Meditation Workshop Sunday #1

There's a meditation workshop starting this weekend. We will meet for three Sundays in a row, learning different styles of meditation and practising together. In between our meeting times, there will be opportunities to practice on your own, then come back together as a group and talk about your experiences.

I've taken longer meditation retreats and if you have the time, like 10 days in a row, I think you should do one! But in lieu of that, this little meditation sampler will give us different ways to start and a chance to regroup and adjust our practices.

Probably everybody has heard that there are many benefits to meditation. I like to say that I've never heard of anyone starting a meditation practice and things going bad. ("Oh she started meditating a few months back and it's all just been downhill from there…" said no one, ever.) Meditation practice tends to mark the beginning of something good happening. But how to start? What to do? Who else can help? Come and get some support from the small group starting this Sunday.

The course will be from 11-1 so if you're busy taking a yoga class or other things in the morning, you'll be able to join us for a couple of hours. We ran it at this time last year and it was really nice getting together to do some thing still and calming in the midst of all of the rush of the holidays coming up so quickly.

Please join us. This workshop is eligible for credits in the Makata Living Yoga Teacher Training Program.

ABC Guided Meditation

The other day while I was getting close to the end of a class, one of my regular students said, "hey Jamine, why don't you lie down and I'll lead you through the relaxation?" I told him this was his time and no, but he was serious so I got down on his mat and he sat on mine.

"This is the ABC meditation and it's what I do for myself sometimes. I go through the alphabet and think of something for each word.

"Close your eyes, let your body be comfortable." Then he slowly and quietly continued:

A. Aspiration. Think of what you want to be, who you're becoming.
B. Beauty. Think of the beauty all around you.
C. Calm. Be calm in this moment.
D. Devotion. Be devoted to your practice of yoga.
E. Equanimity. Be equinamous to whatever comes up.
F. Fulfilled. Allow your yoga practice to fulfill you.
G. Grateful. Think of all that you're grateful for.

And then he stopped and said, "That's it! Come back next week for the rest of the alphabet!" and we all cracked up.

I'm still learning from that moment a few days ago. I told them I feel I really got more than I gave in that class. What a wonderful treat. I'll report back with the rest of the alphabet as it unfolds...

On another note, this is the top I found to wear to the event that I wrote about last time. I like it!

Meditation and Brain Waves

It's not news that one of the reasons meditation feels so good is because we're changing the brainwave patterns from excess beta to moderate alpha and slower. I've even gone out and purchased a gadget that measures these things, but to my disappointment, the technology hasn't been that accurate or user-friendly on my computer as of yet.

I find it encouraging to read that more studies are being done on what's happening when we meditate so we can demystify the process, get it out of religions, where it seems to hover, and into a personal living room setting. Maybe even into a group yoga studio setting. It might even have a place on a massage table or other treatment room.

By being able to control where the mind is at, which frequencies it's resonating at, we will be able to increase the benefits of meditation - things like deeper relaxation, faster healing, less over-all symptoms of stress - and take out the spiritual blockages to meditation. Meditation can remain an integral part of Christian and Buddhist practices, but for people who want to relax without the accoutrements that come with having meditation in a spiritual setting, they'll have the feedback to see what their brains are up to, without needing a monk or yoga teacher to get them to believe it's good for them.

http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/02/14/controlling-brain-waves-may-be-key-to-meditations-benefits/51591.html

Good Reasons to Practice Yoga

The other day I asked my class why they come to the yoga class. The first reason that came blurting out was because they wanted to get out of the other class they were in. I thought that was pretty honest. One other guy said he comes because he needs to relax. Fair enough.

As the class wore on, the people who said they were just happy to skip their other classes started messing around a bit, I found myself getting slightly irritated. I even rehearsed saying something like, "don't come back next time if you just want to get out of your other class." I quickly caught myself and remembered the rest of the lesson. It doesn't matter why you come to yoga class, we all get the benefits of the yoga practice.

The people who said that were back in class today and I didn't hold it against them. "Any reason is a good reason to come to yoga," is what my grandpa-guru used to say. Then it occurred to me that maybe the people saying they were coming to class were just taking a break from other things and maybe that's not why they stayed in yoga class or maybe not even why they returned to yoga class. And even if they were just coming without liking it, they were there, getting the benefits of yoga, which is really my mission. For them to get the benefits.

