Kindness is such a powerful antidote to stress and self criticism. Most of us have an inner voice that can be quite harsh and if we would hear someone speak like that to someone we cared about we would stand up and defend them. But for some reason it is more difficult when it comes to ourselves. Today we practice kindness as a counter weight to this harsh inner voice.
Meditation can be a bit of a paradox, because we clearly practice in order to get something. To feel more calm, have more peace of mind, deal better with anxiety or stress. And at the same time, the practice itself is about Not trying to achieve anything specific or get anywhere. Inner peace arises on it's own when we stop trying to achieve it.
The body carries our history, both the good and the bad. This can lead to tensions that we carry around. In this session we scan the body and help it relax by reminding it that it is safe and ok to do so.
At the ground of our experience there is the silence of awareness. It surrounds everything and permeates everything. Let's rest in it.
When we practise coming back to presence again and again we strengthen it becomes easier to do during our day and with time our thoughts become less sticky.
By practicing body scan you will become better with noticing the signals that you body is sending you. In this way you can become more aware about what you want and need so you can act in alignment with yourself.
Many of us have a tendency to make ourselves smaller than what we are. In this meditation we play with occupying a bit more of our inner space in the room, paradoxically.
Awareness is like a blank canvas where all of our experiences show up. In this meditation we notice the breath moving in this space of awareness.
If your body is working reasonably well, you have so much to be grateful for. In this meditation we scan through the body and give it some well needed appreciation for all that it is doing for us.
Nurturing an inner atmosphere of compassion and kindness by meeting the breath and whatever comes up with an inner smile.
The body is always connected to the present moment. When you scan through the body and allowing all sensations to be as they are you are increasing our capacity be present with discomfort, so that you don't need to check out when life becomes difficult.
There is a part of you that can stay with both pleasure and pain without becoming attached or rejecting towards it. Through meditation this part becomes stronger.
There is an inherent satisfaction in being completely alert in a relaxed way. The experience of being completely here, present in the moment and knowing our experience fully. Today we play around with the balance between relaxation and alertness and practise combining the two.
Instead of spinning webs in your mind I invite you to land in your body and feel what is alive there. Simply admit how you feel and ask yourself, "how does it actually feel?" Sharp or smooth, heavy or light, hot or cold? And then allow that. This is the way to inner freedom.
Collecting yourself back together into the knowing that you are enough and everything is ok.
When we simply observe our thoughts without reacting to them it becomes clear that we are not our thoughts. One way to practice creating that distance is by trying to catch the beginning of the next thought.
Today we use sounds as our object of meditation. When we become increasingly aware about the content of our awareness we also become more aware of awareness itself. One example of this is when we become increasingly aware of sounds we also become more aware of the silence behind the sounds.
Behind all sensations is a stillness that is untouched by whatever is moving. It's the stillness of awareness and when we allow everything to be as it is, we are meeting the world from this place of stillness.
A deeply relaxing and calming session with focus on sensing the body as one field of sensations that fit together.
Counting the breaths give the mind something to do while meditating. This makes it easier for the mind calm down.