Archive for the Category » Meditation «

Mar
30

A Meditation in Walking

meditation in walking
Contrary to popular belief, meditation doesn’t have to happen alone in a room, in full lotus, body silent and still.

No, in fact sometimes the most satisfying meditations happen on your feet, outdoors and covering ground.  Certainly, by now, we are all aware of the benefits of walking.  It has been the foundation to many a weight loss program as it’s inexpensive, outside of a good pair of shoes, it can be done anywhere and anyone can do it.  But can we truly achieve a meditative state by doing it?

Many of us already enjoy walking for some meditative benefits already.  Communing with nature, enjoying fresh air and clearing one’s head, all wonderful aspects to a low-intensity, heart pumping activity that can be done right outside your door.

Up until about two years ago, I walked as I run, not to the beat of my heart or to the sounds of the surrounding outdoors, but to the ear-splitting tunes filling my head.  I will likely always need music to help move and motivate me through a run, but it only took one walk without my earbuds to convert me to the centring, perspective gathering benefits of a brisk walk in peace and quiet rather than a brisk walk, thoughts and mind overwhelmed by the intense beat of drums and base.

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Mar
12

Spend Some Time in The Gap… Meditate!

meditate_001-sm1

The Gap.  It’s not just at the mall… no, it’s also the place that is the silence between your thoughts… a place few, if any, of us even know exists, let alone visit.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Meditation can be the path that allows us a way in which to access this space.  It is a space of compassion, surrender and peace.  Consider your thoughts.  They are of the past and of the future.  Active, energetic, and largely unaware.  It is in the space between those thoughts where the present- awareness- lies and as long as we remain disconnected from that space, we exist disconnected from the present… and ultimately, true contentment.

Learning to meditate, and making it a regular part of one’s day, allows you to practice presence- awareness.  However, it’s not merely a function of sitting in quiet.  It’s more than that… more work, to be honest!  To simply sit in quiet often invites the monkeys to come to play… say, the Wickersham brothers on ‘roids, where you are sure to wish each of them a pleasant, ‘good day’, perhaps take an occasional do-si-do, as they pass through (some days, seemingly on loop)… ummm… OK, maybe that’s just me!

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Mar
10

Manifest Your Magnificence

Manifesting goodness, positivity and empowerment can be difficult for adults these days… let alone the children in our lives who experience our stress and anxiety on an entirely different level.

These wonderful Manifest Your Magnificence Cards from Blue Skies Yoga & EcoStore may be just the thing to introduce and reinforce important messages as well as remind children- and parents, too- that they are Magnificent Creations.

Once the child picks a card, you can reinforce the power of the affirmation by having the child express how it relates to them by:
1.  Writing, talking, drawing;
2.  Singing, acting, dancing;
3. Carrying a card with them as a reminder of who they truly are.

Each set contains 64 full colour cards, with gloss lamination to ensure high quality and durability.  All cards are packed in a beautiful full colour hi-gloss gift box to keep cards within reach and organized whether as a game or for those important teachable moments!

Category: Kids, Meditation, Products, reading, Spirit  Leave a Comment
Mar
04

The Illusive Third Eye!

thirdeyeI will be the first to admit that I’m a newbie in the practice of meditation.  During the course of my early morning practice, in addition to dodging frantically my monkey mind, one of the techniques I try to employ is that of focusing on my ‘third eye’.

The ‘third eye’ , also referred to as the ‘inner eye’… the seat of intuition.

In yogic, or esoteric, terms the ‘third eye’ leads within towards a higher consciousness.  It is also the sixth chakra, ‘Aagya chakra‘, lying between the eyebrows.

At a recent retreat a young woman broke down near the end of the meditation, and through her tears, orgasmically exclaimed that she’d managed not only to quiet her mind like never before, but in her tranquil focus, was able actually not only to identify her ‘third eye’ but ‘see into it’ and had, in fact, witnessed colours!

Huh?!  How did I manage to miss out on that?  Those of us who had yet to get even close to quieting our minds were intensely intrigued as the whole colour thing was yet just another dimension to meditation of which we were pitifully unaware.

And, upon further discussion it was mentioned that a developed capacity to draw upon the energy, direct one’s focus upon the ‘third eye’ can be attributed to clairvoyance and precognition. Wow!  That was something I wanted to explore!

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Feb
18

Meditation… What It Can Do For You!

Believe it or not, daily meditation can have a great impact on your sense of calm. Learning how to meditate for only 20 minutes a day can have significant health changes. Whether or not you have a daily meditation in mind or not, regular meditation can create sense out of our hectic lives. This meditation article addresses how to meditate, and how to choose your own daily meditation practices.

Continue reading….

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Jan
06

Ebb and Flow

Wow!It’s been quite some time since I announced I’d be back NEXT WEEK!!

So next week came next year….

Anyways, after the turn of a new year… and the turn of a new decade, I turned 40 last month, and in the last months and years leading up to this milestone birthday I have come to better embrace the ebb and flow that is my creativity, my motivation and my progress. Basically, my life. That isn’t to say during certain points I can be found lolling endlessly on the sofa until the flow kicks in… no. I just know that there is an ease that can be found and luxuriated in at times and at others, things come with a little more difficulty and can’t be forced.

That said, as we settle into 2009 and back into our homeschool winter, I am also in the face of some exciting challenges professionally and need to look to yoga and meditation as a means to best approach and overcome these challenges helping me to meet my goals. I am leaving a period of relative ebb into a wonderful flow, where I want to be able to access the inspired, the creative and the most productive in me.

I know a regular practice to be, in times of busy-ness and a little craziness, an effective tool but also a welcome respite, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

To keep me from losing my mind.

Category: Good Intentions, Meditation, Practice  One Comment
Sep
30

And So It Was…

Look… I take help where I can get it. And where I got it- where I needed to get it- was from my old stand-by when motivation is hiding somewhere under the carpet, Baron.  Baron and his Bootcamp in a Box.Baron Baptiste Bootcamp in a Box
I did not intend to rely on a CD.  However, I know myself… which is why I carry the Box with me– on most every trip!  Anyways, I never did get up early.  Husband was off golfing.  It was lunch time.  I set the kids up- yes, in front of the tube- so I could get an uninterrupted half hour.  While, perhaps not entirely uninterrupted, Baron’s 20 minute Core Flow CD followed by his guided meditation was what I needed.

Understand this is no paid plug.  While not a true devotee, I am partial to my own practice… when I do it, I do love his style of yoga and the way he teaches.

I also enjoy his guided meditation.  It’s only 10 minutes and perhaps tomorrow I will try to extend it on my own.  I swear, today I saw colours through my third eye this afternoon.  Colours, I say!  And tingly fingers….

Category: Blog, Features, Meditation, Practice, Products  One Comment
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