mindfulness

Our bodies sense the world all day long, and yet it can be easy to ignore those signals as we move through daily life. In this meditation, pay attention to our senses, including sounds, smells, and touch and observe the effects. We notice if senses are pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral without trying to change them.

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Mental noting is a meditation technique in which we label experiences as they arise, often just using a single word to describe the experience in the current moment, such as "fear," "excitement," "joy," "feeling," or "thinking." The process of mental noting can help keep us grounded in the present moment and allow us to accept whatever is happening.

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Breath control can help us fold our awareness inward. Scanning the body and can help us relax. In this meditation, we pay attention to our breath, physical sensations, and mind, relaxing into the present moment and the mystery of life.

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While I'm not particularly fond of the phrase "self care," I have found that there are places and times when self-care practices can be helpful. Self care includes making sure you are eating enough food to nourish your body, sleeping enough to allow your body to repair itself, and related practices. It also means checking in with yourself, in a healthy way, to help determine if you are being cared for. In this meditation, we pay attention to the breath, body, and mind, as well as create space for you to tune into your physical and emotional needs to help you show up more fully in your life.

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The breath is a common focus during meditation. Breath meditation can help cultivate mindfulness and the ability to stay present with life. In this meditation we practice paying attention to the breath, whether we feel it most at the tip of our nose, the chest, or the belly. We do these practices to train the mind to stay present and experience the natural rhythms of life.

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Many of us think our way through the days. We check things off our TODO lists to feel like we are in control. But this is all an illusion. What happens next is absolutely unknown. In this meditation, we practice staying with whatever arises, both the blissful and the negative. We can use this kind of meditation as practice for the rest of lives and help identify areas where we can let go of the illusion of control.

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We can't spend our whole lives avoiding stressful situations. Sometimes we know about our unhelpful patterns and we can anticipate difficult situations. In this meditation we help prepare for situations that typically create fear, anger, anxiety, and other unhealthy stress. Mindfulness can help us prepare for difficult situations, act with compassion, and cultivate more considered responses.

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