Meditation
HUNDREDS OF RESEARCH STUDIES PROVE meditative practices should be at the very heart of our healthcare system because it is revealing itself to be one of the greatest breakthroughs in healing and personal growth.
Now, thousands of people, worldwide are enjoying amazing benefits with the program and so can you.
Meditation can help:
"OUR MENTAL STATES EFFECT OUR BRAINWAVES AND EQUALLY, OUR BRAINWAVES EFFECT OUR MENTAL STATES"
When life is busy and stressful, higher frequencies of brainwaves are produced, creating feelings of stress and anxiety which cause the production of heaps of cortisol which is known as the “stress hormone” and this is extremely bad for your health.
What’s more, the more cortisol you produce, the more stressed you feel...the more vulnerable to disease you are and the faster you age!
This overload of stress can cause you to experience headaches, irritability, tension and suffer sleepless nights. You may even experience panic attacks, lack of sleep, feelings of dread or constantly feel tired, run down, stressed out and overwhelmed.
When you are relaxed and at ease your brain emits far more alpha waves than when you are mentally busy. Within specific brainwave frequencies the brain releases great quantities of healing hormones which enhance your sense of well-being, reduce stress, improve immune system function and have a host of other beneficial effects.
So how do you train your brainwaves to naturally slow down in these stressful times? How do you regulate your healing hormones?
THERE ARE SEVERAL MEDITATION TECHNIQUES;
Some of the MEDITATION techniques which we teach are
-MIND SOUND RESONENCE Meditation
-CYCLIC Meditation from MANDUKYA Upanishad
-PRANA AYAMA MEDITATION / ANA PANA
Now, thousands of people, worldwide are enjoying amazing benefits with the program and so can you.
Meditation can help:
- Decrease Stress / Anxiety
- Phobias & Obsessive Thoughts
- Rejuvenate Your Confidence
- Relieve Feelings Of Depression
- Improve Concentration & Focus
- Increase Motivation
- Addictive Traits
- Experience Improved Relationships
- Many Sleep Problems
- People Who Suffer Panic Attacks
"OUR MENTAL STATES EFFECT OUR BRAINWAVES AND EQUALLY, OUR BRAINWAVES EFFECT OUR MENTAL STATES"
When life is busy and stressful, higher frequencies of brainwaves are produced, creating feelings of stress and anxiety which cause the production of heaps of cortisol which is known as the “stress hormone” and this is extremely bad for your health.
What’s more, the more cortisol you produce, the more stressed you feel...the more vulnerable to disease you are and the faster you age!
This overload of stress can cause you to experience headaches, irritability, tension and suffer sleepless nights. You may even experience panic attacks, lack of sleep, feelings of dread or constantly feel tired, run down, stressed out and overwhelmed.
When you are relaxed and at ease your brain emits far more alpha waves than when you are mentally busy. Within specific brainwave frequencies the brain releases great quantities of healing hormones which enhance your sense of well-being, reduce stress, improve immune system function and have a host of other beneficial effects.
So how do you train your brainwaves to naturally slow down in these stressful times? How do you regulate your healing hormones?
THERE ARE SEVERAL MEDITATION TECHNIQUES;
Some of the MEDITATION techniques which we teach are
-MIND SOUND RESONENCE Meditation
-CYCLIC Meditation from MANDUKYA Upanishad
-PRANA AYAMA MEDITATION / ANA PANA
Silencing The Mind Chatter
Taming Monkey Mind In Meditation
It’s been called the monkey mind – the endless chattering in your head as you jump in your mind from thought to thought while you daydream, analyze your relationships, or worry over the future. Eventually, you start to feel like your thoughts are spinning in circles and you’re left totally confused.
One way to tame this wild creature in your head is through meditation – although the paradox is that when you clear your mind for meditation you actually invite the monkey in your mind to play.
This is when you are given the opportunity to tame this mental beast by moving beyond thought – to become aware of a thought rather than thinking a thought. The difference is subtle, but significant. When you are aware of your thoughts, you can let your thoughts rise and float away without letting them pull you in different directions. Being able to concentrate is one of the tools that allows you to slow down your thought process and focus on observing your thoughts.
