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The Essence and Magic of Mindfulness Meditation: What, Why, How and Where

July 6, 2015 by Julie Lusk

What is Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness is defined as the impartial awareness of ones inner and outer experiences practiced moment by moment.

Here is an effective mindfulness meditation exercise from Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, a book and audio set by Julie Lusk. Try it out and let us know how it goes. Your questions (and answers) are welcome!

B…R…E…A…T…H…E for Mindfulness *

This mindfulness meditation provides seven steps for practicing mindfulness with a twist of meditation. The word “breathe” will help you remember each step. Take your time to fully experience each of the steps before going on to the next.

Process

Breathe fully, slowly.

Release muscular tension.

Engage and Expand your awareness.

Alert to sounds, sights, and smells. Awareness without naming.

Think positive thoughts.

Here and now.

Enjoy the moment.

Why: Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation

Diane Poole-Heller reports that research has shown that the benefits of a mindfulness meditation practice helps develop all 9 functions of the brain’s prefrontal cortex. This happens by practicing 20 minutes daily for only 8 weeks.

ANS Regulation – Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Balance
Attuned Communication – felt sense of other’s experience
Regulation of emotions
Response flexibility
Empathy
Insight – self awareness
Fear extinction – GABA fibers to amygdala
Intuition – deep knowing
Morality

How, When and Where

Mindfulness can be practiced formally by closing your eyes and sitting up straight as in meditation for 20 or so minutes. This builds up your capacity for mindfulness while also developing your brain. It will lift up your energy and lower stress levels. Your productivity will improve, your emotional fuse will lengthen, and your ability to enjoy living is enhanced. Your whole day will go better, even in the midst of stress.

In addition, mindfulness can be practiced informally as well. This is when you practice moment-to-moment awareness during your day-to-day activities. To get started, simply shift your attention to whatever is happening while it happens. For example, impartially check in with sensations from your body (cool/hot, tense/relaxed, etc.), notice how you feel, impartially naming the mood you’re in, and noticing how your emotions are being expressed physically, and by becoming aware of whatever thoughts are taking place. Practically speaking, this is done by taking time, for example, at meals to really look at your food and consciously smell it, taste it, and chew it. Throw in some gratitude if you wish. Or, take a few moments to feel the sunshine, to feel the actual texture of your pets fur or listen to whatever sounds are happening – all in a non-evaluative and nonjudgmental manner. This also goes for noticing however you’re breathing and the level of tension or relaxation that’s present in your shoulders. YogaNidraCF.indd

* Reprinted from Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief by Julie Lusk

Guided Mindfulness Meditations: Practicing Presence & Finding Peace Download

Ease into mindfulness with a clean, user-friendly, body-based, joyful approach. Gain calmer nerves, a brighter outlook, stronger memory, sharper focus, healthier body awareness & more balance. Get a long & short guided experience. Learn informal ways to be more mindful during the day. Available at Hay House https://www.hayhouse.com/guided-mindfulness-meditations-audio-download

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Take a 2-hour nap in 10 minutes

June 9, 2014 by John

Take a 2-hour nap in 10 minutes. It feels great!

https://wholesomeresources.com/3169/3169/

Guided Relaxation & its Benefits

March 28, 2014 by Julie Lusk

Relaxing regularly and deeply is the perfect remedy to conquer stress.

The World Health Organization predicts that stress-related disorders and psychological disorders will be the second leading cause of disabilities in the world by 2020.

The good news is that we can each take action to prevent and/or cope with stress. It’s time to take stress seriously and learn to do things that really release stress and result in reducing muscular tension, regulating blood pressure and even relieving pain.

Is rest and relaxation a waste of time? Hardly!

Isaac Newton made his breakthrough discovery on gravity while he was relaxing and watching apples fall from trees.
Archimedes had his “eureka” moment in the bath tub.
Albert Einstein was asked how he discovered the theory of relativity. He said, “I didn’t discover it. I meditated and it revealed itself.”
- Einstein also said, “Play is the best research.”
- “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Let’s define Guided Relaxation. It is a valuable tool for your stress relief toolbox.

The secret to gaining relaxed energy is to clear away the mental ruckus and emotional debris to make room for clear thinking. One of the easiest ways of doing this is through relaxing the muscular tension held in the body by tensing and releasing muscle groups throughout your body using a reliable technique known as progressive muscular relaxation. Doing so not only releases physical tension, it also teaches you the felt difference between tension and relaxation. By knowing this, you can catch physical tension early on and before it causes painful headaches, back problems and digestive trouble. A calming effect for the body, mind, emotions and spirit is awakened as well.

