MEDITATION AND BREATHING

INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION

Meditation is much easier than you think. You do not need special clothes, a quiet peaceful place, a special prayer or saying or even 20 minutes to meditate – all of this can be done in a very practical manner that allows you to accomplish calming your mind. Now that being said it is great to have all of the conditions that we mentioned but in this busy world most of us do not have the time or luxury to set 20 minutes aside in the morning and evening to meditate. Let’s take some time to try some techniques that will introduce you to the world of meditation in a very practical manner.

First of all why learn to meditate at all?

Here are some of the benefits for the body:

• Decrease your heart rate
• Lower blood pressure
• Reduced cholesterol levels
• Relaxation of muscles
• Reduction of pain
• Increased ability to achieve the relaxation response
• Quicker recovery time from stressful situations
• Increased oxygen to the body with slower deeper breathing

Benefits for the mind:

• Enhanced creativity
• Increased empathy
• Reduction in acute and chronic anxiety
• Heightened perceptual clarity and sensitivity
• Complement to psychotherapy and helps break addictive behaviors (smoking etc)

Benefits for the spirit:

• Enjoying the present moment
• Connecting with others, enhancing communication
• Opens your heart to yourself and to others
• Becoming in touch with your higher self
• Feeling more centered, grounded and balanced in your daily life
• Allows you to experience the sacred reality that exists in all

There are many forms of meditation, we will cover five:

• Breathing
• Body Scan and Relaxation
• Walking
• Mantra Meditation
• Devotional Meditation

Breathing:

Take a deep breath in through your nose, now breath in more air. Feel your lungs fill, your stomach moves out with the additional air; now slowly release the air through your nose until you feel empty. Repeat two more times.

How do you feel?

Dr Andrew Weil’s Breathing:

This is always done in a sequence of three.

• Inhale deeply for a count of four
• Hold for a count of seven
• Release through the mouth for a count of eight.
• Repeat two more times

Remember taking a few seconds to take three good deep breaths can help you to refocus and let go of the stress and tension that has been building in your body

Body Scan:

Start at the top of your head and slowly scan down the body. When you reach and area of tension (most people hold tension in their shoulders) focus on that area and gently allow it to soften. Move on to the next part of the body and repeat when the area of tension is identified.

At the end of this exercise, Imagine taking a warm shower, the water washes over your body taking with it all the stress and tension that may be left. Gently add more cold water allowing the body to become invigorated.

How do you feel?

Walking Meditation:

Each day rain or shine, take 20 minutes to walk outside. Allow the earth energies to blend with yours, allow the power of Vitamin D to enter your body bringing strong bones and a healthy immune system. Take 3 deep breaths and repeat to yourself as you place your Right foot, “to Help” as you place your Left foot say “to Heal”. As you walk for the 20 minutes allow yourself to focus on placing your steps and repeating the words. If you begin to have outside thoughts coming in, allow them to present themselves like waves on a beach then gently let the thought roll out into the surf and disappear. Return your focus to your walking meditation.

This can also be done for 10 minutes in the AM and 10 minutes in the PM.

Mantra Meditation and Devotional Meditation:

A mantra meditation is often associated with a form of meditation known as transcendental meditation. Many in the Western part of the world were introduced to meditation through this form in the 70’s. The mantra given to those who practiced this form was a word such as OM that basically had no meaning to the western ear. Repeating this word over and over for 10 -20 minutes allowed the mind to clear and the body to relax, When Dr Herbert Benson was doing his research he discovered that basically any word could be used to achieve the same effects but it was best to choose a very simple word such as egg, that would not trigger any other thoughts to interrupt the flow. However when I teach my students meditation, I encourage them to draw upon their particular religious belief system and repeat the name of the Divine. I am Christian so I often invoke the name of Jesus using the phrase “Jesus I trust in you”. Jesus is said breathing in and “I trust in you” while letting the breath go. The advantage of this is when things really get crazy in life, repeating this phase and breathing helps me to calm down and realize that I have to let go and let God.

Prayer is often a form of meditation, repeating the same prayers such as the catholic rosary or using any type of prayer beads (a mala is one form) often helps us to focus since we are using the body – fingering the beads, mind – repeating the phrase and spirit – allowing ourselves to open up to the Divine. Many people do not realize that the simple act of saying a prayer can also be a meditation if it is said focusing on the intention of the prayer.

Here is an article written on Centering and Grounding Meditation written by Dr. Betty:

Centering is the process of finding the stillness within, of calming ourselves to a point of quiet. Those who are familiar with meditation will find this easier to attain. Individuals that have difficulty stilling their active or random thoughts will find the use of visualization techniques helpful. You will be guided through this process to familiarize yourself with this technique in order to help you reach this point of stillness within.

Centering requires practice. It may be awkward or difficult for some to learn how to center, but the more one practices, the more one will begin to feel comfortable with the process of centering.

To begin, sit comfortably with both feet flat on the floor. Take a few deeps breaths to completely relax, concentrating on releasing those areas of the body that hold stress.

Now imagine yourself as a great big beautiful tree, any type of tree you choose. Your trunk is strong and your branches are full and healthy. Stretching out from your feet are luminous roots, reaching deep into the rich soil of the Earth Mother, anchoring you to the Mother. You feel grounded and secure.

Sitting with your back straight, imagine a line coming down from your spine, with a weight on the end of it. This line enters into the soil, the same as the roots, and extends deep into the earth, steadily working its way down through all the different layers of soil and rock. The line continues deeper and deeper toward the molten lava that is the core of the Earth Mother. When the line connects you with the core, feel the energy from the Earth Mother move up through the line, gently up, up, up through the layers of rock and soil, and up your spine.

At the same time, feel this energy radiating up through the luminous roots to your feet - moving like a gentle wave up your legs, enveloping your ankles, calves, knees, thighs and hips. The energy from the Earth Mother continues up your torso through your lower abdomen, stomach and chest cavity, until it settles in your heart center.

Once the energy settles in your heart chakra, focus on the top of your head, or crown chakra. Feel your crown opening up to Father Sky. Allow this energy to enter through your crown to fill your head, encompassing your brain, forehead, eyes, nose, checks, ears, lips, mouth and chin. Feel the energy move down into your neck and shoulders. The energy from the crown moves down to meet with the earth energy at your heart center.

If you choose, allow the blended energy to flow down your arms to your hands. This energy can then be used to work with a patient, pick up a child, or prepare a meal. The healing energy passes through your hands in this manner, to be directed to whoever or whatever you choose.

Betty deMaye-Caruth RN, PhD, CHTP, RM/T