Day 30: 30 Day Meditation

Yea for us - we made it! I hope everyone enjoyed practicing the discipline of quiet. For me it was both a challenge and a pleasure. I like to think that I will continue my practice but I know myself and I doubt I will be as diligent now that the challenge is over. (And I'm ok with that.) I would love to hear your final thoughts as well.

As I said yesterday, I recorded my Yoga Nidra class from Thursday and for a special treat of leaving you with a longer practice, I am posting a link here. The practice includes gentle yoga in the beginning as a body warm-up and soother, then moves on to Yoga Nidra (guided deep relaxation and meditation). This includes a practice of healing and a short gratitude meditation.

Just like the Deep Relaxation with Gong practice, the audio from this live recording is fairly quiet and there are background noises too but maybe that will make you feel like you are in class, practicing with the group.

Here's the link to the free, guided, deep relaxation and meditation practice (1 hour, 13 minutes - 34.13MB): Yoga Nidra + Healing
Note: To  download, click or right-click the link and select "save file," "save link as," or "open with iTunes."

I would suggest resting in Supported Savasana for your Yoga Nidra practice. Like this:

Again, here is a list of links to support your home meditation practice as we finish up our 30 day community practice.

1) All posts from this challenge: 30 Day Meditation Challenge
2) Facebook Event page: 30 Days of Meditation
3) More on meditation on this blog: Meditation
4) More on guided relaxation: Yoga Nidra / Deep Relaxation
5) Audio files for breath work, meditation, and relaxation: Audio Files
6) "Like" Do Restorative on Facebook to continue to be part of the learning: www.facebook.com/DoRestorativeYoga.

I have enjoyed practicing with you all.

Namaste ~ Sara

Day 29: 30 Day Meditation

Today I felt settled in mind but not in body. My stomach hurt, my back hurt, and I had a hard time sitting still. I ended up doing more of a restorative yoga practice than a seated stillness practice. By this I mean that I let myself come into a couple different poses and then I rested in those poses as long as it felt good. I did sufi rolls, child's pose, and I laid in reclining 1/2 hero's pose with my back resting on  the therapeutic spinal strip. This ended up working well for me. Here's what my sequence looked like.

Child's Pose

Reclining 1/2 Hero's Pose

Prepping for the Therapeutic Spinal Strip

Laying on the Therapeutic Spinal Strip

Last night I taught a Yoga Nidra class and I recorded it on my iPhone. I plan to listen to it today and if the recording works, I will post a link to download this 75 minute guided deep relaxation.

Today is the 2nd to the last day of our 30 day challenge. I will continue to list links to support your home meditation practice as we finish up our 30 day community practice.

1) All posts from this challenge: 30 Day Meditation Challenge
2) Facebook Event page: 30 Days of Meditation
3) More on meditation on this blog: Meditation
4) More on guided relaxation: Yoga Nidra / Deep Relaxation
5) Audio files for breath work and meditation: Audio Files
6) "Like" Do Restorative on Facebook to continue to be part of the learning: www.facebook.com/DoRestorativeYoga.

Day 28: 30 Day Meditation

Yesterday I enjoyed the guided meditation from my friend Satyam of Renaissance Yoga so today I decided to enjoy another one of his podcasts. This one was called Pranayama Meditation. We practiced Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), imagined ourselves able to breath in the beauty and vastness of space, and practiced 2-point and 3-point breath. A very lovely practice! Here's the link to the post: Pranayama Meditation, or you can download the file here.
Note: To listen, click the link. To download, right-click and select "save link as."

I will continue to list links to support your home meditation practice as we come into the last few days of our 30 day community practice.

1) All posts from this challenge: 30 Day Meditation Challenge
2) Facebook Event page: 30 Days of Meditation
3) More on meditation on this blog: Meditation
4) More on guided relaxation: Yoga Nidra / Deep Relaxation
5) Audio files for breath work and meditation: Audio Files
6) "Like" Do Restorative on Facebook to continue to be part of the learning: www.facebook.com/DoRestorativeYoga.

Day 27: 30 Day Meditation

I listened to another guided meditation from my friend Satyam of Renaissance Yoga. It's a recording he made while teaching a class. It includes a really great guided breath practice. Here's the link to the post: Breathing and Meditation, or you can download the file here.
Note: To listen, click the link. To download, right-click and select "save link as."

