Meditation

Make no decisions when you’re afraid

Mortal fear shifts us into a neurological state commonly called ‘fight, flight or freeze’. The autonomic nervous system takes over in milliseconds making significant bio-chemical shifts (dumping out cortisol, adrenaline, changing systemic blood flows, etc.) one of which is preferring the hind brain for instant decision making… this mental speed comes at the cost of complexity as it’s largely binary. It’s as intelligent as yes/no or more likely run/fight. This is perfect if the danger is an incoming train or a burning house, but not great for complex social, economic or political decisions.

There’s a lot of fear floating around these days and what’s been helping me is to recognize when I’m in fear and NOT make decisions from it. This is where my self-awareness practices come in handy! I acknowledge the fear and let it pass before doing or saying what ever seemed like a good idea in that binary state… Usually I’m thankful I did.

I’m encouraging you to also recognize when you’re in fear – you likely have a lot of opportunities these days – and let it pass before making any decisions. Wait for your whole brain to come back online, giving yourself to make the best decisions possible.

You’ll likely be thankful you did. As will your family, friends, community and world. Certainly, I’m rooting for you!

May we all move through these things with grace and wisdom, health and happiness.
Much Love, Elena

Don’t Look Up To Yogis (Including Me)

Yoga does not make you a better person.

Nor does mindfulness nor Tai Chi nor sitting in a cave.

I’m still crazy after 15 years of meditating. Ask my husband.

~

What makes you a better person is what you bring to these practices. Your willingness to change. Daily. It’s what do with the information you get from these practices that matters.

You could meditate for 50 years, not do anything with the information you get from your practice, and be the most raging arse on the planet. (You might understand the deeper truth that you’re more than just this jerk, but you’re still choosing to be the jerk.)

Seriously.

On the other hand, you could take, for instance, what you learn about your anger issues in these practices, apply a few self development tools and make great strides.

Even then, some things are easy to shift and others incredibly difficult. It’s not a perfect system by any means.

~

There’s no need to look up to people because they practice something.

Instead, notice if they’re doing their self development work. That’s the useful bit.

And then realize that you can do self development while washing the dishes. In fact, it’s possible that’s even better because there’s no cultural glitz attached and at least the dishes get cleaned!

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If you were thinking you’d be a better person if you’d just start/keep practicing regularly, don’t. Don’t waste your precious mental energy.

Or your time.

If you’re really serious about being a better person, about living a better life, all you need to do is pay attention to yourself.

Notice what’s working and what isn’t, and do more of the first and less of the second.

If you need help adjusting the balance, find a short video or article about what you’re wanting to change and play with what they suggest.

Simple.

Don’t turn it into something bigger than you. No yoga pants or meditation cushion needed. Just you, your determination and attention.

~

Let go of what you’re not doing, or what someone else is doing. Let go of looking outside of yourself for something to fix you. Not your practice. Not your teacher. Not your precious future goals.

Grab a hold of what you have right now and do what you can now.

Go for it. One step at a time will get you a long, long way.

Enjoy the ride.

(Happily, you can’t miss it, cowgirl. You’re on it right now… which could scare you or excite you depending on what you decide to do right now.)

Sensational Emotions Mindfulness Practice

MME Album Art(meditation: 5:48 min) This meditation builds on the meditation called Sensational Awareness. Once you’re good at focusing on an area of sensation in the body, this practice adds noticing the emotions as well. It is very similar to Emotional Awareness (I even called it that in the recording), and the difference is that this one uses sensation as the starting point whereas Emotional Awareness focuses solely on emotions. This practice, Sensational Emotions, is a good bridge between the two.

Instructions:

Begin by getting into position, whatever position works best for your body. This position will become your body-mind’s signal that you are starting a practice. I suggest the following:

  • Sit on a chair (sofa, bed, etc) with your feet flat on the floor. Rest your hands in your lap. Feel your sit bones pressing down. Float the crown of your head up so that it softly lifts your torso into alignment. Let your back body be a bit firm to maintain this posture and your front body be soft and relaxed.
  1. Take a moment and look around you to ground yourself in the space you’re in (be/become aware of where you are).
  2. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath. Feel the sensations of breathing for a few breaths. This will help you be/become aware of your body.
  3. Find an area in your body that feels a bit tense or stiff, an area that feels “charged” to you – an area that might have an emotional component to it. If you aren’t sure, simply focus on the first area you notice that has strong sensation.
  4. Now notice the qualities of the area, as if you were a scientist studying it’s properties. You’ll take time to notice qualitative “facts” about it versus thinking about why it’s like this or that. In other words, you’re going to notice it’s properties and not the who, what and why of it. You’re going to notice “It’s as big as my shoulder,” and not “my shoulder hurts because I’ve been exercising too hard.” Notice things like how big it is (where are the edges?)? How dense? How sharp/dull. What texture? If you could see it what color would it be? Etc.
  5. As you’re noticing the area, you may notice emotions that are related to this area. Do the same with them, and simply examine their qualities, too. Notice things like how sharp or dull is the emotion? How dense is it? If it had a color what color would it be? Etc.
  6. Keeping most of your attention on this area, let other thoughts, sensations and emotions float through the background like passing clouds.
  7. If you find that your attention has become absorbed in something else and you’re no longer noticing the sensations in the area, gently bring your attention back to the area you’ve chosen.
  8. When you feel ready or when your timer rings, end the practice by bringing your attention back to your breath for a few breaths and then gently opening your eyes.

