Weekly Meditation Minder February 26 - March 4

"We take a simple instruction & create a drama of success or failure around it. We're succeeding when we're with the breath and failing when we're not. Actually the whole process is meditation: being with the breathing, drifting away, seeing we've drifted, gently coming back. Extremely important to come back without blame, without a feeling of failure. If you have to come back a thousand times in a five minute period of sitting, just do it.
It's not a problem unless you make it one."

Hello friends in meditation,

We have upped the sitting time in this past week to 10 minutes! How is that sitting :-) with you?

The breath continues to be the focus, the anchor. To follow the sensation of the breath at the tip of the nose, the belly, the chest, this is the intent, the place to keep coming back to. When the time we practice increases it is easy to fall prey to a judging mind. As Larry Rosenberg reminds the entire process, every element is meditation. It is the judgment, the blame, the sense of good or bad that must let go as we settle down to watch the breath come and go, a gentle floating of attention on ebb and flow. Counting or a simple in/out labeling can be very helpful ways to draw attention to breath. Experiment a little with concentrating your attention. Keep in mind that what you practice gets stronger.

Take a moment to reflect on the judgments that arise for you. No need to attach any import to them just notice, record, comment on what shows up for you. Perhaps one day not much bothers, simple breath by breath and, another moment, just rife with hardship, judgment galore. It can be very instructive, supportive, to track some of the experiences you have in sitting, building and strengthening a resolve to practice. Like the breath we come back to over and over, the cushion we must come back to over and over as well to build a practice.

And, attempt to make a connection to your daily life. As you sit in practice with the breath your sense of it out in the world may become more apparent to you. So, during the day when it shows up in the field of your awareness, really notice it, stay with a few breaths while in line at the market, or as you meet exasperation with a child or co-worker, a sigh at the end of a day, wherever you come to the breath honor it with your attention.

In closing... from Lama Surya Das:

~[practice] teaches us how to be precisely
present and focused on this
one breath, the only breath; this
moment, the only moment. Whether
we're aware of it or not, we are quite
naturally present to this moment -
where else could we be? Meditation is
simply a way of knowing this.

Check the blog, sit regularly, let us know if you have any questions!

Many blessings, much metta,
Jenn & Rebecca

POEM

“Mindful”

Every day
I see or I hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light
It is what I was born for -
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

~Mary Oliver

Home Practice Guide - Week Two - Breath

Seated Practice
This week we ask you to really focus and steady your seated practice on the breath. Choose one specific place in the body where the breath sensation is strong (below the nose, the chest, the belly) to be the “anchor” of your meditation and stick with it. All manner of distractions may arise (sounds, other sensations in the body, thoughts, emotions, etc.) but your intention is to simply notice these distractions and return to your anchor‐‐ over and over again. If a body sensation other than breath becomes very strong, explore it in the way we’ve been practicing, staying interested in the changes and moving with intention and awareness if need be. As the “pull” of the sensation diminishes, return your attention to the breath.

For those of you who are new to meditation, we ask you to up your daily practice to 10 minutes a day. Carving out 10 minutes of stillness can seem daunting in a busy life, but what most people find is that the stillness actually creates time in the day by generating a greater sense of spaciousness and perspective.

For those of you with an established practice, continue to augment your practice in a specific way—a longer sit, sitting more frequently during the week or adding an additional short sit during the day.

Supports to concentration
In / Out: Many people find that a soft gentle label (“in” as the breath enters, “out” as the breath exits) supports their ability to stay with the breath. When concentration grows, you can release the label and just be with the direct experience of the breath itself.
Counting: There are many traditional methods of counting to help build concentration. One easy strategy is to count backwards from 10 to 1 for each breath. Whenever the mind wanders, you start back at 10 again. Once you are able to move through a number of full sets without getting distracted, release counting and stay with the direct experience of the breath.
Metta (loving kindness meditation): As mentioned in class, metta is a concentration practice! You might try beginning your breath practice with a few minutes of metta to help steady the mind.
May I be Safe
May I be Happy
May I be Healthy
May I live with Ease (of heart)