We are coming into the homestretch of our 30 day practice. To continue your support I've listed a few links:
1) All the posts from this challenge on the blog: 30 Day Meditation Challenge
2) Facebook Event page: 30 Days of Meditation
3) More on meditation on this blog: Meditation
4) More on guided relaxation (Yoga Nidra): Yoga Nidra / Deep Relaxation
5) Please remember to "like" Do Restorative on Facebook to continue to be part of learning: www.facebook.com/DoRestorativeYoga.

Day 26: 30 Day Meditation

Yesterday I listened an interview podcast with Anodea Judith from Sounds True. One of the things she mentioned was that when you find yourself moving spontaneously in your meditation (rocking or gently circling) this is an indication of your chakras aligning. (If you join Sounds True you can download the podcast for free.) As was discussed earlier on the Facebook Event page, some of us do find ourselves moving or feeling like we are moving or spinning. So I thought it was interesting to come across this explanation.

Today I listened to 33 Tibetan Bowls while I sat and it was lovely. It was as if I were in a sound healing session. I did find myself moving a little bit from time to time. When my timer went off I reset it and sat a bit more.

Note: This CD has 2 songs, one is 27 minutes and one is 45 minutes, and they are both available as mp3 downloads for 89 cents from Amazon.com. I highly recommend this CD.

Enjoy!

Day 25: 30 Day Meditation

This is Yoga North's gong:
the very one you hear in the recording.

Today for my meditation I listened to my own recording of the Deep Relaxation with Gong. This is a live recording from my Yin Yoga class. I really enjoyed the gong. In person, of course, it is much more intense. The sound waves transport you. You can feel them coursing through your body. But the recording is very relaxing and enjoyable to listen to also. Time passed very quickly and my mind did not wander much.

FYI: For folks who missed the explanation for the Deep Relaxation with Gong recording, (posted on Day 19) here it is: this was recorded on my iPhone during class and the audio quality is only so-so. The audio is fairly quiet and there are background noises too but maybe that will make you feel like you are in class, meditating with the group. My students were all in Savasana so you can choose to sit up or lay down to start.

I think you can just click on the link to download, but if that doesn't work try right-clicking and then choose "save link as" in order to download this file and listen on your iPod or mp3 player. This file is 12 minutes, 10 seconds and about 6 Megs.

Enjoy!

Day 24: 30 Day Meditation

Although I wanted to sleep in, I woke up early and couldn't fall back asleep. So I decided to go ahead and do my meditation. Even though it is not recommended to do meditation laying down, I didn't get up. I just laid in bed and listened to my breath, noticed my thoughts, noticed when I was planning (my fav mental activity), brought myself back to present moment, and enjoyed the quiet. After my 15 minutes were up I turned over on my side and promptly fell back asleep for another 2 hours. I guess meditation really is relaxing.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Day 23: 30 Day Meditation

Today I sat with awareness of the present moment and practiced deep listening. I caught myself drifting into thoughts and plans time after time. I noticed that every time my mind wandered, my body slumped. Then when I brought myself back to the present moment, I would lengthen my spine again and set my head more comfortably at the top (vs. neck bent, head tipped a bit back and chin jutting - aka, the neck slump).

A student shared a poem with me a few days ago and I thought I would share it here for the rest of us.

Meditation Poem

From  The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, by Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tick-Not-Han)

"The fourth element of our body is air. The best way to experience the air element is the practice of mindful breathing. "Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out." After saying these sentences we can abbreviate them by saying "In" as we breath in and "Out" as we breath out. We don't try to control our breathing. Whether our in-breath is long or short, deep or shallow, we just breath naturally and shine the light of mindfulness on it. When we do this we notice that, in fact, our breathing does become slower and deeper naturally. "Breathing in, my in-breath has become deep. Breathing out, my out-breath has become slow." Now we can practice, "Deep/slow". We don't have to make an extra effort. It just becomes deeper and slower by itself, and we recognize that.

"Later on, you will notice that you have become calmer and more at ease. "Breathing in, I feel calm. Breathing out, I feel at ease." I am not struggling anymore. Calm/ease." And then, "Breathing in, I smile. Breathing out, I release all my worries and anxieties. Smile/release." We are able to smile to ourselves and release all our worries. There are more than three hundred muscles in our face, and when we know how to breath in and smile, these muscles can relax. This is "mouth yoga." We smile and are able to release all our feelings and emotions. The last practice is, "Breathing in, I dwell deeply in the present moment. Breathing out, I know this is a wonderful moment. Present moment/wonderful moment." Nothing is more precious than being in the present moment fully alive and aware.

