Meditation Room

Mindful Breathing Meditation:
Prepare your mind and body with the following mindful breathing exercise. Five to ten breaths should be enough to bring you to a meditative state.

Sit on the floor crossed-legged or, if you prefer, sit in a chair with your legs uncrossed and feet flat on the floor. It is most important that your spine remains erect and that you feel steady, relaxed and comfortable. In the sitting posture be mindful of the total breath experience. Experience your body expanding with the inhalation and contracting with the exhalation. Notice when the air brushes past your nostrils, both on its inward and outward journeys. Experience the incoming air coming up through your nose, going past your throat, down into your lungs. As you breath in, notice the expansion of your body. As you breath out, experience the settling down of your body. Be aware of the moment(s) of stillness before the next in-breath. Train and develop yourself to be clear and present in the comings and goings of the breath

Body Scan (Healing Meditation):
I always begin and end this meditation with a prayer, honoring the divine inside. With your mind's eye, imagine a restorative liquid flowing through your body, from head to toe.

(It helps to look at a picture of the anatomy for reference before you begin.)

Sit on the floor crossed-legged or, if you prefer, sit in a chair with your legs uncrossed and feet flat on the floor. It is most important that your spine remains erect and that you feel steady, relaxed and comfortable.

Relax your arms and place your hands on your thighs or in your lap, with the palms in a relaxed position either facing up or down. Roll your shoulders back and down and gently lift the chest.

Close your eyes and begin scanning your body with your minds eye. Scan slowly from the top of your head down and down to your toes.

Turn your attention to the top of your head. Imagine the restorative liquid entering your body and slowly covering every organ, cells, etc. Experience the sensations that are present all over your head and face and then your neck, especially the throat. Move your attention down the front of your body from the top of your chest to your abdomen and genitals. Move your attention to the top of your back down through your buttocks. Move your attention to the top of each your right arm down to your finger tips. Repeat with the left arm. Move your attention to the top of your right leg down to your toes. Repeat with the left leg.

End with imagining the restorative liquid flushing through your veins, cells and organs, removing whatever does not belong there and restoring vitality and wellness.

During the journey through your body, experience the feelings of warmth, vibrations and tensions. There may be times when you feel nothing at all, but keep your attention moving from one moment to the next. The power of attention contributes to dissolving pain and tension. This reduces restlessness in our body allowing it to heal.

The length of time you choose for this meditation may vary. For some people, 10 to 20 minutes may be enough. You may with to go more slowly and take as much as a half-hour to go from the top of your head through to your toes. When you practice regularly, you will notice the areas of the body where there is tension, pressure, aches, and pains. In a relaxed way we can direct mindfulness into these areas. With this meditation, we learn to be at ease with the body including pain, sickness, and aging.

Candle Meditation:
Meditating on a lit candle is a very old practice. It is gentle and calming. It is also a comparatively easy introduction to the art of concentration. Sit erect on the floor or in a chair, having placed the candle a short distance in front of you where you can see it clearly. Gaze steadily at the candle flame for two or three minutes, noting first of all its outline - how steady it is, how it flickers - and the colors in the flame. As you begin to feel connected with the visual object, let your eyes close and sustain the visual impression of the candle in your mind. In the beginning you may only be able to do this for a few moments before the visual impression becomes vague or lost. When this happens open your eyes once more and bring your gaze to rest again upon the candle in front of you. You may need to do this many times before you find you are able to retain the visual impression of the candle within your mind for longer periods. Continue in this way for the set time.

Mantra Meditation:
This is one of the most widely used forms of meditation. It consists of a word, phrase or sentence repeated over and over and over again. The basic goal is to be doing one thing at a time, in this case repeating your mantra and being aware of your mantra and only that. Start by finding a comfortable position. Close your eyes, if you like. Take a few deep, slow, breaths. Then start repeating your word or phrase. Do this either aloud or silently to yourself. Keep trying to think of your mantra and nothing else. Keep bringing yourself back to the task and trying to involve yourself more and more in it. Find a rhythm that seems natural to you and stay with it. Continue in this way for the set time.

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