For me one of the main goals of meditation is to calm the monkey mind; a mind that is constantly in motion and can’t stay focused on anything. In order to achieve some calming of the mind it is much easier to meditate with an object versus meditating with open awareness.
The breath is a great home base for focusing your attention as it is always available. Using the breath will help you to focus during the meditation while your mind might be wandering quickly from one thought to the next.
The main practice will be to notice when you get distracted and then gently return to your breath.
This meditation invites you to feel gratitude. Gratitude meditation is a conscious effort to remind us and to see the good things that are happening in our lives. It can bring feelings of heightend positivity, strength, and happiness even if your life is difficult right now. Gratitude meditation can and should not only be formally practice on a cushion, but research has shown that it is really helpful to start and end your day with a gratitude ritual to embrace the blessings we have.
This meditation session is meant to bring you joy by imagine a person being in their happiest moment and wishing them well and then turning it over to you and wishing you well: “May I be joyful, may the joy of my heart increase over the years, may the causes of happiness, well-being, and joy grow stronger in my life.” Become a lighthouse beacon and let your joy shine in every direction to bring joy to everyone around you.
This mediation was originally introduced by Jon Kabat-Zinn the founder of MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction). It encourages us to seek inner stability and peace even in the face of unpredictable change and chaos.
You will imagine yourself as a mountain, becoming the mountain to experience the mountain’s strength and stability and to adopt them for your own. Feel that you are grounded and centered feel that you are empowered to encounter each moment with kindness and compassionate clarity.
Say yes to your life, say yes to all your sensations, feelings, and thoughts. This guided mediation has been adopted from Tara Brach and helps to accept whatever waves of emotions are arising.
Release all resistance, embrace every moment, and welcome the changing flow of life.
This mediation brings positive energy into your body and directs it towards your heart. It will open you up so that all the good of the universe can come in and the healing can begin.
Each breath you take is love, love for yourself and healing for yourself.
This meditation session is meant to bring back your energy, to refresh yourself for whatever lies ahead of you. Imagine you are breathing in positive energy allowing it to grow until your whole body is filled with this bright light.
Our hearts break, but our hearts also heal. Grief is a very natural responses to loss and it can be very painful and difficult. When we grieve, we allow ourselves to feel our pain. By our willingness to mourn, we slowly acknowledge, integrate, and accept the truth of our losses. It takes courage to grieve, to honor the pain we carry. This meditation might help with your feelings of grief, but keep in mind that grief doesn’t just dissolve. Instead, it arises in waves and gradually, with growing compassion, there comes more space around it.
Guided Loving Kindness meditation (10 minutes) with background sounds from Gaia Meditations (Sunset Yoga, isochronic, 432Hz). This meditation session is working with an intent, the intent of loving kindness and compassion for yourself, for others, and all beings.
During the meditation you will hear the affirmation “May I be happy and free from suffering”. If this phrase does not work for you feel free to change it to something that resonates with you. For example “May I be well, happy, and at peace” or “May I be full of energy and free from pain”.
Our days are so packed. We are so busy so that we become rigid and often do not realize what is going on. This meditation session can help you to create some space for you. It can open you up, grounding you and support your creativity.
Credits: background sounds from Gaia Mediation (SunsetYoga, isochronic, 432 Hz)
One of the main goals of meditation is to be aware what is going on within you and being aware of what you need. This meditation session is just doing that. You will ask your body, mind, and heart what they need right now. Listen to this meditation often, especially if you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or upset.
Credit: Background sounds from Gaia Meditations (Sunset Yoga, isochronic, 432 Hz)
We often believe that we need to have something first before we can be it (e.g., having money before feeling rich). But research shows that it is actually the other way around. You need to start BEING this person, then DOING what this person would do, which in turn will result in you HAVING what this person would have (BE - DO - HAVE).
This mediation session can help you focusing on our being. As we sit in this session with nothing to do than to breath, we can ask ourselves and reflect on who we want to be today.
Credits: Background sounds from Gaia Mediations (Sunset Yoga, isochronic, 432 Hz)