Mindfulness in Daily Life
This week, whenever you "remember," take a few deep breaths into the belly or heart. You can use a mental support like saying to yourself, "breathing in, I know that I am breathing in, and breathing out I know that I am breathing out" (a suggestion from Thich Nhat Han) or simply be present to the physical sensations as they are. You might notice the differences in the breath when you are waiting in line, in an argument, caught in traffic, talking to a child, about to take a bite of something, etc. Taking this pause to notice the breath throughout the day can be a tremendous support to building mindfulness in your life.

Enjoy!! Let us know any questions or concerns here or via eyesyoga@gmail.com

Jenn & Rebecca

Using the Blog

Thank you all for joining us here virtually. We'd like to encourage you to share some of your meditation experiences here on the blog. Your adventures in mindfulness may serve to inspire at least one, if not all of us readers!

I've sent an invite to everyone who left their email address at the workshop, this invite enables you to create a post. Just follow the link in the email create your account and let us know you are here in our virtual sangha(community).

We will continue to post the home practice guidelines following each session and our weekly meditation minders as well.

Please comment on these as you like. Don't hesitate to share an experience, a helpful tip, or a question with a direct post - get feedback and insight from others. Perhaps you have a poem, verse or reading that you find inspirational, definitely include it.

And for now stay with the breath! Keep coming back

Be Well
Jenn & Rebecca

Weekly Meditation Minder

A quick check in with you all! A chance to remind you of the practice, keep it going :-) Remember, whenever life drags you away or you forget to take the time you can begin again simply by settling down in one quiet spot and noticing the body for several minutes (3-5 to be exact).

We'd like to encourage you to increase your sitting time to 5 minutes for these next few days. Stay with sensation in the body, really sink into what's actually showing up in the body, explore, be curious, stay with it.

Reflect on how you respond to increasing your time, see if anything changes or shifts. What challenges from the previous weeks continue to show up? Just notice.

A wonderful and encouraging reminder from Norman Fischer

"In formal sitting we practice the journey of return in a literal way, returning awareness to the breath, to the body, to the present moment, whenever it strays away. Most simply understood, formal sitting meditation is the effort to return to the concrete feeling of being alive, a feeling that is always with us, but that we almost never notice, so preoccupied are we with our problems and issues.
Meditation in general, and formal sitting meditation in particular, is radically simple. There's almost nothing to it. Letting go, coming back - that's all. The only difference between meditation and non-meditation is that when we meditate we are not grasping anything or trying to do anything; instead, we are releasing ourselves to our lives, with trust that our lives are all we need."

Remember to thank yourself for practicing !! Each time you come back to this moment is a celebration!

Jenn & Rebecca

PS. Hey, you can feed the fish - just click your curser in the fish pond and see what happens!

Weekly Support Notes

How are the 3+ minutes of sitting going for you?
In this weekly support letter we offer you a bit of inspiration/wisdom as well as some questions to reflect on and an opportunity to draw your body awareness from the cushion into every moment of your waking life! Share your challenges and insights with us right here!

While our intentions are important, this quote from Larry Rosenberg cautions us about goals...

"It is important to emphasize, in discussing the art of meditation
(and the practice as you continue becomes an art, with many subtle nuances), that you shouldn't start out with some idea of gaining. This is the deepest paradox in all of meditation: we want to get somewhere -- we wouldn't have taken up the practice if we didn't - but the way to get there is just to be fully here. The way to get from point A to point B is really to be at A. When we (meditate) in the hope of becoming something better, we are compromising our connection to the present, which is all we ever have."

So, in this practice, we are asked to hold an apparent contradiction -
the willful effort of showing up with our best intention and the letting go of all expectation...but this week just for 3 minutes!!!

