Meditation In Daily Life

Help! Can’t Concentrate!

(video: 2:49min) Every 3 months or so I drink a cup of coffee (love the bitter + sweet!)… and then remember why I don’t do it often! I get super jittery, my mind goes 3-million miles an hour and I can’t concentrate! Yikes!

Yesterday, I had this experience while working at a coffee shop, and after struggling for a while I stopped and practiced mindfulness for a few minutes.

Whew! That 3-minutes saved my day! After that I could focus again. I was really thankful to have that tool handy.

Next time you can’t concentrate, take 3-minutes to practice, and see if it helps!

What to Do When You Feel Bad

(video: 9:44) Confused? Angry? Guilty? Sad? Depressed? Anxious?Overwhelmed? …?

What to do?
Mindfulness gives us a great tool: notice how you feel. Feel it. Observe it from the inside – feel how it feels to feel what you are feeling. What does it feel like to feel confused right now? What does it feel like to feel angry right now? Ask and feel and remember the whole time that you are asking the question, that you are exploring, that a part of you is doing the noticing, the observing, the exploring and taking notes.

This is incredibly powerful because it allows us to feel what we’re feeling and learn from it at the same time.

Maybe all we learn is what it feels like to feel confused. Already this is a million times better than being lost in confusion, where confusion is our entire experience & we can’t gain from it because we’re drowimg in it.

Bringing in the noticing is like popping our heads out of the water. Suddenly we have a bit of breathing room. We’re not drowning anymore. We can look down and see that we’re up to our neck in confusion. We have a whole new perspective on the situation. We can see that we’re in it versus being overwhelmed by it.

And then what?… You’re welcome to watch the video for my recent experiences with the next steps.

Meditation Practice: Walking and Counting

MME Album Art(3:16min) Another way to bring mindfulness into your daily life through walking is to count each step. The idea is that if you are aware of yourself enough to count your steps, then you are being mindful. I your mind drifts off and you lose count, simply bring you attention back to walking and start over with your counting.

Meditation Practice: Walking with Awareness

  1. Anytime you find yourself walking somewhere, bring your attention into your body and notice that you are walking.
  2. Keep your attention focused on what is happening in this moment by counting each step that you take.
  3. To keep you focused and not mindlessly counting, count up to 5 and then start over at 5 again. When this gets easy, count to 10 and then start over. Play with it over time and see how high of a number you can consistently count to and stay present.
  4. Enjoy!

Be kind and gentle, remembering that noticing that your thoughts is an important part of the practice.

 

To Download:

Click on the Download button below.

If it does not download automatically:

  1. A new window will open with an audio player (like the player above).
  2. Right click on the player and choose “Download File” or “Download Video”
  3. iPhone users will want to first copy the meditation into iTunes (on your computer) and then sync with your iPhone.

Note that you are welcome to download and share this files as many times as you like provided you do so in it’s entirety and it is used for personal or educational uses only (no commercial uses).

 

 

Meditation Practice: Walking With Awareness

MME Album Art(8:34min) Want to bring mindfulness into your daily life? One way to do that is to walk mindfully. Most of us walk at least some every day, to the front door, to the coffee machine, the elevator, the bathroom, across the street, etc. This meditation helps you bring mindfulness into your daily life by practicing walking mindfully, noticing every step. Begin by practicing in a quiet place, getting used to it, creating a new habit and then begin taking a few mindful steps every day. You could pick a daily walk, like walking to the bathroom or your car, and take 3 mindful steps every day when you do that. When that is easy, do 5 and then 7 and so on. Soon you will be taking the whole walk mindfully and noticing how this simple exercise affects other parts of your day as well.

Meditation Practice: Walking with Awareness

  1. Start standing in a quiet space where you can walk at least 10 paces in a line or a circle.
  2. Close your eyes and notice your breathing for a few breaths.
  3. Shift your attention to your feet and feel the sensation of your natural body weight pressing down into the floor.
  4. Slowly shift your weight to one foot, feeling the sensations in your feet as your weight shifts.
  5. Slowly lift your other foot, place it in front of you and slowly begin shifting your weight onto your front foot feeling the sensations in your feet as you move.
  6. Continue walking slowly, feeling the sensations in your feet.
  7. If you notice that you have become lost in thought, pause and stop moving. Close your eyes and find your breath again. Bring your attention to your feet again and when you’re ready, open your eyes and begin again walking slowly.
  8. When you get to the end of your space, slowly turn around, feeling the sensations in your feet as you do so and go back to the start. Continue on your line or circle until you feel complete or your practice bells rings to tell you your time is finished.

Be kind and gentle, remembering that noticing that your thoughts is an important part of the practice.

 

To Download:

Click on the Download button below.

If it does not download automatically:

  1. A new window will open with an audio player (like the player above).
  2. Right click on the player and choose “Download File” or “Download Video”
  3. iPhone users will want to first copy the meditation into iTunes (on your computer) and then sync with your iPhone.

Note that you are welcome to download and share this files as many times as you like provided you do so in it’s entirety and it is used for personal or educational uses only (no commercial uses).