To develop your concentration, you may want to start by focusing on the breath while you meditate. Whenever your monkey mind starts acting up, observe your thoughts and then return your focus to your breath. Some breathing meditations call on you to focus on the rise and fall of the breath through the abdomen, while others have you concentrate on the sound of the breath. Fire can also be mesmerizing, and focusing on a candle flame is another useful tool for harnessing the mind. Keep the gaze soft and unfocused while observing the color, shape, and movement of the flame, and try not to blink. Close your eyes when you feel the need and continue watching the flame in your head.
Chanting, devotional singing, and mantras also still the mind. However you choose to tame the monkey mind, do so with firm kindness. The next time the chattering arises, notice it and then allow it to go away. With practice, your monkey mind will become quiet and so will you.
It’s been called the monkey mind – the endless chattering in your head as you jump in your mind from thought to thought while you daydream, analyze your relationships, or worry over the future. Eventually, you start to feel like your thoughts are spinning in circles and you’re left totally confused.
One way to tame this wild creature in your head is through meditation – although the paradox is that when you clear your mind for meditation you actually invite the monkey in your mind to play.
This is when you are given the opportunity to tame this mental beast by moving beyond thought – to become aware of a thought rather than thinking a thought. The difference is subtle, but significant. When you are aware of your thoughts, you can let your thoughts rise and float away without letting them pull you in different directions. Being able to concentrate is one of the tools that allows you to slow down your thought process and focus on observing your thoughts.
To develop your concentration, you may want to start by focusing on the breath while you meditate. Whenever your monkey mind starts acting up, observe your thoughts and then return your focus to your breath. Some breathing meditations call on you to focus on the rise and fall of the breath through the abdomen, while others have you concentrate on the sound of the breath. Fire can also be mesmerizing, and focusing on a candle flame is another useful tool for harnessing the mind. Keep the gaze soft and unfocused while observing the color, shape, and movement of the flame, and try not to blink. Close your eyes when you feel the need and continue watching the flame in your head.
Chanting, devotional singing, and mantras also still the mind. However you choose to tame the monkey mind, do so with firm kindness. The next time the chattering arises, notice it and then allow it to go away. With practice, your monkey mind will become quiet and so will you.
BASIC MEDITATION TECHNIQUE
1. Before you begin meditation, make a personal commitment to sit down completely. This means that your mind/body/heart should be devotedly intent on letting go of all agendas, expectations, and concerns. This is a time to surrender to just being seated in the precious bodily form of peace, self -compassion, wakefulness, and breath.
2. You may employ one of several forms for seated meditation: sitting cross-legged on the floor, kneeling while sitting back on a cushion between your heels, and one using a straight chair. If you sit cross-legged on the floor, it is suggested that you also use a small sitting cushion or folded pillow, which will raise your sit, bones about four to six inches from the ground. In the kneeling position, your sit bones should be raised about the same height. If you are sitting on a chair, sit on the front half of the seat with both feet placed flat on the ground and about a foot apart. Keep your own posture and do not lean back on the chair. If you have back pain or are physically unable to maintain your posture, use a support pillow between your back and the chair.
3. Make sure that your legs are comfortable and free from any tightness or restriction due to clothing or physical position. Thus, circulation will be unimpeded and tingling and numbness will be less apt to occur.
4. Center your spine by swaying in decreasing arcs, side to side. Scan your body for any muscular tension or tightness. Breathe into any tension or tightness and release it gently with each exhalation of your breath. Become as comfortable as you can. As you establish a condition of ease in the body, remember to passionately arouse and maintain a mental quality of alert wakefulness in This Only Moment.
5. Relinquish your mental tendency to keep track of linear time, and recollect your devoted intent to just sit and wait forever in breath and body without expectation. To wait forever means to surrender or yield to being in your body just as you are, whether it is difficult or easy, hard or soft, heavy or light, tired or energized.
6. Straighten and extend your spine gently according to its normal curvature. Imagine a string attached to your head and being pulled tautly and gently from heaven. Sensing the weight of your torso on your sit bones, gently tilt your pelvis slightly backward. Relax your belly muscles so that your abdomen protrudes forward in a relaxed and comfortable fashion. The small of your back, above your hips, should now be naturally curved forward toward your belly button. Do not strain this natural forward thrust of your belly and lower spine as it will create undue tension and muscular tightness in your mid back.
