Sunday evening group meditation .. bliss!

image: shophalfmoon.com

SUNDAY MEDITATION SERIES

6:00-7:00pm

(4 classes $48) 

Dates: Sundays in August (3,10, 17 and 31)

*no class 24th

Offering a unique opportunity to experience both a guided meditation and silence.

The Sunday night meditation practice includes:

(a) a guided meditation practice that will be inspired by a range of traditions and techniques 

.. followed by ..

(b) a silent meditation practice where we shall each sit in stillness with our own personal meditation practice, yet share the support and magic of group energy.

Our goal is to encourage students to build a regular personal meditation practice during the Winter months, a time when Mother Nature beckons us to slow down and find solace indoors ~ when it is natural for our awareness to shifts inward and take on a more reflective tone.

Class is limited to 20 participants.

JOIN US for a weekly dose of stillness, setting a solid foundation of calmness for the week ahead.

Weekly Meditation Gathering - TONIGHT

TONIGHT - SUNDAY 6th JULY

At the beautiful (cosy and warm) Ihana Yoga (Hampton) join us for a regular meditation gathering that will include a guided meditation practice and an opportunity to develop your own personal practice in a supportive group setting.

Four Sundays only $48 ($12 a session) limited to 20 participants.

Our goal is to encourage students to build a regular personal meditation practice during the Winter months .. a time when Mother Nature beckons us to slow down and find solace indoors ~ when it is natural for our awareness to shifts inward and take on a more reflective tone.

http://ihanayoga.com.au/events/workshops/

Sunday Evening Meditation

A beautiful meditation class last night .. the gentle rain outside, the street lights flickering in the dark quiet street, the cosy warm studio, the candles and salt lamps casting their romantic glow .. the communal exhale as we all just 

EXHALED

Each Sunday evening in May (at Ihana Yoga Hampton) we shall be exploring the 'building blocks' of meditation .. a map to guide your journey if you like.

We started last night with bringing mindful awareness to ..

* our body as we settle int our meditation posture

* the sounds around and within us

* to the touch of our hands in our lap

* and, to our breath

And we gently placed our awareness on the mantra

'Breathing in .. Breathing out'

1. Close your eyes, check your posture and take a few deep relaxing breaths 

2. Try to remain alert and aware while paying attention to your breath, how is your breath in this moment? where do you notice your breathe? is there a word to describe how your breath 'feels'? 

3. When ready begin the mantra, on your next inhalation silently in your mind say: "Breathing in" ... and on the exhalation "Breathing out" 

4. Silently and gently we begin to synchronize the mantra to our natural breathing rhythm (trying not the change the breath) 

5. As you inhale through the nose think "Breathing in" .. as you exhale through the nose think "Breathing out" 

6. If you notice your mind starting to space out or you get lost in a thought; try repeating the words more precisely or accentuate the rhythm 

7. Continue for as long as you wish .. a few minutes or a few more minutes ..

8. To bring the exercise to a close, gradually let the mantra soften until it fades into silence 

9. And allow a little time to sit in the silence before returning to your next task.

I explained this practice in a little more detail in my weekly Monday Meditation Musing which is a FREE little meditation inspiration for your week ..

Using the Senses to slow down

Our Sunday Meditation Series is starting again in March at the beautiful Ihana Yoga (Hampton Street, Hampton).

We like to suggest a 'theme' for our meditation class and this month the theme is 'Slowing Down'.

Meditation is an ancient practice in which we naturally shift from ‘thinking’ mind to ‘sensing’ mind. When we feel the wind in our hair, indulge in our favourite chocolate or smell the wild ocean .. we shift from a thinking mindset to a sensing one. When we are totally absorbed in the moment, captured by our senses, this is often described as being “in the zone” and in this space time seems to expand and slow down. 

By focusing on a sense (touch, sight, sound, smell, taste) we gently shift internally to a place of calmness and ease. 

Each Sunday we shall practice a different meditation technique, so that you can find the one that best suits you .. exploring the senses in order to slow down.

Interested in using the senses as an anchor in meditation?

I have posted before about focusing on the senses as our achor in meditation here:

Touch in a Grounding Meditation

Taste in a Mindfulness of Eating Meditation

Hearing in a Listening Meditation

I want to .. just be!

A meditation technique provides us with an anchor .. something for our mind to focus on until we settle and find our point of stillness. 

 

With practice we find that we can sit with just bare attention ~ so there is less ‘doing’ and more ‘being’.  

 

One way to reach this place of ‘just being’ is by regularly allowing our chosen meditation technique to soften and drift away, spending more time just sitting with a calmness and ease embracing silence and spaciousness.

 

Whatever might be your personal meditation practice, I always suggest some time walking in the OPEN FIELD when our technique is allowed to rest and we sit with whatever comes.  In this way we experience distractions, habitual reactions, emotions and sensations without our anchor ~ gaining a greater awareness of our experience and also building our 'meditation muscle' to remain calm and in our centre despite the distractions.

 

This month - NOVEMBER - I have themed our Sunday Meditation Series "JUST BEING" so that participants have an opportunity to sit in stillness and 'just be'.  There will be a little guided meditation with plenty of opportunity to just BE.

 

This month take advantage of a weekly dose of stillness before the impending demands of Christmas and end of year celebrations.  Bookings at:

 

www.ihanayoga.com.au

Sunday Meditation Series

In mantra meditation the object of our focus (or anchor for our attention) is a short word, phrase or sound, repeated over and over. It can be said aloud, or repeated silently in your mind. 