"In, out
Deep, slow
Calm, ease
Smile, release
Present moment, wonderful moment.

"If you use this poem during sitting or walking meditation, it can be very nourishing and healing. Practice each line for as long as you wish.

Enjoy!

Day 22: 30 Day Meditation

My sit passed quickly today. I listened to Deva Premal singing mantras and really enjoyed the repetition of the music. It seemed easy to stop my whirling thoughts with the mantras going in my head. I found myself wanting to do some spontaneous movement for a few minutes and then settled back into stillness. I sat longer than 15 minutes because I wanted to keep listening to the mantra songs.

Day 21: 30 Day Meditation

I had a hard time keeping my eyes closed today. My eyelids kept fluttering. I decided to let my eyes open and just sit. I kept awareness on my breath and let my eyes rest on the trees outside my window. This was actually very restful. I felt less mind-busy than I usually do with my eyes closed.

Also, Noah had asked the other day about how to sit to relieve back pain. Here's one idea:

Sitting with belt support. Use a yoga belt (or any belt which is big enough to go around you from lumbar to easy-seated-knees). Snug the belt up til you feel like your knees and back are mutually supported and see how it feels for your meditation. You may also notice that I am sitting on a wedge. This tilts the pelvis forward and relieves back strain.

Day 20: 30 Day Meditation

It is too exciting to meditate but I did anyway. All I could think about was the rain. It is biblical here. Here's a bit of news from the Duluth News Tribune:

Mayor Don Ness has declared a state of emergency in the city of Duluth, citing "significant damage, debris and popped manholes."  "We have a coordinated response with city, county, State Patrol, Coast Guard, Red Cross, and the feds ready to help,” Ness wrote.

Evacuations are under way in the Fond du Lac neighborhood of Duluth and Thomson Township in Carlton County, and officials at the Lake Superior Zoo are assessing damage and counting their losses after animals drowned and some escaped in the flooding. Duluth fire and police crews helped zoo staff track down escaped animals, including the polar bear and a seal. Johnson said many of the zoo’s animals have drowned, including all but one of the zoo’s barnyard animals.

Dean Melde, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said an inch of rain usually equates to between 10 and 12 inches of snow. So the current system could have dropped 60 and 70 inches of snow on Duluth.

Personally, I am devastated by the loss of life at the zoo. Because we humans need to keep animals penned up for our "viewing pleasure" those animals have died. I am greatly saddened by this. 

Day 19: 30 Day Meditation

Isn't funny how sometimes you feel fine while sitting and other times there is a nagging body part that won't let go? Today it was my upper back. I had a student tell me once that she often got a "kitchen" back ache. I was like, "What's that?" and she said, "It's when your upper back hurts after you've been working in the kitchen for a long time." Well that made sense to me. I guess I get those too. And today was once of those days. Of course I hadn't even been in the kitchen yet but I think it's from my recent long and intense days at the computer. I was able to keep breathing and listening to the rain and my timer went off in what felt like a short time.

Here's a link to a short, guided, deep relaxation with gong: Deep Relaxation with Gong. This is a live recording from my Yin Yoga class last Friday. The recording quality of my iPhone is only so-so. The audio is fairly quiet and there are background noises too but maybe that will make you feel like you are in class, meditating with the group. My students were all in Savasana so you can choose to sit up or lay down to start.

I think you can just click on the link to download, but if that doesn't work try right-clicking and then choose "save link as" in order to download this file and listen on your iPod or mp3 player. This file is 12 minutes, 10 seconds and about 6 Megs.

Enjoy!

Day 18: 30 Day Meditation

Today, as I sat, words came to me (I guess I am thinking of them as a poem). I'll try to remember them here.

I am love,
I am light,
I am sorrow,
I am hope.
I am all of these things and more.
I am one with god.

I am body,
I am space,
I am nothing,
I am everything.
I am all of these things and more.
I am one with god.

I am thought,
I am breath,
I am sensation,
I am sound.
I am all of these things and more.
I am one with god.

