Day 6 - Guided Meditation Radiant Light

Day 6 of our 30 day Meditation Challenge.  While many people have their own beautiful practice
unfolding, here is another helpful tip/option.  This is a guided meditation.  The audio has special frequency and binaural beats to allow the listener to easily go into "theta state" which is considered the healing state, therefore please listen with Stereo Headphones for optimal results.

Please click on this link below:
Radiant Light Guided Meditation

Day 5 Meditation Challenge - Cultivating an attitude of Gratitude

Today is Day 5 of our 30 day meditation challenge.  This is my favorite meditation to practice which

I call "attitude of gratitude".  It is simply saying "THANK YOU".  In your 15 minute time you set aside to sit in meditation, see if you can inhale thoughts of gratitude or even just the word thank you.  Being thankful for the Universe, for you beautiful body, for you family, for you friends, for your triumphs, your food, your talents, your surroundings, your home, for your struggles, for the lessons learned, for everything you can think of in the span of 15 minutes. 

Allow each breath to be an offering of gratitude to the amazing blessings in your life.  If you cannot think of things to be thankful for in your meditation, just allow every inhale to be the silent sound of thank you.  Too often we have complaints, or lack of satisfaction and sadly we may take for granted simple things like clean running water, a roof over our head, or even a healthy body.  While we may be striving towards a body that has more muscle tone or thinner physique, this is all derived from an attitude of lack.  Let us find our "contentment" for this 15 minutes allow yourself to view your life from an attitude of abundance, and be grateful. 

 Gratitude is like a domino effect, the more you are grateful for, the Universe/God provides more things in your life to be grateful for.  Thank you all for sharing and wishing you so much love in this experience.

Day #4 - Meditation Challenge - The Zen of Japa Mala Meditation

Today is Day #4 of our meditation challenge.  I am so amazed to see how many people are emailing me to share how just a few days of this practice is transforming their inner peace and daily lives.  Meditation is a powerful practice and it helps us to quiet the monkey mind.

Our body is compared to a chariot in the Katha-Upinashads, with the body being the chariot, our senses are the five courses dragging the chariot, the reins are the mind, the intelligence or Lord of the chariot is the mind.  Peace of mind is important for focus and therefore a focused journey.  So if our mind is controlling the chariot it would be beneficial to learn to control the mind. 

Today's option to adapt into your meditation is japa mala meditation.  Often times you will see Yogis wearing beads around their neck or wrist, these beads are meant to be used for meditation.  Nearly every faith uses prayer beads (Christian, Islam, Buddhist, Sihkism, and Hindu).  The Hindu Japa Mala is done on 108 beads.  The beads are 108 to represent the 108 energy channels or nadi lines that stem from the heart chakra.  When we recite our mantra 108 times, we liberate our heart, and awaken this powerful life force through our entire body via the nadi lines.

To do Japa Mala

1. Sit tall on your meditation seat/cushion/bench
2. Hold Japa Mala beads in the right hand letting the beads glide over the middle finger
3. Using the thumb after reciting your "mantra", pull the bead towards you and progress to the next.

People who practice japa mala meditation often times will recite a mantra like "OM" or "Hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare" or "Om Nama Shivaya".  The Sound of OM (Aum) is a beautiful way to begin the practice of Japa Mala Meditation as it is the Universal Sound that exists in all things.  Mantra is powerful, much like affirmation and will alter the chemical pathways in the human brain and cells of the body to create happiness.  When we use the beads and recite the mantra we put our body in a hypnotic state which allows us to calm the noise and find peace.  When we recite the name of God (regardless of our faith) we are uniting with higher consciousness.  Christians, Buddhist, Sihks and Muslims will chant their own prayers with their specific prayer beads. 

Day #3 Meditation Challenge - Meditate on LOVE and PEACE

Day #3 of our Meditation Challenge - Inundating ourselves with the Power of Peace.  I am so grateful to read the countless emails, and receive calls in how people all over the world who are sharing this 30 Day Meditation Challenge with their family, friends, and Yoga studios, and just putting it into their own individual day!  What a wonderful global Sangha we have collectively created!  While many of you have your own methods of meditation and just enjoy the unity, I will do my best to continue to provide options to aid in your journey towards a meditation practice.

