Nine Round Breath

Nine Round Breath

by | Mar 24, 2022 | Guided Audio, Meditation, Yoga

Nine Round Breath Practice

Nine Round Breath is a form of alternate nostril breathing, where you cover and breathe in and out of one nostril.  It is a tantric Yoga practice.

The practice is composed of 9 rounds of alternate nostril breathing. One round of breath is an inhale, and an exhale.

The first round will be three rounds of breath into the right nostril and out of the left nostril. The next three rounds of breath will be inhaling into the left nostril and exhaling through the right nostril. The last three rounds are inhaling with both nostrils and exhaling with both nostrils.

Nine Round Breath Practice tips

You may need to have some Kleenex nearby.

To set up, find your seat, maybe be in a comfortable chair or a meditation cushion if that is what you use. Allow your spine to stack, but don’t hold yourself rigidly. Let your eyes close, or let your gaze drop just in front of you. Start the practice by bringing awareness to your seat of any sensation where your sit bones meet your chair or cushion. Notice if you need to adjust anything to feel like your spine is long and tall without forcing anything. Feel free to add small movements, maybe letting the spine sway from side to side or rolling the shoulders to release tension.

Practice Precautions

DO NOT FORCE YOUR BREATH!

If the practice becomes uncomfortable, or you need to stop this practice, know that you can return your awareness to your natural breath or choose another meditation object like where your seat meets where you sit.

Nine Round Breath Guided Audio

Nine Round Breath

I have recorded a guided audio for you to practice the nine-round breath. The audio is about 6 1/2 minutes.

As you start the practice, allow your focus to rest on the sensation of your breath at your nostrils.

Enjoy!

Guided Audio Meditation – RAIN

Guided Audio Meditation – RAIN

by | Feb 24, 2022 | Guided Audio, Meditation

The practice of RAIN

RAIN is an acronym for a mindfulness meditation practice that brings awareness and compassion to the sensations, thoughts, emotions, or whatever arises during the practice. This practice intends not to try and fix anything but to bring compassionate awareness to your experience. This practice recognizes we all have the resource of an inner witness that can acknowledge and watch sensation without binding or becoming entangled with it. This internal resource is calm and non-reactionary.

RAIN can be used with any experience and is a way to deal with difficult thoughts, emotions, even beliefs.

R Stands for Recognition, noticing what sensations, thoughts, and emotions you are experiencing without attempting to push them away. Rain can be used with any experience but is a way to deal with difficult thoughts and emotions.

A Stands for Allow, allow the experience to be what it is, not wishing it to be different.

I Stands for Investigation. Investigate the experience with compassion and curiosity. What message may this sensation or experience wish to bring you?

N Stands for Natural awareness. It is moving into the space of the witness, not identified with the experience. It is drawing on the inner resource of calm, peace, and a sense of well-being within you.

Start the practice by getting comfortable. You may lie down on your back, sit in a chair, or sit on a cushion on the floor. 
Take a moment to notice the floor or chair and where it touches your body. Inhale slowly and exhale slowly. Allow your senses to open to the environment around you, notice what you feel, hear, or sense. Notice any sensations, thoughts, emotions, or images that are present. Begin with recognizing any sensation, thought, or emotion that most have your attention. Acknowledge them, welcome them. 
Allow the sensation, thought, or emotion to be what it is. Don’t try to change the experience or push it away. Begin to investigate the experience. Where do you feel it in your body? What does it feel like? Does it come and go? Are there other sensations like thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or images present with this experience? Is there a message that this sensation is trying to bring to you? 
Become the witness, rooted in calm, peace, joy, and non-reaction, allowing the experience to unfold.

 

Guided Audio - RAIN

 In this guided audio, I lead you through the practice of RAIN.

The guided audio is about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Guided Audio Meditation – Working with Obstacles

Guided Audio Meditation – Working with Obstacles

by | Jan 20, 2022 | Guided Audio, Meditation

How to work with obstacles during meditation

Many obstacles can come up during meditation that may cause you to quit. Some obstacles are distractions like noise, your lack of motivation can be an obstacle, and feeling resistance to sitting. Other Obstacles may be restlessness, sleepiness, or being overwhelmed by thoughts or emotions. Finally, there might be physical discomfort.

If you are physically uncomfortable, you can move or shift the way you are seated or lie on your back. You can even get up and walk around with your eyes gazing in front of you.

Obstacles can be the focus of meditation

One way of dealing with an obstacle is to use it as the focus of your meditation. Sensations, thoughts, emotions, or even resistance to sitting come with a physical sensation. Notice where you feel this sensation. Is it in your throat, your belly, or somewhere else in your body? What shape does it take? Does it feel round or sharp? Is it moving or changing? Imagine the obstacle was a piece of art just before you could walk around and examine it. Does it have a color with the shape?

You can always return to working with your breath, noticing each inhale and exhale if working with your obstacle becomes uncomfortable.