Wow - being raised to not believe in god, being raised to believe that christians and christianity are bad is making me feel sick to my stomach to even type these words on the screen. I can't believe I wrote the words, "I am one with god." I feel hot and nervous - obviously some work for me here.

Day 17: 30 Day Meditation

Today was a nice sit. I listened to the audio file I posted on Talking us into Meditation and then sat in silence. My dog joined me and laid down right up against me. I imagined healing energy filling me, filling my dog, and filling my partner. When my timer went off I did a short gratitude meditation, naming all the things for which I am grateful.

Gratitude meditation can be a practice in and of itself. I detail this practice on this post: Finding Contentment.

Happy Father's Day!

Day 16: 30 Day Meditation

Today is Grandma's Marathon in Duluth. I love watching the runners. I am inspired every year to imagine that I, too, could train and run. Of course I never do. It hurts to run across the street - knees and ankles cracking, organs joggling around in my belly. Running doesn't feel safe to me.

Of course meditation doesn't always feel safe either, does it? Sitting with our thoughts, feeling and emotions, day in and day out. I guess we can liken ourselves to the runners: here we sit, training our minds, schooling our thoughts, developing our will.

Today I sat with a recording I made last night at Yin class of a short deep relaxation practice. First a breath and body awareness practice followed by the gong. It was a bit odd to listen to myself but the practice was enjoyable. I'll try to get the audio posted by Monday.

Have a good weekend. I am off to the races!

Day 15: 30 Day Meditation

Well, here we are, 15 days into 30. For me, this habit I am trying to cultivate is starting to feel natural. Get up, put the tea water on to boil, take the dog out, feed the dog, pour the tea water into the pot to brew, go do my sit.

Today I listened to a guided meditation by my friend Satyam of Renaissance Yoga. It's a recording he made while teaching a class. Here's the link to the post: Meditation: Space of Stillness, or you can download the file here.

Note: To listen, click the link. To download, right-click and select "save link as."

As a side note, it is Petra's birthday today. She is 13! We got her at 7 weeks old and have enjoyed this thing called dog-ownership to no end. She brings us joy every day. She's been with us through 3 houses, 2 camper vans, knee surgery (hers), the start up of a business (ours), and many other milestones and every day events.

Here's our baby doggie just after we got her - about 8 weeks old. Oh so tiny.

Day 14: 30 Day Meditation

Thunder, lightening and rain. I decided to to do my sit inside instead of trying the walking meditation as suggested by Kristin yesterday. My dog joined me again. I think she likes meditation. She sat right in front of me, facing the same way (like I should give her a shoulder rub) and did not nudge my hand or scrub around on anything. She seemed to be enjoying the peace and quiet, as was I.

Here's a couple of free meditations from Yoga Journal:

These two meditations by author and yoga teacher Kate Vogt appeared in the feature story "To the Garden" in the May issue of Yoga Journal. The first meditation, "Earth", helps to ground your connection to the planet and feel supported by its deep strength. The second, "Flower", guides you to let go of any tension and to feel the light within your heart connecting to the light of the sun. Whether you do one or both, you'll emerge feeling clear, calm, and energized.

Download Earth Meditation Audio MP3
Note: To listen, click the link. To download, right-click and select "save link as."
Download Flower Meditation Audio MP3
Note: To listen, click the link. To download, right-click and select "save link as."

Enjoy.

ps - don't forget to join us on the FB events page for more comments and community.

Day 13: 30 Day Meditation

Listening to Elesa Commerse reminded me that our life does not happen on the cushion, it happens every moment. We do meditation to practice being present for our life, to practice living in the moment - not in the future and not in the past.

I had a very hard time sitting today. My back was really bothering me and I felt like I had a lead weight pressing me down. So I went with it and laid down. I did some mindful somatic movements and when my back stopped hurting I came to stillness. I focused on my heart center and tried to maintain mindfulness of the present moment.

Here is a poem I love:

Here is a calm so deep, grasses cease waving. 

The sun shines not on us but in us. 

The rivers flow not past, but through us, 

thrilling, tingling, 

vibrating every fiber and cell of our bodies, 

making them glide and sing. 

Nature’s peace will flow into you 

as sunshine flows into trees. 

The winds will blow their own freshness into you, 

and the storms their energy, 

while cares drop off like autumn leaves.

— John Muir

I love the imagery of being so calm that not even grass moves.