REFLECTION
In our first meeting we asked the question "Why Bother?" Pause for a moment to reflect on this...in your journal or on the blog

• What about meditation is of interest to you?
• What motivates you to engage in this practice?
• What is your intention?
• What will bring you back to your cushion or chair even when your resistance is high?

MINDFULNESS IN DAILY LIFE
As we begin a seated practice, it is important to remember that meditation is in service to an awakening in our daily life. In focusing on bodily sensations this week, look for physical sensations in all the "between" moments of your life. Whenever you notice, ask yourself what sensations are present and feel them: the warm water in the shower, foot sliding into a sock, hot coffee on the tongue, hand reaching for the brass doorknob, derriere on the car seat, fingers on the keyboard, etc. Mindfulness is about intimacy with the present moment - allow yourself the luxury of really feeling what it's like to be an animal body. Don't worry-- it's not about being there in every moment! Even remembering to notice just a few times a day will begin to strengthen the continuity of your practice.

Post or comment with any questions, concerns, challenges etc and we will do our best to support you.

Each time you notice that you've wandered off is a celebration, an opportunity to begin again...

Jenn & Rebecca

Home Practice February 8 - February 21, 2010

“Keep it simple, and stick to the present moment.”

~Ajahn Chah

If you are new to meditation, a daily practice can seem daunting if not impossible. We invite you to simply put a toe in the water by practicing for 3 minutes a day. This commitment to just a few minutes a day will have a deeper impact in the long run than sitting occasionally for a longer period of time.

• Find a quiet space and carve out the 3 minutes away from distractions or interruptions. Use a watch or set a timer so you can drop into the exploration without worrying about how long you’ve been sitting.
• Find your “seat”—comfortable, upright and alert. Like royalty!
• Take a deep centering breath, settling into the moment just as it is.
• Scan the body (head, shoulders, etc), staying alert to whatever sensations are present. Feel yourself as a physical body. If you are lost or not sure where to place your attention, direct your focus to the physical sensations of breath.
• Explore strong physical sensations and/or the desire to move with kindness. We are looking to cultivate stillness but if you need to move, do so with interest and curiosity, paying attention to the changing sensations before, during and after.
• You may wish to end the sitting with a bell, a small bow to your practice or an ”om”.

If you already have a regular practice, look for one small way you might deepen or expand your practice.

Reflecting: Many people find journaling or keeping track of their experiences to be a helpful tool in building a practice. We encourage you to keep a notebook next to your chair or cushion as well, consider sharing your experiences or questions on this blog.

Support Letters: At the end of each week we will send, via email, a short note in service of your practice. We may pose a question for you, remind you of helpful hints or suggest ways to deepen your practice. The letter is intended as a support—use it this way! It is not meant to be an additional burden.

Intention & Overview

In this series of classes we aim to:

• Uncover some of the mysteries of mindfulness meditation practices
• Provide a 
roadmap 
for 
negotiating
 common
 obstacles
 and
 pitfalls
• Introduce 
a 
variety
 of 
complementary 
and 
supportive
 practices 
to
 build 
concentration 
and 
connection
• Create 
a
 supportive
 community 
for
 sustaining 
practice 
over 
time
• Offer 
techniques 
to
 strengthen 
presence 
in 
daily 
life
 activities 
and
 relationships.




Class 
Practice



Each class
 will 
include
 a
 combination
 of 
seated
 and
 walking
 meditation,

concentration 
practices 
and
 breathwork.





Week
1
(Feb
7):
 Mindfulness 
of 
Body

Week
2
(Feb
21):
 Mindfulness
 of
 Breath

Week
3
(Mar
14):
 Mindfulness
 of
 Emotion

Week
4
(Mar
21):
 Mindfulness 
of
 Thoughts

Week
5
(Apr
11):
 Open
 Awareness

Week
6
(Apr
18):
 Deepening 
the 
Practice



Home 
Practice

We will skillfully build a practice with the goal of reaching:

• A 
daily 
½ 
hour
 seated
 meditation 
practice
• Greater 
mindfulness 
and
 presence 
in 
daily 
life
 activities