Today's helpful tip is inspired by Sri Chinmoy, who taught meditation with the purpose to achieve inner peace or love.  He was considered an Indian Guru who brought his teaching to New York and then the world.  Many of his followers have achieved incredible world records in the field of athletics, music and fine art.  Sri Chinmoy is most widely recognized for his teachings on meditation for inner peace, and would often encourage followers to embrace prayer and self-less service as a way to enlightenment.  He encouraged followers to do their practice early morning (3-4 am is considered the hour of God, if not 6 am). 

He became a Guru for many famous people including Carlos Santana, Roberta Flak and Carl Lewis to name a few.  He was known to say “We are all seekers, and our goal is the same: to achieve inner peace, light and joy, to become inseparably one with our Source, and to lead lives full of true satisfaction.” 

Though Chinmoy was brought up as a Hindu, he promoted oneness of all religions and was also known for saying "True religion has a universal quality. It does not find fault with other religions....Forgiveness, compassion, tolerance, brotherhood and the feeling of oneness are the signs of a true religion"

He had a specific method for his meditation, but the overall message of using meditation for the expansion of peace and connection with the Divine to overcome limiting beliefs was an evident result in many of his followers.  He himself would have devotees meditate on a black and white image of him that was said to be his "trancendental photograph", but emphasized to meditate on his human form but to unite with their own higher self, and use his image as a representation of higher consciousness.  Sadly, like many gurus their may be controversy attached to his name, and our society conditions us to find flaws, faults in leaders (this is something that is evident in our popular magazines).  This unconscious thirst for gossip or fault finding, results in us doing the same to ourselves, which is why we all would benefit from meditation in order to quite the noise. 

Today you have the option to use Sri Chinmoy's photograph to meditate on, or perhaps your own Guru, your Spiritual Leader, Savior, Deity.  Using an image that projects peace, love, and higher consciousness.  See if you can and become one with the consciousness of whatever positive image you chose to use.  This fixed image for your meditation is a representation of the spiritual liberation or Power of Peace that you desire to achieve in your own life.  See if you can inhale LOVE, inhale PEACE ~ Thanks again for joining in this Sangha.

Top 5 Tips to practice Zazen Meditation - Happy Buddha Purnima

Day #2 – 30 Day Meditation Challenge – How to Practice Buddhist Meditation

Today is day#2 of our Meditation Challenge and also the Buddha Purnima, which is the day that commemorates the Birthday/Death Day/Enlightenment Day of Buddha.  A few years back I had the amazing privilege to visit the Dai BoSatsu Zendo (Upstate NY), and participate in a week of ZazenMeditation while teaching daily yoga class.  It was a beautiful experience!  We would sit for 6 hours a day in Meditation.  This practice of meditation illuminates all the noise within, the memories, unforgiveness, mental clutter, with the purpose of eventually leading to healing, revelation, enlightenment, nirvana.  While the Zendo was a magical place, and the outside property with a gorgeous lake and landscape provided the perfect setting to explore meditation, ultimately the practice of meditation is about being in the present moment.  This post is to share some helpful tips to approaching Meditation from the Zazen Practice.

 "Do not dwell on the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate your mind on the present moment" ~ Buddha

The Top 5 Tips to approach your Meditation "Zazen Buddhist" Style:

1.     SIT -Sit still with a completely upright spine on your meditation cushion/Zafu, or bench.  Keep your hands palms up, right fingers on top of left and tips of the thumbs touch.

2.     EYES - Keep your eyes slightly open in a soft gaze to stay in present moment rather than drift into the mind.

3.     BREATH - Let your breath be natural and count the breaths, should your thoughts stray from your breath then return to 1.

4.     SILENCE – Be sure all cell phones are off (not just vibrate), no music, no distractions, just peaceful silence

5.     SMILE – Have a tiny smile on your face, meditation should be a practice you enjoy, so turn your frowns upside down, lift the corners of your lips and begin your practice.

Wishing you all the best on this beautiful journey!  