Have a good day everyone.

Day 12: 30 Day Meditation

Today I listened to Elesa Commerse's Deep Listening track from her Sit Comfortably meditation CD (click on the tools link on her website to find this). This CD also includes a meditation timer with the sound of the bell at the end. You can set the timer for increments of 5 minutes from 5-30 minutes. So after I practiced Deep Listening I set the timer for 5 minutes and sat in silence trying to maintain my focus on deep listening. Quite a nice practice today.

Day 11: 30 Day Meditation

I liked Lisa's comment on the previous post about waiting for her body to find a natural time to take a break. I usually find that sometime between 2-4 in the afternoon I want to take some quiet time to relax. But for this challenge I have been meditating every morning for fear that if I don't do it right away, I won't do it at all. Plus, for me, I know that part of the learning in a 30 or 40 day practice is the discipline of sitting each day, same time, whether you want to or not.

Today, I struggled with wanting to get to work right away. I didn't want to take time to sit. I did it, but I felt distracted.

Day 10: 30 Day Meditation

I liked Kristin's suggestion from yesterday's post to listen to someone talking me into meditation and then sit in silence. One of my favorite Yoga Nidra albums is Yoga Nidra & Meditation by Katie Meehan & Kimberley Roberts. I listened to the first track, Pranayama - Abdominal Breathing, and then settled into silence. I have to say, this was one of the best meditations I've had. I felt very calm, very still, and very content.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

Day 9: 30 Day Meditation

Today I listened a 15 minute guided meditation and I'm not sure I got as much out of my practice as I do when I listen to nothing. Or rather, I'm not sure I put as much into my practice. It was very relaxing to follow along - which I think might be the problem. I don't think I used much awareness at all. Although, I don't think my mind wandered all that much either. So I guess I am up in the air: guided meditation or quiet meditation?

Thoughts?

Day 8: 30 Day Meditation

I learned a technique yesterday of opening the palette by sighing "Ahhhh..." - which is the beginning sound of OM (AUM). The idea behind this is that if we open our palette we are opening the Sushumna channel and thereby connecting our chakras. I really did feel like something opened up from pelvic floor to crown of the head.

Petra the cute.

My dog joined me and made me aware of her - shaking her head, smacking her mouth, nudging my hand for pets. So I used this distraction to practice bringing all of my awareness to the present moment without judgement.

Day 7: 30 Day Meditation

Today was a tough one for me. I did not want to go to the cushion. I felt tired and grumpy. I know these are the times we most need to meditate and besides, I am committed to the 30 days. But if I wasn't, I don't know if I would've sat today.

It's good I did though, I was able to see through my melancholy and grumpiness and realize that my ego was reveling in the sensations. It made me just about laugh out loud which lifted my spirits and lightened my heart.

Day 6: 30 Day Meditation

Yesterday I listened to The Science of Mindfulness - a free download from Sounds True about how our brains work on meditation. The easiest way for me to remember the whole hour of teaching is summed up in this sentence: Neurons that fire together, wire together.

What this means is that the more we practice awareness of the present moment, otherwise known as mindfulness, the more our brains become wired to do this. The more we practice non-judgement, compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude, the more our brains become adept at this skill.

Awareness of the present moment can be practiced through deep listening, breath awareness, walking meditation, using a mantra, cultivating gratitude, or really anything you do where you are purposely building awareness of the present moment with compassion and without judgement.

With all this in mind, today's meditation went well. I brought myself back to the breath time after time and practiced enjoying the present moment - even when my knees were screaming.

Click here to read more on the FB event page.

Day 5: 30 Day Meditation

OK - already into day 5. I was particularly achy and squirmy today. I could hardly sit still. I felt like I was finally settling in when my timer went off after 15 minutes. So, I turned it off and sat for a few more minutes.

I made a hard choice yesterday. I told my Tang Soo Do teacher of 6 years that I was going to stop attending class. While Dave and I traveled last winter I came to the realization that I was was overdone. While we traveled I dropped all of my regular practices and it took me more than a month to miss yoga, and aside from my teacher and classmates, I didn't miss Tang Soo Do at all.

When we returned, I requested a lighter teaching load and now, an ending of 6 years of martial arts practice. I am both saddened and relieved by this ending. I am pleased to have this meditation practice while I adjust to this new idea that I do not have to "do" something all the time. I do not have to be constantly busy.