 

 

How to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

(video: 2:45) Having a hard time sticking to your New Year’s resolutions?
You want to start running, but you can’t get out of bed? You want to practice meditation everyday after lunch, but you’re just too busy?

The trick is to remember why you want to do it… BEFORE you do it. Laying there in bed, motivate yourself by remembering how good you feel when you exercise. Let tuer good feeling motivate you to get up and go running! Sitting at lunch, remember how calm and collected you feel when you meditate. Let that sense of peace motivate you to take a few minutes before you rush off.

You know you’ll feel better! Remember that feeling before you do things and mer that good feeling be your motivation!

Happy New Year!

How to Deal with Discomfort


Feeling too uncomfortable to practice?

That’s normal!

You don’t have to practice if you don’t want to!

And when you feel ready, take a few minutes and simply notice what comes up. Be present to whatever happens.

You may notice yourself…
not wanting to think or feel whatever you’re thinking or feeling. Keep noticing that. Stay with it. Stay present. Remember that whatever you are thinking or feeling will change eventually. EVERYTHING does. And if you stay present with it, and don’t try to change or fix it, it will naturally change (on it’s own) even faster.

You may notice yourself…
diving into the stories around why you are thinking and feeling those things. You may notice yourself adding fuel and building up the pain! Keep noticing that. Stay present, simply observing yourself doing that. It will change on it’s own eventually, especially if you stay present and just notice versus try to change or fix it. And if you do start changing or fixing it, simply notice THAT!

It is the noticing that is the key. The more you can simply notice, the more you allow whatever is here to be here. If you try to change or fix, inevitably you repress it and that locks it into place. Things that we’re repressing, we are holding and thus we can’t let go of them. If you can wait it out, simply observing, you will reach a point where you don’t need to repress any of it and your innate wisdom will surface with the answer for how to solve what ever is happening. It will not feel like repression or denial. You won’t feel that you need to make it stop. Instead, you will see the wisdom of what is happening, the undercurrents and the reasons and often the situation will reveal itself as useful and helpful… it will usually naturally end at that point.

Eventually, you may cultivate the willingness to notice whatever you are thinking and feeling… Not because you like it or want to be thinking or feeling whatever you are thinking and feeling… Simply because it is here. You will stay present because you will know the wisdom of this process.

Play with it and see if this works for you.

The Usefulness & Release of Denial

Denial is a natural, healthy part of human life. When a situation is overwhelming, our brain represses part of the experience for processing later. We do this so we can be functional at the moment.

This is how we can walk away from the burning car on a broken leg. Shock numbs us and we can perform in the moment, save ourselves & others… And not feel the agony of our broken leg until afterwards.

Mental and emotional pain are similar. We repress part of the information in the moment for processing later… when we’re safe.

When you are in a safe place, you can sit and be present with your pains.

Several things will happen. First, as you allow them to surface, the energy you were using to to hold them in place will be released. Your body and mind will relax the tension needed to hold them in.

Second, you will begin to experience them. They may seem HUGE as you let them come up. Or they may go numb. Or or or. Many things can happen. Stay present and notice what is happening. Be curious. Let the process take its own time and trust the wisdom of your system, of your Being. Stay present, aware, mindful.

Third, they will begin to release on their own. As you stop holding them in, they are free to go. The processing will take its own time, and they will dissipate naturally.

If you feel overwhelmed, get help. This may be too big for you to handle on your own in a healthy way. Lot’s of people can help.

Fourth, as it all completes, you will feel lighter. You will have freed yourself of needing to hold onto pain. Yay! Enjoy!

Your Relaxation Toolbox

(video:3:09) The holidays can be stressful!

How can you make them more relaxing so that you enjoy them to the fullest?

One thing that you can do it think about the things you like to do to relax & de-stress in everyday life… What kinds of things do you do that help you relax normally? Do you like to exercise? Do you have a cup of tea? Do you read, go for a walk, or play with your cat?

Now think about how you can you set yourself up to do those things over the holidays. How can you do those things wherever you are? Can you bring your running shoes or a few weights or exercise videos? Can you take your favorite tea and share it with other relatives, making it into a nice shared moment of relaxation together? Can you bring a great book or magazines? Can you plan daily walks, perhaps after big meals with the whole family or by yourself in the mornings to get out and enjoy the world waking up?

Whatever will work for you, set yourself up with a few things and create a Relaxation Toolbox to use every day and to pull out whenever things get a bit too hectic. You will appreciate it and so will your friends and family!

Prepare for relaxation and make your holidays bright!
Enjoy!,
Eléna

Cultivating Compassion

(video 4:59) The Science of Meditation Summit interview with Dr. Kelly McGonigal was all about compassion, her research and experience.

Compassion for others is an instinct, according to her research, as social animals we’re geared towards helping our community members relieve their suffering. This keeps our survival group strong.

Self-compassion is not instinctive. Instinctively we respond to our own suffering with stress: distress, shame, guilt, fight, fight, freeze, etc.

If we’re going to train compassion for self and others, she suggests that we do both at the same time. Cultivate compassion for others, practicing to improve that natural process, and also include self-compassion in the practice to build that as well.

Watch the video for a brief description of a compassion practice.

Enjoy!,
Elena
www.ElenaMariaFoucher.com