How to Use Mantra to Meditate - Day 1 of 30 Day Challenge

Day #1 – 30 Day Meditation Challenge – SoHam Mantra Meditation

Thank you for joining in this 30 Day Meditation Challenge! The benefits are endless and the practice should be embraced without judgement or expectation.  See if you can do your meditation at the same time each day.  While the goal is to sit in silence for 15 minutes a day, some of us may need a few options to get to the goal.  Where ever you are in the world, you can join us.  Today’s option is “So Hum” (सो ऽहम् ⁾ Mantra Meditation.  If we recite this Mantra 108 times it will result in approximately 15-17 minutes, feel free to do the mantra for 5 minutes and progress to focus on the breath in silence. 

Begin in a comfortable seated position, perhaps on a cushion, with a straight back.  If it is difficult to elongate the spine, another option is to sit up against the wall.  Relax your facial muscles, softly close your eyes, and set your intention/offering for this special time.  To do this meditation exercise, we Inhale the silent sound of “Sooooo” and exhale the silent sound of “Huuuuum”.  As we inhale, imagine the silent sound of “Soooo” traveling up the center line of the body to the top of the head, and as we exhale, send the breath back down to the base of the spine.  Let the breath be natural, without pause in between.  Some say it is loosely translated as “I am That” or “I am You, You are Me”. 

In Vedic Philosophy this is a way in which we unite or identify with the Universe.  Various theories point back to our birth as emerging with the infant cry “Kohaam Koohaam” which means “who am I”, so the Universe responds back “SoHam” meaning you are the same as I.  When we practice this Mantra we allow ourselves to unite with Universe/God Consciousness.  Sometimes after saying "So Ham" the mantra is reversed to say "Hamsa" which is like saying "I am the Swan",  The Swan in this case represents Atman (soul).  The Swan is the vehicle for Goddess Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom). 

The swan glides on water without getting its feathers wet (knowledge and supreme truth), and soars above the water into the sky (rising above earthly ties). In Vedic theory the swan possesses the beautiful ability to separate milk from water which stands for wisdom and discrimination (viveka), therefore knowledge (vidya).  This beautiful practice of meditation is ultimately to free us, to allow us to gain knowledge, wisdom, and rise above the earthly ties or mental modifications. 

Wishing you Joy & Peace during your 30 days of meditation.  May these 30 days inspire you to embrace this as part of your daily practice. ~ Om Shanti

Top Ten Benefits of Meditation and the 30 Day Challenge

Meditation is one of the most beneficial things to practice.  While many people are enjoying their yoga practice, flowing through yoga asana, practicing pranayama, we must realize all this is to prepare the body for Meditation (Dhyana).  This practice yoga asana so we can prepare our physical body for sitting in stilling, one pointed thought which eventually turns into self realization, liberation, and Samadhi.

Can you sit in stillness for 15 minutes?  Have you ever paid attention to the thoughts that arise? Perhaps your body gets numb to sit for long periods?  Well this cessation of the mind is the ultimate goal of the Yoga Practice, therefore practicing this Meditation Daily is extremely beneficial.  The more you practice meditation, the easier it becomes.

Join me in this 15 minute a day meditation challenge for 30 days.  Some of you may say you don't have 15 minutes, so begin with 5 minutes.  Set aside this magical time in your day, Sit in stillness, concentrate on your breath and enjoy.  If thoughts arise, it is good to investigate.  Whatever thoughts arise, there are deeper residual issues behind whatever thoughts/mental pictures may pop up.  This is your time to heal.  While Yoga Asana can be considered a Moving Meditation, japa mala, guided audio, nada yoga, yoga nidra, tratak, Bija Mantra, Chakra Awareness, SO-HUM, and many other things are forms of meditation practice, for this challenge stillness is the main requirement.  You may want to go outside and connect with nature, or perhaps on your favorite meditation cushion. While there are so many benefits of yoga, here is a short list of 10 benefits.

The Top Ten Benefits of Meditation:

1. Reduce Stress
2. Lower Blood Pressure
3. Improved Sleep
4. Reduce Back Pain
5. Improve Memory
6. Strengthen Immune System
7. Improve Creativity
8. Lose Weight
9. Increase JOY
10. Increase Confidence