The goal is not to push away an obstacle

The goal is not to tune out the obstacle. Instead, it is to see if it has any messages to bring you. Imagine what this obstacle might be trying to tell you. For example, if you notice resistance, why are you resisting meditation? Are you trying to sit during a time when you are tired or stressed? If you feel sleepy or restless, why might this be?

If you have a journal practice, you might wish to note any obstacles that come up for you during meditation and note what you think they have to offer. Over time you may see a pattern that will help you change your practice or shift your perspective to help overcome them.

There are no “shoulds” in this practice. Instead, this meditation is a practice of exploration, bringing your curiosity and sense of humor. If you become physically uncomfortable, move or shift your position. If an unpleasant thought or emotion is present, move your awareness back to your breath, or create movement like swaying your spine from side to side and focusing on the movement. 

Guided Audio - Working with Obstacles

During this guided audio meditation, I lead you to examine any obstacles that may arise during your practice. The guided audio is about 5 minutes. Get comfortable. As you sit, notice any obstacles that are present. If there is more than one, pick the one you notice most.

 

 
 
 
Quick Power Down Meditation

Quick Power Down Meditation

by | Jan 13, 2022 | Guided Audio, Meditation

Power Down a Busy Mind

A five-minute meditation can go a long way toward resetting your brain, but it may be hard to settle into meditation if your mind has been racing or you are not in a quiet place.

This meditation uses your breath and a count to keep your mind focused.
Find a place to sit comfortably. You can set a timer on your phone for 2-5 minutes or sit for a few rounds of breath and counting.

Power Down a Busy Mind Meditation

Close your eyes, or let your gaze drop to the floor in front of you. Then, place your awareness on your breath. Notice your inhale, then notice your exhale. You don’t need to change your breath in any way.

As you inhale, say inhale silently to yourself. Then, as you exhale, say one. Then, on the next inhale, say inhale, and two on your exhale. Continue until you reach ten rounds, and then start over again with one. If you completely lose awareness of the breath and the count, go back to one and start over.

The goal of the practice is not to reach ten. The goal is to notice when you lose attention. Then you anchor your attention back to the breath and the counting.

If at any point during the meditation you feel tense or physically uncomfortable, feel free to create movement by swaying or circling the spine or shifting your position.

Power Down Meditation

Experience a short guided meditation using the breath and counting to keep your busy mind anchored

In this audio, I lead a short guided meditation using the breath and counting to help focus your mind. First, sit and concentrate your attention on your breath. Then, pick one place like your mouth or nostrils, chest, or belly to focus your attention.

The audio is about 5 minutes.

 

Working with Thoughts

Working with Thoughts

by | Jan 6, 2022 | Guided Audio, Meditation

Working with thoughts

One of the most difficult things to deal with while meditating is thoughts.    You think about 60,000 thoughts a day, and you can’t just turn them off when you want to. Most of these thoughts are not productive.  They are generally self-doubt, worry, or the rehashing of past events or conversations, writing an entire story in your mind.  Each of us will have our own top ten that often show up as soon as we sit and try to quiet our minds.

How do you deal with the thoughts during meditation?

First, remember you can not stop your thoughts, and this is not the goal of meditation.  Meditation is recognizing that the thought is there and then letting it go.  The goal is learning to notice when you have gone off with a thought and turn your attention back to a sense object, or anchor, like the sound or sensation of your breath.

The unproductive top ten may be more difficult to unstick.  Recognize that all thoughts are transient energy moving through your mind.  All thoughts, even the difficult ones, will be created, will move through your mind, and eventually, even they will move through.   As soon as you notice your mind is playing one of these thoughts, acknowledge it, you can even give it a name, like Wanda Worry.  Don’t try to immediately push it out, say hello, maybe notice any sensations in the body associated with the thought, like tightness in the chest, or muscular tension.  Be curious, allow the thought and sensations to move through and move on.   

Another way to work with thoughts is to put distance between you and your thought.  You might imagine thoughts as clouds, or soap bubbles that float through your mind.  You can watch and observe them without engaging with them.

If any thought is too difficult to handle, you can always walk away from the meditation, you don’t need to force yourself to work with painful thoughts or emotions.

 

Learn to work with thoughts in this guided meditation

Learn how to work with thoughts during meditation, especially the unproductive thoughts that play like a bad top ten tune list when you try to quiet your mind.  I’ll lead a guided meditation exploring ways to work with most thoughts.

 

Guided Audio Meditation - Thoughts

Guided Audio Practice tips

 Get really comfortable.  You may sit in a comfortable chair or lie on your back.  As you settle in, take a moment to scan your body.  If you feel any tension or discomfort, move or position yourself some other way.  Close your eyes and start the meditation.

During the meditation, I will lead you through a couple of ways to work with thought, first noticing any physical sensations or emotions that may accompany the thought.  I will also lead you through imagining each thought as a soap bubble so you can put some distance between a thought and yourself, view it in a neutral way.

If any thought becomes difficult to sit with, or brings difficult emotions, let it go.  You can always bring your attention away from the thought and back to your breath or physical movement.  You can always stop the meditatation and walk away.  There are not shoulds in this practice.

The guided meditation is about ten minutes long.   Enjoy!