As Beth described in her essay last month, still sitting meditation is a powerful practice that invites us to take a break from what we’re doing so that we can study our minds, bodies, and hearts. We stop moving our bodies, stop reacting and responding to...
Practice Video The ancient Chinese practice of Qigong is a deep root for mindful movement in our programs. Qigong is gentle, flowing, and can be done by most bodies. The sequence we do can be done equally well standing as in a chair. Give it a try and see how it works...
Instructional Video for Learning the Sequence The ancient Chinese practice of Qigong is a deep root for mindful movement in our programs. Qigong is gentle, flowing, and can be done by most bodies. The sequence we do can be done equally well standing as in a chair....
Tonglen is a practice developed in Tibetan Buddhism for cultivating compassion. As the 7-minute supplemental audio explains it is also the basis for the Receiving and Giving Compassion practice offering our Mindful Self-Compassion classes. In some ways Tonglen is more...
On the final day of a multi-week class, a participant asked a question that I’ve pondered for some time. These are not the exact words, but the query was essentially, “Is there a hierarchy of meditation practices? In this class, did we start with the most basic or...
One of the things I so appreciate about training in mindfulness and self-compassion is how it helps bring things to light for me. Mindfulness has the potential to help me notice and understand what my mind is up to. Self-compassion can help me meet my suffering with...
This month I’m excited to share how another huge support for us in times of stress and distress is compassion. The practices featured in our Mindful Self-Compassion program complement and support mindfulness practices to bring additional healing, understanding,...
The Mindful Check-In is a great way to shift into a deeper awareness of where your whole body-heart-mind system is “at” right now. Drop below the storyline with this powerful practice for taking a purposeful pause. You may find yourself coming out...
We all know those moments. We’re already wound up. Rushed. So much going on. And we’re also tired from an interrupted night of sleep. Or worried about a health challenge. Or a family member who’s back in that familiar crisis zone. We carry so much...
The Body Scan by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Coming to Our Senses The body scan has proven to be an extremely powerful and healing form of meditation. It forms the core of the lying down practices that people train with in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. It involves...
16 Science-Based Reasons to Try Loving-Kindness Meditation By Emma Seppälä | October 1, 2014, Mindful Magazine Many of us have heard of meditation’s benefits. We may have even tried meditation once or twice. And many of us will have found it hard and concluded that...
Loving-Kindness Meditation by Tim Burnett, 2018 Recent research suggests that the mind is “primed” to be more loving, kind, and compassionate but that our educational systems and culture don’t give us many opportunities to develop this. Our culture tends to view...