I do know the class numbers are growing. More and more unlikely yogis are showing up and coming back for class. Exams start in a few weeks so yoga classes will be over for the year, but I have a feeling that if we kept going with the classes, the students would keep coming.

Yoga and Meditation are not always relaxing

It came up again today in yoga class (cops this aft) about how yoga is supposed to be relaxing. This also came up on Sunday during the meditation workshop. Especially with meditation, it is like a mirror - you can see yourself - so if you're not relaxed and you show up to meditate, chances are you may notice you're not relaxed. And meditating won't necessarily relax you.

Same thing with yoga. It doesn't necessarily relax you. Sometimes yoga is quick. Some of the breathing is really fast. And sometimes it's slow. Sometimes people slow down and it's not relaxing to be slowed down. So context is everything. Depending on when you're doing your practice, depending on who's doing it, what's going on, where it is, what you're trying to accomplish, and many other factors, it may or may not be relaxing.

There's no guarantee that people will be relaxed doing anything. And different people get relaxed by different things. Somethings that relax one person agitate another, or agitate the same person at a different time. Getting it right is an art.

Answers from the Past

I know the news is telling us that these are new times and it's like we have new problems now or something, but when I think about what the yoga sutras tell us, we've been having the same old problems for thousands of years. There's really nothing new about it all. There are going to be circumstances that we like and circumstances that we don't like. Everything's changing - all the time.

What's not changing is that still, quiet place inside. It's always there. And the breath is always there to lead you to it. To lead me to it.

What's happening around is does not have to impact our happiness. We let it and then we can realize that that's not real happiness we had. We thought we were happy, but if it can be busted up by numbers on a screen changing, or people coming and going, it wasn't really happiness in the first place. So we can be directed to where real happiness is located - anyplace, anytime, doing anything. It's not specific.

The yogis have been saying it for thousands of years. It's not outside - it's inside. Go inside, find it there, and then everything else will be different. They don't say to fix everything around us, make our bodies a certain way, find the right job, partner, home. Nothing like that. Just to go inside, meditate, and stop being disturbed by our thoughts. That doesn't mean we'll be placated, passive individuals by any means. But we may stand a chance at being present and happy.

Alpha Brainwaves

More so now than ever, we need to do things that enhance relaxation, which reduces stress and keeps us healthy and able to handle all that life throws at us. Relaxation is enhanced by doing things that bring our brains into a predominantly alpha brainwave pattern.

Things that do that include being awake with our eyes closed, meditating, doing yoga, listening to some kinds of music, and things that bring us to that place where we're feeling creative and calm and where things seem inspiring, where how much money we have or where we live doesn't seem so important. It's a place we can all get to if we practise.

By spending time in a state where the alpha brainwaves are dominant, we heal, we relax, we can be strong in the face of what is happening. Some people do this naturally, and some of us need to do those things on purpose.

I want to find an EEG machine or some sort of biofeedback machine that measures when stress goes up or down, or something that would really measure the brainwaves. If you have leads on one, let me know!

Now I'm Nervous

I realize that why I do these kinds of things is for the little dramatic thrill it gives me. It's exciting! Here I am picking up a new car that will use more gas than the car I'm currently driving and I wake up to hear, "Canadians will be waking up to the highest gas prices they've ever seen, as prices shot up overnight more than 13 cents." (Gulp.) Prices had just been coming down!

Hopefully there will be some calls about the Echo for the same reason. The ad isn't showing up just yet, but supposedly it is going in today. I'm having a funny feeling about it though and will call their office as soon as it is open.

I've got a meeting this morning about the Yoga Teacher Training and then it's yoga, yoga, yoga, until tonight. One of the groups I teach today is the cops. They are such a hoot. These guys are required to take my yoga class as part of their leadership training. And they actually have to take it twice. I don't om them in and we don't do "happy baby" pose, but they do all the other stuff. I think their favourite is the relaxation though. One time I had a guy tell me after the class that is was the most relaxed he'd been in 20 years. "Dude! This is available to you everyday! Don't wait another 20 years to get relaxed." And it can't even be that relaxing as we have to do the class in a big gym with other people working out on machines while we're occupying most of the space. It's not the most relaxation-conducive yoga space. So could you imagine how it would be if these guys were doing yoga in a dedicated space and had incense and music and stuff?

But we start where we are. That's the only place to begin. So if it's the floor of a cold gym, we start there. If we can't touch our toes, we start there.

--------

It's after 8 and I checked. My ad is there. Whew!