Day 4: 30 Day Meditation

Yea! Back to Monday. Even though I work from home, I always find it easier to maintain a schedule from Monday-Friday.

Today I sat for 15 minutes. In the beginning I felt a bit tippy and I needed to use my wedge under my left side bum. I must have slept for a long time on one side last night or something. After about 10 minutes I was able to sit evenly.

I also experience a lovely warming sensation in my heart which spread through my whole body. My sister mentioned to me in the past that she gets very warm when she meditates but I have never experienced this before. Usually I am cold whether I am meditating or not.

This warmth created an interesting visual as a sort of thought sensation:
warm = expansive, open, flowering, light, summer
cold = quiet, still, latent power, peace, winter

As my mind thought these things I maintained an even breath and tried to be the observer of my thoughts, not the participant in my thoughts.

Note: To read other accounts on the meditation experience visit the FB event page: 30 Days of Meditation.

Day 3: 30 Day Meditation

I cheated myself out of 5 minutes of meditation this morning. I set my timer for 10 minutes so I could hurry up and get outside to enjoy the nice weather. It's interesting to see this in myself. I know I am desperate to be out outside when it is nice out. After being cold and dark for so long in Minnesota, now it is balmy, sunny, and beautiful. Still, when my timer went off after 10 minutes I did not want to stop meditating. But I did stop, and I did enjoy sitting outside with Dave, drinking our tea and coffee and watching the birds, bees, flowers and squirrels do their thing.

On a side note, yesterday we saw a bald eagle pounce on a fish about 30 feet off the dock we were sitting on. Two crows had been harassing the eagle, flying after it and trying to peck it in the air. We thought the crows were pushing the eagle down toward the water. The eagle began a free fall but at the last minute it spread its wings, dropped its "landing gear" (huge talons) and snared a fish which was close to the surface. It seemed to barely touch down. As soon as it got the fish, it flapped its wings and took off. The crows gave chase half-heartedly but the eagle ignored them and flew away. Apparently the eagle never cared about the crows in the first place. It was a magnificent scene and not one I would ever imagine seeing live, especially not 30 feet in front of me. I feel lucky.

Note: To read other accounts on the meditation experience visit the FB event page: 30 Days of Meditation.

Day 2: 30 Day Meditation

I sat for 15 minutes again today. I knew I needed to do something other than focus on my breath because yesterday was so mind-wild. So this time I did a body-awareness practice which I learned from Yoga Nidra (although I did this seated instead of laying down like I would normally do). I brought my breath and awareness to each part of my body from head to toe, front to back, left to right. This is a very centering practice. My mind was fairly focused and I only slumped into my body a few times. By the time my timer went off I was feeling very calm and I didn't really want to quit my practice. However, it is Saturday, the sun is shining, the coffee was ready, and my garden was calling.

Here's a link to a free on-line guided meditation practice by the Guru of Yoga Nidra: Yoga Nidra with Richard Miller.

Enjoy your day!

Day 1: 30 Day Meditation

I chose to sit for 15 minutes today. I set my iPhone's timer to "Harp" so I could be signaled gently back to "regular" awareness. The second I came to sitting my mind and body said, "Ahhhhhh, this is good." And about two seconds later my ego wanted in on the action, letting me know that my hip hurt, my back hurt, and shouldn't I have gone to the bathroom before sitting? (as if 15 minutes would really make a difference). At least I did a couple things "right" - I didn't eat before I sat and I tried to maintain an upright posture. Although I felt squirmy and my mind felt like it was wildly ping-ponging around, my 15 minutes went quickly and I enjoyed my sit. 

For folks who are newer to meditation here are a few more tips to help you along:

• Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor or on a chair. 
• Make sure you won’t be disturbed: close the door to where you are sitting and turn off your phone's ringer.
• Set a timer so you do not have to constantly open your eyes to see if you are done.
• Use props under your bum as needed to help you sit up tall. It’s important that you are not lying down or slouching as you might fall sleep.
• Let your hands rest naturally and comfortably in your lap, on your knees, or on top of each other. 
• Close your eyes and focus on your breath, letting your breath rhythm become smooth, steady and natural.
• When a thought comes, acknowledge the thought, let it pass, and go back to focusing on your breath.

If you haven't already joined the Facebook event, click here to find the events page then click the "join" button.