Meditation with Stephanie

Oooooosh! We go deep on this one. "Don't push anyone out of your heart, including yourself." I love this. When we forgive ourselves and others, we dissolve the protective armoring of the heart. Ones that keep us tight and closed. There is freedom with forgiveness, and we must forgive ourselves in order to shed light to our intrinsic goodness. If you are in the grasp of self blame and self judgement, this one might be one that soothes you.

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Ahhhh the breath and body. Two anchors that can be tapped into at any given moment. The breath is always with us, so when we are caught in a flurry we can always pause and take those 3 nurturing breaths. And there are always sensations in the body if we slow down and listen. This is a very simple practice, but a powerful one!

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There are a few postures we can assume when approaching a practice. The first and most commonly used posture is the seated position, but we can also meditate lying down, in a standing position, and also walking! I love this practice because there really is a sense of embodiment when we walk slowly with at/intention. The slower we go, the more we know. 

Thich Nhat Hahn uses the image of an empress or emperor taking a stroll in the garden, where there is a sense of dignity and graciousness. Another image he likes to use is with each step, you let the bottom of your feet kiss the earth. Really feeling into the whole surface area of the foot as it grounds. Enjoy!

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One of my faves! The technique of humming stems back to the Tibetan tradition of deep, monotonous chanting, where the ongoing vibration allows the mind to come into a deeper state of presence and calm. As we move through the humming, we think of our bodies as a hollow instrument, allowing our own vibration to bring ease into the face, and calm the system down altogether. It's also a fantastic meditation to warm up our vocal chords, and can be practiced wherever, whenever. Before a big presentation, on a bus, on a plane. Wherever. Enjoy!

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Carving out time for your breathing exercises is crucial when it comes to monitoring stress levels, as it helps with balancing out the nervous system. By constricting one nostril at a time, we encourage the body to breathe deeper and fuller. This in turn not only enhances the quality of your breath, but you will leave feeling a sense of calmness in the mind. 

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This is a simple meditation. Where we take a few moments to settle our attention, opening up again and again into the moment. Trying our best to sit in the eye of the storm despite the chaos around.

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One of the reasons why I decided to embark on this path of mindfulness was to have a better relationship with my emotions. To find more resources to deal with the ways I react to the stimulus that comes my way. To increase the moment of PAUSE so I can respond from a more wise place. By acknowledging what the emotions are as you sit, we strengthen our witnessing body, and thus become less wrapped up in what comes our way.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is  our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and  our freedom.” ―       Viktor E. Frankl

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One of the most valuable lessons my meditation teach Tara Brach has taught me, is the tool of saying YES to all feelings that arise. Pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. Of course it's easy to say yes to our pleasant moments (although sometimes the yes manifests into greed and wanting), but we find it more challenging to say yes to the moments that aren't so easy to work with. The core to cultivating self compassion, is to say YES to our moments that we tend to naturally push away and judge. When we give ourselves the opportunity to allow the emotion to permeate into our being, knowing that we aren't separate from this unpleasant emotion, we accept it, and become kinder to ourselves as a result. Self compassion is such a huge part of why I meditate, because in order to contribute to the betterment of the world, we first have to love and accept ourselves.

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How often do go about your days with an "I" mentality? I am stressed, I am hungry, I am angry, I am frustrated. The "I" perspective immediately puts us in a state of flurry, causing us to take things personally more often. If we disassociate from the "I" and notice the feelings and emotions as they are, a separate entity, we tend to not be so wrapped up in the whirlwind that we often find ourselves in due to the thought. By just labeling the emotion as it is, "this is hunger," or "anger anger," "this is planning," we step into 3rd party perspective and can look at the thought without being so tied up in it. This is a great tool to use during our meditation, as it helps us look at our thoughts in a more objective manner, allowing our Witness to be strengthened. 

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