing away, or indulging by getting lost in stories, your body may give you tremendous insights into any stress, anxiety or physical pain you might be experiencing.
Practicing Mindfulness Meditation will teach you how to expand your capacity to experience and hold both pleasant and unpleasant experiences simultaneously. It will help you see and feel things directly as they are.
You will also become aware of the story, commentary or judgment that you add which begins to give your challenges or unpleasant experiences a sense of solidity. We can become very adept at continuing the saga of “My Life” by telling our friends and family “Our Story”.
This starts to solidify our challenges and make them into a monument rather than seeing them directly for what they are. By slowing down, pausing and giving some space to our challenges, we can make choices and take actions based on wise discernment instead of reacting on autopilot.
Guided Mindful Meditations
Mindful Sitting Meditation with a Blessing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDJ754arpmE
Mindfulness is paying attention, non- judgmentally to whatever is happening, moment to moment. This mindfulness sitting meditation will help you return to the present moment when the mind wanders (which it will many times!) by guiding your focus and attention back to the breath, body sensations and sounds.
Mindfulness meditation helps build the muscle of focus and concentration so that you aren’t being swept away by life’s challenges and circumstances but are able to slow down enough and pause, to see clearly what is happening, so that you can respond and make choices from a place of wise discernment rather than habitual auto-pilot reactions.
Mindfulness research shows that nonjudgmental awareness of present moment experience helps reduce stress, anxiety and depression while enhancing focus, concentration and memory as well as increasing mental and emotional resilience.
The Body Scan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1xwRukGtnY
The Body Scan is an investigation into the moment to moment experiences of the body by bringing awareness to each part of the body and noticing whatever sensations you feel or don’t feel – pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
During this process the body may show you where physical tension, emotions, feelings and thoughts reside in the body. You will be noticing and trying your best to feel any sensations directly, noticing the mind’s tendency to get triggered by certain sensations and get lost in labeling, judging or getting lost in a story. And when that happens, the moment you notice you have drifted off the practice, you guide your attention back to the body. You may fall asleep.
If that happens regularly, try to do the Body Scan at a different time of the day or do it sitting up. Make sure you are warm enough and have any props like a pillow under your head, a cushion under your knees and practice at a time when you will not be disturbed or interrupted.
Benefits of the Body Scan: Because you are bringing focused attention to your entire body one part at a time, and to the best of your ability, learning how to be with whatever you are sensing and feeling without, pushing away, or indulging by getting lost in stories, your body may give you tremendous insights into any stress, anxiety or physical pain you might be experiencing.
Practicing Mindfulness Meditation will teach you how to expand your capacity to experience and hold both pleasant and unpleasant experiences simultaneously. It will help you see and feel things directly as they are.
You will also become aware of the story, commentary or judgment that you add which begins to give your challenges or unpleasant experiences a sense of solidity. We can become very adept at continuing the saga of “My Life” by telling our friends and family “Our Story”.
This starts to solidify our challenges and make them into a monument rather than seeing them directly for what they are. By slowing down, pausing and giving some space to our challenges, we can make choices and take actions based on wise discernment instead of reacting on autopilot.
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