Thursday, May 31, 2012

Talking us into Meditation

During Yin Yoga last week I recorded myself talking my class into meditation so I could post it here on my blog for the folks who are newer to meditation. I recorded it with my iPhone so the sound is only so-so but I hope it is helpful. (If you can't get the audio to work let me know and I'll try to change the formatting.)

Talking us into Meditation: 2min11sec.

Also, here's a short description of meditation by Frank Jude Boccio, excerpted from his article Meditation for Everybody. I posted this before, but I thought it might be helpful again. I love how he explains meditation here:

A good deal of mystique has grown around meditation, yet it is one of the most natural of our human capacities. You've no doubt had moments in your life when you were not thinking or analyzing your experience, but simply "going with the flow." In these moments, there was no past or future, no separation between you and what was happening. That is the essence of meditation.

Contrary to a common misunderstanding, meditation is not a limiting or narrowing of our attention so much as it is a focusing on what is relevant. Our attention can be narrow, as in observing our breath, or broad, as in cooking a five-course dinner. When the mind is able to focus on what is relevant to what is happening now, we experience ourselves as being at one with what we perceive. This experience is deeply joyful, as we become freed from the illusion that we are separate from everything else in the universe. In fact, meditation isn't a withdrawal from life but a deeper, fuller presence in life.

We are coming up on our start date for this 30 day meditation practice (June 1-30). Looking forward to sitting with you. Namaste. Sara