Insights, Reflections, & Guided Meditations.
Joyfully offered to inspire your path.
I recommend short practices for all beginners. Short meaning 2-5 minutes per practice. And the inevitable question is, is that effective? Should I practice longer?
The real question here is how long should I practice in order to get the best results?
My answer is, as always, it depends. As soon as you know why you’re practicing, what result you want, then you can answer that question yourself. The tricky bit is getting clear about why you’re practicing…
Continue readingLately, I’ve been noticing how helpful it is to be traveling this path of self-development with other people!
Today, I had a powerful practice with another person. It’s the kind of practice I do daily, and I had forgotten how powerful it is to practice together… When we’re moving in the same direction together, magic happens. Synergy is a real thing… one plus one is four. :)
Continue readingThis is a practice I’m sharing in my Mindful Movement classes this winter.
Winter is a time of year to go in… to hibernate a bit, to focus in. A time to evolve, cultivate and fuel your inner fire.
Your inner fire is your inner power, your unique essence, that part of you that burns bright and strong and makes you uniquely you. Taoists refer to it as your Tian Tien, a place just below and behind your navel.
Continue reading…that clears your energetic and lymphatic systems – both of which need an extra boost in winter!
What are moving mindfulness practices? They’re mindfulness practices that are a bit different from the sitting ones in that, instead of sitting to do them, you stand up and move! You can stand, walk, dance, kneel, bend, spin, jump, etc. The whole time, you’re doing your best to stay aware of yourself, just like a sitting practice.
Continue readingI didn’t either when I first started meditating! Sitting still was torture! So, I started a moving practice, which lasted for years! That’s what I’m sharing with you in my weekly Mindful Movement classes.
They are perfect for those of you who want to practice mindfulness and don’t want to sit still! Yay!
Continue readingMove your lymph!
In winter we tend to move less, which means our lymphatic system, which only moves when we do also moves less.
Also, according to my understanding of Ayurvedia, our lymph gets thicker in winter (a Kapha season) making it even slower! Yikes.
This is a great recipe for colds and flus!
Continue readingNor does mindfulness nor Tai Chi nor sitting in a cave.
I’m still crazy after 15 years of meditating. Ask my husband.
Continue reading…of food, emotions, relatives, guests, everything?
I do! And I’m doing a few simple things that you can play with, too…
Continue readingThink it’s boring or too tough to fit in regularly?
Here’s a fun way to play with mindfulness: simply bring all of your senses into really enjoying something you like to do.
Like walking your dog? Next time, play with noticing as much as you can on your walk….
What does your dog’s coat look like? The trees or buildings? What else can you see?
What can you smell? (What is your dog smelling?!)
What’s the temperature? Is there a breeze? Can you feel the sun or the chill in the air?
Is there a scent in the wind of the sea or grass or rain or wet pavment?
How many birds can you hear? Cars? What funny noises does your dog make as she’s sniffing around?
Bring all of your senses into whatever you like doing and let yourself be there more fully… You’ll enjoy it even more.
And how lovely that this is a great way to practice mindfulness!
Enjoy!
Before my first husband and I divorced we were fighting a lot. At some point I decided to bring my mindfulness practice into our fights and that changed everything!
It was slow, to be sure. It took about 6 months before we stopped fighting, and can you imagine how powerful that was to go from daily fights to none?
Honestly, that was one of the things that made me realize just how powerful presence really is!
You can apply this same simple method to any difficult relatives you’re going to be with this holiday season. Hopefully, you don’t fight daily!
Here’s how: when Uncle Joe is saying whatever awful things he says, be really present with him. Instead of focusing on how he’s wrong and what you’re going to say in return, focus on what he’s saying. Really listen to him.
And notice your breathing at the same time.
This will help him feel heard, which is what he really wants anyway, will help you hear and understand him on a deeper level, and most important will help you stay calm. It may take a few sessions like this, and soon you’ll be able to listen and realize that what ever he’s saying says a lot more about him than what ever he’s talking about.
You’ll realize that you don’t need to take his ideas personally. You’ll see that they aren’t yours and you don’t need to be so reactive. Eventually, you might even be able to respond in a calm and rational way, which while may not help him totally, will be a lot better for you both than what you’ve likely been doing which is probably something like fighting with or ignoring him.
Try it out and see what you think and feel.