 

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 use only (no commercial uses).

 

Meditation Posture: The Zen Way

Sitting in Zen…

There are many ways to practice meditation: sitting, standing, lying down, walking, moving, dancing, jumping up and down (yep, it’s true), spinning around, standing on your head… I imagine you’re getting the picture.

What’s the best posture? I strongly feel that the best posture is the one that works for you!

If you do like to sit, and you like the idea of sitting on the floor, this video nicely describes several ways to do that. Two of them, sitting in ‘seiza,’ on a cushion or bench with your thighs parallel, is a nice variation that many of us chair bound people can actually do!

This video from the Hazy Moon Zen Center explains how to sit on the floor in relative ease. These are the classic posture instructions for many seated meditation practices, so you can use these instrction for most sitting meditation practice.

If you would like to do zazen (zen sitting meditation), this video gives instructions for that, too. “Zazen is a romanized Japanese term. ‘Za’ literally means to sit or sitting; ‘zen’ means to meditate or concentrate.” (from ZaZenGuide.com).

For written instructions, see the  video transcript.

Enjoy sitting!

 

 

 

Progressive Relaxation Body Scan (Great for Falling Asleep)

MME Album Art(5min) Having trouble sleeping – falling asleep or falling back to sleep if you wake up? This meditation practice is really great for relaxing the body and falling asleep.

Meditation Practice: Progressive Relaxation Body Scan

  1. Start getting into a comfortable position, lying down or sitting. You can do this standing as well.
  2. Close your eyes, or lower them so they are 3/4 closed, and gently shift your attention to your breathing. Notice your breath moving in and out of your body right now. Be curious about your breath. “How am I breathing right now?”
  3. Shift your attention to your feet and on an inhale, gently and softly contract the muscles of your feet. As you exhale, relax the muscles and let them soften.
  4. Do this for 3 or 4 breaths and then stop contracting and releasing.
  5. Move slowly up the body, inhaling and contracting, exhaling and releasing with each part: the lower legs, the upper legs and buttocks, the belly and low back, the upper back and chest, the arms and hands, the shoulders and neck and finally the face.
  6. Pause after the face and simply notice your breathing again.
  7. Start again at the feet, moving up the body and repeat the pattern until you feel complete or you are ready to sleep.
  8. End noticing your breathing for a few breaths and then gently opening your eyes.

When your mind wanders, as it inevitably will, gently bring it back by re-focusing on your breathing or the area that you are contracting and releasing. 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!

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

Mindfulness is Not Self-help

(video 4:12) I listened to the Science of Meditation Summit presentation by meditation teacher Susan Piver who said one of the myths about mindfulness is that it is a form of self-help. “It’s not,” she says, and after listening to her explaination, I totally agree.

Mindfulness as a concept is simply being present, aware of ourselves, and pure mindfulness practice is simply noticing ourselves. What ever we’re doing, thinking, feeling, we simply notice. We don’t try to change anything, we simply notice.

Self-help is another set of meditations, therapies and tools that we use to change what we notice. If, using mindfulness, we notice that we’re angry a lot and inappropriate with how we express it, we might take other steps to create healthier expressions of our anger. Now we’ve added self-help.

I find this distinction really useful for understanding the role of mindfulness and the role of self-help. Mindfulness is for being aware of what is happening. Self-help is for changing what is happening.

Decision Fatigue

(video 4:13min) I’ve been reading research lately that talks about decision fatigue, the idea that over time, say over the course of a day, your ability to make decisions decreases. Essentially, you’re good at making decisions when you start, and then not so good, to bad as you continue.

The metaphor that is often used is that it’s like a muscle, it’s strong at first and then after using it for a while it gets tired and eventually too week to move.

After you rest you’re ready to go again.

This makes lunch breaks, coffee breaks, etc really important! Stop making decisions when you take breaks. Unplug.

If you can’t break for your whole lunch time, take a shorter break. Doing a 2 to 5 minute meditation practice is a great micro-break whenever you need one during the day. Or even a few mindful breaths… look away from your work & take a few.

Studies say you’ll make better decisions after enough rest.
Try it out & see if you agree!

What I Do in Crisis (6): Ujjayi Breath

(Video: 4:57min) Ujjaya breathing is a yoga breath that is fun to do because you can actually hear your self breathing! This is great for people who like to focus on sound.

Watch the video for instructions if you want them, and enjoy using this tool during stressful situations. I use it when I’m stressed and I want something else to listen to for a moment besides my speeding train of difficult thoughts.

Using ujjayi breathing a great way to stay engaged in the moment and to give myself some perspective… there are other things in my life right now than this upsetting thing that is happening… like my noisy breath!