Progressive muscle relaxation, conscious breathing, creative visualization and guided imagery techniques are powerful techniques that are often incorporated into guided relaxation exercises.

Summary of Benefits

Guided relaxation will:

Improve immunity
Lower Stress
Feel more refreshed; especially when you need it most
Cellular rejuvenation and repair
Better sleep
More energy
Greater mental clarity while reducing worry
Increase creativity
Enhance problem-solving and intuition
Extra stamina and endurance
More productivity
Relieve pain
Improve your outlook
Better overall health
And more!

Enjoy recorded guided relaxation & imagery on CD here.

Come to a guided relaxation & imagery workshop. See your choices here.

Purna Hridaya Hand Mudra for Mental/Emotional Stability

Mudras are yoga positions, gestures, and seals for your hands and fingers that facilitate health, healing, psychological balance and spiritual transformation. Some mudras use the whole body and breath. They are effective, easy to learn, practical and powerful, and anyone can do them.

This hand mudra is called Purna Hridaya. It can help promote mental/emotional stability. Breath capacity and the immune system also can improve. It can bring relief when you’re feeling the blues.

How to do the Purna Hridaya hand mudra

Hold your palms in front of your heart with your fingers pointing upwards.
Interlace your knuckles inward at the upper joint.
Make sure the right index finger is closest to your heart.
Stretch your thumbs downward and touch their tips to form the shape of a heart.

This 4-minute video explains more.

Buy a video download of Yoga Nidra for Emotional Wellbeing that uses Purna Hridaya hand mudra.

https://youtu.be/QZhzWTNcu7Y

More about Hand Mudras

My meeting with the Dalai Lama

October 2, 2010 by Julie Lusk

My notes from hearing the Dalai Lama on May 14, 2010 – Indianapolis, IN

The Dalai Lama was in Indianapolis to speak on Facing Challenges with Wisdom and Compassion.

It was at the Conseco basketball arena. Just like a basketball, the sound bounced around making it hard to hear clearly. It reminded me of the acoustics when we heard Thich Nhat Hanh in Chicago. Too much echo.

Still, I picked up a lot and I’d like to share it with you with the understanding that any misconceptions are on my part, and not on the part of the Dalai Lama.

All people want to achieve, and have the right to happiness and inner peace.

Should there be more Buddhism in America? No. He said Americans already have the answers for finding true happiness and inner peace by way of the religions we already practice. Practicing common sense is another viable path.

Different religions rely on different qualities and pathways to achieve happiness and inner peace. Some rely on faith, others promote surrender, while compassion is the path for others. All these qualities, and religions, have the potential to take us to true happiness and inner peace. We should do our best to respect the different religious paths and know that each has its own benefits that reach out to various cultures, temperaments, and times. It’s about having respect for all religions.

All humans, no matter the color, culture, sex, or age, have a common connection to compassion that is biological and instinctual. The love of a mother and the instinct of protecting the child are good examples. Even a mother bird may sacrifice her life for the sake of her baby. Compassion is instinctual, however, it gets covered up and overruled by the thinking mind.

Rely on common sense.
Respect and have compassion toward all.
We all want and deserve true happiness and inner peace.
Rely on truth, trust, love, and compassion to lead to inner strength, peace and happiness.
Practice unbiased compassion – this is compassion that can even reach our enemies.
A negative mind causes suffering for the self and others.
Fear and hate interferes with health.
Compassion has actually been shown to lower blood pressure and stress. Wounds heal quicker. For example, a wound on a rat heals faster when it is affectionately licked by another rat.
The minds ‘intelligence’ can overrule our compassionate, instinctual, intrinsic nature.
Look for new opportunities and changes that come from things that anger us.
Have a global interest. To have global disarmament, we have to start with inner, personal disarmament. To have global peace, we must have inner peace first. Go with truth, love, trust, unbiased compassion and inner beauty. This is lasting.
He said that everything is/or can be good, very good. This includes such things as money, technology, and divorce. It’s the motivation and intent and how these things are used that makes the difference. Are they used with compassion, openness, acceptance or not?
Money, objects, technology can be good – very good – if they are used with right motivation and intention and put to good use.
Put your affections where affections can be returned .
Don’t put affections toward objects as these things cannot return affection.
When we are affectionate toward objects, it leads to jealousy and greed for objects. Objects cannot return affection.
Inner beauty is higher than outer beauty as it lasts. Rely on truth, trust, love, and unbiased compassion to bring inner peace and happiness.