7. Lifting your head toward heaven, align it with its natural resting center on your spine. The head should not tilt forward or backward, nor lean to either side.
8. Your shoulders should be in a relaxed and natural position, neither drooping forward nor thrusting backward. Your ears should be parallel with your shoulders; the tip of your nose should be directly over your navel; and your chin should be slightly tucked in.
9. Your eyes should be open in a natural position for "just seeing", neither strained open nor drooping closed. Rather than looking straight ahead, they should be lowered toward the floor at a 45-degree angle, three to four feet in front of you. Do not concentrate them on any particular area, but allow them to remain in an "alert open gaze", mirroring and including everything crisply before them without hindrance. Keeping them in this relaxed, alert, and open position will help minimize blinking and drowsiness.
10. Your hands should be placed in the "cosmic mudra". a) Right palm is up, with blade of the little finger against your lower belly just below your navel; b) Left hand should be placed on top of your right hand with your middle knuckles overlapping each other; c) Your thumbs should be slightly touching each other directly in front of your navel so that both your hands now form an oval in front of your lower abdomen. If I were to point a finger in the middle of your hand oval and touch your abdomen, I would be touching an area three inches directly below your navel. This bodily location, just under your skin and muscle is called the Tanden in Japanese or Tan Tien in Chinese and refers to your vital spiritual core or cosmic energy center.
11. Once you are comfortably seated in the bodily form of meditation, close your mouth with your lips gently touching. Your tongue should rest comfortably against the roof of your mouth with the tip gently against the upper front teeth. Your breathing should now continue only through your nostrils.
12. Become aware of your breathing with each inhalation and exhalation. Once you are aware of your breathing, begin to slowly breathe into your belly. During belly breathing your chest should stay relatively motionless while your lower abdomen seems to fill up like a balloon. This belly breathing can be difficult at first. Don’t force yourself. Just gently, try to encourage each breath into your lower belly without judging yourself. Be patient and tender with yourself. If you find that you are creating tension in yourself, let go of the belly breathing for the time being and continue to be aware of your current pattern of breath with each inhalation and exhalation.
13. Follow the beginning of each inhalation with your awareness. Gently guide the inhalation with your awareness into the lower abdominal region of the Tanden which your cosmic mudra is emphasizing. Let your awareness pause as you reach the end point of the inhalation and then allow the exhalation to begin naturally from the Tanden point in the lower abdomen. Follow the exhalation with your awareness until it is complete. Then begin again.
14. Constantly recall your mindfulness to the expansion and contraction of your belly and the flow of air passing in and out of your nostrils. If you find that your thoughts have distracted you, do not judge yourself. Gently bring your mindfulness to the bodily sensation of just sitting and become aware of your belly and nostril breathing. Remember, that meditation practice is called "completion without regret" when you devotedly recall yourself to your breath in several continuos moments or when you sincerely recall yourself to breath after having been distracted by thoughts or sleepiness. Both are equal in the eyes of this practice. The embrace of unconditional compassion should extend to both the son/daughter who remains home or the prodigal son/daughter who returns after being away.
15. With each breath, allow yourself to also embody the immediate experience of your impermanence. Sense the delicate thread upon which your life hangs with each heartbeat and in each moment of inhalation and exhalation. This sense of our immediate impermanence sustains a deep appreciation of our life practice in this Only Moment.
16. Keep as still as possible during meditation, but do so with a caring and attitude toward your body. If you experience some physical discomfort during meditation, try to make the necessary adjustments to settle into your "sitting form" comfortably. The adjustments might be very subtle muscular, skeletal, or attitudinal shifts. If you need to make any gross movements or subtle physical shifts, do so in a slow and mindful motion while still paying attention to belly breathing. For example, if your lower leg feels like it is starting to tingle, you might first try tightening and relaxing the calve muscle. If this doesn’t work then gently and slowly extend your leg outward while still keeping your mirror gaze and belly breath awareness. After circulation returns, you can slowly and mindfully bring your leg in and return to your form. Always be aware not to move in a heedless, careless or casual manner. Doing necessary adjustments in this mindful way, you will not break or loose your embodied wakefulness and effortless concentration as the wisdoming body of Applied Meditation Therapy.