 

The word Mantra literally translates as ‘something to lean the mind upon’ .. we totally immerse ourself in the rhythm and sound of the mantra, aware of the mantra weaving itself into the rhythm and sensation of our breath .. so that the mantra envelopes us and carries us along.  Soon enough, you will find the mantra starts repeating itself, like a word from a seductive song, without you needing to initiate anything.

 

The SoHum Meditation is an ancient Hindu mantra, and a wonderful practice to start with if you are new to mantra.  In this practice we silently and mentally note the sound “SO” on the inhalation : and silently and mentally noted the sound "HUM" on the exhalation. 

 

A Guide to the 'SO HUM' mantra

 

• Close your eyes, check your posture, take a few deeper breaths

• Try to remain alert and receptive

• Pay attention to your breath for a couple minutes, and then begin to repeat your chosen mantra silently. It usually helps to synchronize the mantra to your natural breathing rhythm or heartbeat.

• As you inhale through the nose (mouths closed) think “soooooo” and as you exhale think “huuummmm”

• Stay with the mantra just gently noticing if your mind starts to space out; if you lose focus then you might note the words more precisely or accentuate the rhythm

• Sit with the mantra for 10-15minutes just noticing how the mantra ebbs and flows with the breath, just noticing how the mind focusses and gets distracted .. continuing to return again and again to the mantra "So - Hum" 

• and when it is time to finish your meditation practice, allow the mantra to slip away and spend a few minutes just sitting in peacefulness before returning to your day.

As you repeat the mantra your breathing slows and becomes more rhythmic, your mind fixes on the sound of the words, and the repetition stills and centers you. When the word repeated has significant, it can also work on your consciousness so that your mind resonates with the meaning, instilling a deep understanding and association with the chosen words.

SUNDAY MEDITATION SERIES
6-7pm at ihana yoga (Hampton)

Last Sunday we sat in our candle filled room and shared the So Hum mantra.  For the next three Sunday's we shall look at other mantra practices .. so that you might find a practice that 'resonates' with you.

*We had some issues with our online booking for the Sunday Meditation Series (now fixed) and you can now book for our three remaining session for $60 HERE.

  

Rock-a-bye

Last Sunday we had our first Sunday Meditation Series .. with a focus for the month on

 

mindfulness of breath & body

 

A picture perfect Spring afternoon cast a beautiful stream of sunlight into the studio and it just seemed like the perfect way to bookend the weekend, and prepare for the week ahead.

 

In this course we are exploring Mindfulness "the cultivation of clear, stable and non-judgmental awareness" using our Breath and Body as our focus or anchor.  We are learning to gently hold our focus on our breath and body to allow all to settle and for stillness to unfold. 

 

With practice we discover that there is a place within that is always calm and peaceful.  That these are natural aspects of the mind that we can strengthen and develop .. so that in time we can remain clear and stable without struggling and our mind and body feel naturally content.

 

We started our first class with some meditative exercises to reconnect and anchor ourselves to our body.

 

The one exercise that I always receive great response to is the Rocking Exercise.  In this exercise we are drawing our awareness into the body and experiencing the body floating in space.  We observe 'holding' and 'letting go' within the body and when we stop and still, we find a beautiful point of balance which supports us in sitting a little longer. 

 

This exercise also helps circulate blood and energy through the pelvis, gently loosening the hips and lower back ... and I believe subconsciously associates with being rocked as a baby .. gently and securely rocked in the arms of love.

 

Rocking Exercise

 

1. Settle first into your posture and seat.  There is no rush.

2. Close your eyes.

3. Start by gently rocking your torso from side to side, this movement might be quite slow and short to start but as you rest into the movement you will find a natural rhythm will unfold. 

4. Explore with interest the constantly changing sensations of your body moving in space .. notice flow or holding, tightness or ease. 

5. Allow enough time for a rhythm to establish, a sense of ease with the movement.

6. We then start to shorten the rocking, until it is almost un-noticeable just an internal shifting, touching the edge of movement. 

7. Until we find a natural point of balance.  When it feels 'right' to stop and settle.

8. And here we can be still.

 

You may then continue with your personal meditation practice, or just rest for a few moments before returning to your day and your next task.

 

A beautiful and simple meditative exercise that settles the body .. strengthening the mind~body connection and encouraging a healthier flow of energy through the body, and finding that point of balance.

 

Give it a go .. and let me know how it went.

 

New Sunday Meditation Series

 Mindfulness of Breath & Body

 

Sunday 1 ~ 8 ~ 15 ~ 22 September

 

5:00-6:00pm : Investment $80 for month 

 

Mindfulness meditation is an ancient practice that simply requires us to attend non-judgmentally to the present moment. 

 

Rather than getting lost in thoughts from the past or spinning into the future (the space of non attention) we learn to rest our focus on what is occurring in the present moment without judgement or commentary. 

 

Cultivating the ability to ground our awareness with our body and breath we begin to notice small spaces of deep peacefulness within. 

 

Mindfulness is the practice of being attentively present

 

We shall explore a range of practices, including both short meditative exercises (for immediate stress relief) and longer practices.  These classes are fine for beginners or those seeking to reconnect with their practice.

 

Bookings can be made online at Ihana Yoga link below.