Mindfulness Meditation Warnings & Alerts
Julie Lusk, M.Ed., NBCC, E-RYT-500
Wholesome Resources for Mind-Body Mastery through Yoga, Meditation, Guided Imagery, Stress Relief, Wellness
by Julie Lusk
by Julie Lusk
Hatha yoga is a mind/body exercise which dates back thousands of years to India. The word yoga means
“union” or “joining”. Although there are several branches of yoga (Raja, Karma, Jnana, Bhakti and others) Hatha yoga refers to achieving the union of the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual selves through the practice of physical postures and special breathing techniques. For those interested, yoga can go beyond the physical exercises to incorporate dietary recommendations, meditation, service to others, philosophy, and moral and ethical guidelines for living. Yoga is neither a sport nor religion.
Hatha yoga is noncompetitive and emphasizes show, purposeful movements practiced mindfully and in combination with deep breathing. Yoga can be modified to help people achieve a wide range of personal and fitness goals. Some styles of yoga are gentle and slow while others are vigorous and strenuous. Yoga’s benefits include the ability to: [Read more…]
by Julie Lusk

Julie Lusk
Whole Person Associates Publisher
Becoming Relaxed
The cornerstone of all guided imagery work lies in the ability to relax the body, mind, and emotions. This is true whether you would like to awaken your intuition, communicate with your inner guide, connect with nature, or benefit from the healing visualizations. You will be wasting your time if you don’t relax first.
Practice the following exercises until you become comfortable doing them. The method used for relaxing isn’t important; being able to relax is. Relaxation opens the door to your inner resources. Try out each exercise several times and choose the ones that work best for you.
After you’ve mastered the relaxation exercises, explore the different types of guided visualizations in the other sections of this book, or of those from volume 1.
Nature and the Environment
This section contains a variety of guided meditations that will help deepen your ability to relax and sharpen your ability to visualize, whether you visualize by using your imagination to see, feel, smell, or hear the scenes described. When you practice using all your senses, your experience will be enriched.
Getting in touch with nature is soothing, inspiring, and healing. To get the most out of these visualizations, first take the time to thoroughly relax. Remember to briefly describe the content of the guided visualization to the people you are working with. If a particular setting makes anyone uncomfortable, select a different script.
Inner Answers
Using the guided imagery exercises in this section will help you listen to what you already know. In other words, you will awaken your intuition to help you be consistent and in alignment with your own inner, individual truth.
These scripts are written to unlock your creative potential, provide you with insights, help you see patterns and possibilities, and understand yourself better. In order for this to happen, it is crucial to relax your body and quiet your mind first. So be sure to use a relaxation exercise whenever you are instructed to do so.
Read Awakening Intuition by Frances E. Vaughan for more information about accessing your intuitive self.
Healing
The mind and body are one, and what you believe and feel are reflected in your body. Sometimes your thoughts may lead to illness, aches, and pains; and other times, they can lead to exhilarating feelings of joy, pleasure, and peacefulness. Likewise, the condition of your body and the way it is feeling affect your thoughts. This is why it is impossible to worry when you feel relaxed.
Much of the benefits derived from the following healing imageries come from the necessary first step of calming and centering the body and mind. Therefore, it is important to perform a relaxation exercise whenever a script calls for one. Read the works of Bernie Siegel, Jeanne Achterberg, Joan Borysenko, Patrick Fanning, and Deepak Chopra for an in-depth look at how and why healing imageries work.
Personal Growth
Many people find it hard to make decisions, and many others find it difficult to make positive lifestyle changes. If this is true for you or your clients, try out these guided visualizations. Give your body and mind the chance to work for you instead of against you.
Read Creative Visualization and Living in the Light by Shakti Gawain for a description of the principles used in these scripts.
As always, be certain to use a relaxation script whenever advised to do so, and feel free to modify these scripts to fit your situation.
The mind-body connection recognizes the reality that the mind and body are intimately and ultimately linked as one. There is absolutely no separation. What is thought or felt always resonates throughout the body moment by moment
through a bio-chemical reaction. This reaction is either life and health enhancing or defeating. It has also been verified that each emotion has a distinct biochemical signature that affects mental and physical health.
Researchers report that meditation, controlled breathing, deep relaxation and directed, guided imagery can boost the immune system, alter blood pressure, decrease pain, and help with problems such as infertility and insomnia. These practices often help people cope with and recover from unpleasant medical procedures as well as the effects of stress from daily living. Furthermore, the refinement of consciousness that takes place leads to spiritual growth and maturity.

Trouble sleeping? Insomnia is at epidemic proportions and has dreadful consequences. A few problems associated with inadequate sleep include feeling irritable, exhausted, lowered immunity, poor mental / emotional health, and heart disease.
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.
Guided Relaxation is another 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.
→ Listen to Take 10 free of charge. It’s an excerpt from the Power Napper eBook by Julie Lusk that includes relaxing and refreshing exercises.
PS. Benefit from the 2-Hour Nap in 10 minutes often by coming back to this website again and again.
PPS.
PPPS. Explore more mind-body exercises in Julie Lusk’s books and CDs, featuring deep relaxation and yoga nidra, guided imagery, and meditation.
Stimulates blood flow to your head. Reduces mental congestion. Helps overcome insomnia. Strengthens memory. Opens the crown chakra to higher inspiration.
o Start with your thumbs on your temples with fingertips resting at the middle of your forehead.
o Apply pressure and slowly pull your fingers apart, stretching the skin. Breathe deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Repeat if it feels good.
o Place your fingertips at your hairline and repeat the stretch.
o Repeat this pattern starting at the top, center, and back of your head. Continue until you reach the base of your neck.
Stimulates your energies, boosts immune system, and releases stress. Relieves pain.
by Julie Lusk
Having and maintaining a good memory is an important ingredient that all of us need and want. Right? Many of us get concerned when forgetfulness happens to us or to those close to us. This is particularly troublesome as we age and especially if we have a family history of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Try the 12-minute meditation called Kirtan Kriya.
Here is an inspiring video with research to prove that there are easy things we can do for memory improvement with meditation.
Along with the conventional wisdom of good nutrition, supplements and mental and physical exercise, Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD says that meditation is key. A research study is reviewed that shows increases in brain development for memory, concentration and focus using a simple 12-minute meditation, including a yoga mudra.
The Kirtan Kriya – the Sa Ta Na Ma 12 minute meditation for memory is from the Kundalini yoga tradition. To get measurable results, it is done daily for only 8 weeks. But, who would want to stop there. Not me!
The Sa Ta Na Ma meditation technique also stops the mental chatter to bring about a clear mind. It’s calming too.
This NY Times article Yoga May Be Good for the Brain was published June 1, 2016 . It discusses a study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in April 2016.
A combination of 1 hour of weekly yoga exercise and a daily 15-minute Kirtan Kriya Meditation is recommended to help with memory improvement, concentration and mood improvement (depression). Improvements were also made in “visuospatial memory, a type of remembering that is important for balance, depth perception and the ability to recognize objects and navigate the world”. It was compared to another highly regarded brain training program practiced that was practiced for 1 hour weekly with 15 minutes of daily memory exercises.
The yoga + meditation group “topped the benefits of the brain training group” showing statistically significant results.
Sa Ta Na Ma
Kirtan Kriya Meditation
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