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Body Breath Awareness Transformation

23/9/2014

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“I have already noticed an improvement in my physical conditon!”

That is what one of the participants of the September meditation group wrote a week later. I was delighted. The feedback also prompted me to do an internet search on the effects of meditation of physical well being. Now there are thousands of academic research articles that attest to the multiple benefits of meditation – including the physical benefits.

I recently met Dr Shirley Telles [1], one of the foremost researchers on breath awareness and control and its relationship to physical emotional mental and spiritual well being. We were both faculty members at the Omega Institute’s Breath Immersion: from Science to Samadhi 5 day symposium. Also on faculty was Dr Patricia Gerbard and Dr Richard Brown [2]. Their research on ‘coherent breathing’ and heart rate variability – a measurement of physical health and resilience, has shown the multiple benefits of conscious breathing.

It has been thirty years now since I have been consciously meditating and 25 years since I began teaching others about meditation and running workshops where we could practice. I have seen the change in those I have worked with. Now scientific researchers are providing the evidence

Meditation techniques are always extremely simple. The challenge is to keep practising so we can experience the benefits


TIP

1.     Lie down somewhere you will not be disturbed. A trick I use is to give myself a certain time on my smart phone time. That way I am not worrying about the time and can give myself to the meditation exercise.
2.     Close your eyes and begin to focus on your breathing.
3.     Gradually make your breath deeper and fuller. Slow full breaths that are comfortable
4.  Once you have set up a gentle rhythm with your breath begin to be aware of your body. 
Do this systematically, imagining that the life for in the breath is following your awareness and going to different parts of your body in turn, or
5.     If you have a particular physical discomfort, just put your total awareness and the breath there
6.     Sense that part of your body, and most probably you will notice a positive change

1. Dr Shirley Telles http://www.patanjaliresearchfoundation.com
2. The Healing Power of the Breath: Simple Techniques to Reduce Stress and Anxiety, Enhance Concentration, and Balance Your Emotions Paperback – June 12, 2012  by Richard P. Brown, Patricia L. Gerbarg



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Breath of Life

17/9/2014

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In this months meditation workshop a number of the participant really wanted a definitive answer to the question – what is meditation.

Today, coincidentally, I was re-reading Breath of Life, by Abbot George Burke aka Swami Nirimalanda Giri. This book is an extensive study on the practice of breath meditation according to the Hindu, Buddhist,Taoist, Jewish and Christian traditions He began like this:


“Meditation is the process of re-centering our awareness in the principle of pure consciousness which is our essential being. We have lost awareness of our true Self through awareness of external objects, and become habituated–even addicted–to objective consciousness.

Rather than disperse our consciousness through objects that draw us outward, away from the center of our being, we can take an object that will have the opposite effect, present it to the mind, and reverse our consciousness. That object is the breath, which is the meeting place of body, mind, and spirit.

The breath and the body are interconnected, as is seen from the fact that the breath is calm when the body is calm, and agitated or labored when the body is agitated or labored. The heavy exhalation made when feeling exhausted and the enthusiastic inhalation made when feeling energized or exhilarated establish the same fact.

The breath and the emotions are interconnected, as is seen from the fact that the breath is calm when the emotions are calm, and agitated and labored when the emotions are agitated or out of control. Our drawing of a quick breath when we are surprised, shocked, or fearful, and the forceful exhalation done when angry or annoyed demonstrate this.

The breath and the mind are interconnected, as is seen from the fact that the breath is calm when the mind is calm, and agitated, irregular, and labored when the mind is agitated or disturbed in any way. Our holding of the breath when attempting intense concentration also shows this.

Breath, which exists on all planes of manifestation, is the connecting link between matter and energy on the one hand and consciousness and mind on the other. By sitting with closed eyes and letting the mind become easefully absorbed in observing and experiencing the movements of the breath we enter into the consciousness from which it arises–the eternal Witness Consciousness.

We start with awareness of the ordinary physical breath, but that awareness, when cultivated correctly, leads us into higher awareness which enables us to perceive the subtle movement behind the breath.

Ultimately, we come into contact with the Breather of the breath, our own Spirit-Self.

www.ocoy.org


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Rekindling your creativity and love of life

17/8/2014

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I was listening recently to Sally Kempton, a scholar and spiritual teacher known for the depth of her own practice and the clarity with which she guides others.  She was speaking of the Divine feminine – suggesting that the time has come to work for change through love, through ‘fierce compassion’.

In her book  Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga she describes the qualities of the various Hindu goddesses and gives practical ways of working with those energies. Following are notes that I made listening to her recent talk.

The goddess Lalita helps you fall in love with life and at the same time demands that you become free.
There are four practical ways you work towards this goal:

1.     Let the creative force enter you through the breath.
One of the ways that Shakti, the Divine Feminine manifests in human body is through the breath
Tune to the breath and let it come in as a gentle caress. Caressing your heart.
Breath and awareness are making love to each other

2.     Allow yourself to be seen
Still. Opened eyed. Feel/imagine yourself being seen by the ecstatic creative force of life.
All the things in your environment are seeing you. You are seen. You are part of a pulsation of life.

3.    Feel the energy
Feel the energy in your body, in the air, in the earth all around you.
Allow the feeling to build until you know you are that energy. You are that ecstatic creative energy.

4.    Visualise
Visualise the goddess as strongly as you can. Then merge your body with hers


Sally Kempton will soon be running a 7 week course that you may be interested in
http://wisdomgoddesscourse.com/course/WisdomGoddess



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Meditation Workshop 3 Aug 2014

17/7/2014

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Concentration, focus and awareness are the essence of all meditation techniques. All you have to do is practice.

I have been teaching meditation for more than 20 years and practising for 30 years. The ability to concentrate and be aware has enhance
d every aspect of my daily life.

Focusing on the breath is the very easiest of all techniques. You can practise wherever you are - standing in a queue, waiting for a friend, washing up - anytime any place.

In this workshop will have time to experience a number of techniques, and find one that is right for you.

TIP Right now pause for just one minute and become aware of the breath moving in and out of your body, feel it touch your nostrils. with each in breath, breathe just a little bit fuller. Allow yourself a rest a while.


Book here



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Services:
1 hour - Breath Awareness Coaching, Stress Management
             Phone/Skype consultations available  how to prepare
2 hours - Breathwork - deep inner transformation
3 hours - specially designed individual programmes


Contact:
M. 0403 823 636
E. ann@annharrison.com.au
W. www. annharrison.com.au     www.breathworktrainings.com

PO Box 248, Millthorpe, NSW 2798

Member 1093 of the ATMA (the Australian Teachers of Meditation Association).Certificate  www.meditationaustralia.org.au
Ann is recognised as qualified to teach meditation in the following areas -  personal development, therapeutic support, spiritual growth.


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