Discovering Meditation in small stages - 3 Audio Recordings attached.

10.11.23 

 

Discovering Meditation

 

If I can define meditation in the simplest way, I would say meditation is ‘being in the space in between our thoughts.’ 

 

Meditation is no ‘easy’ task when we have over 70 000 thoughts a day.  This is why I stepped todays class through a 3-stage process, in preparation for a brief meditation experience. Below is an explanation of each of these stages I taught and why these techniques are great preparation for potent stillness. 

 

Stage 1.

 

It is more challenging to meditate with lots of tension in the body, so the first step is to let go of the extra holding that we may not even be aware of. This is done by noticing the body and slightly moving each area, or tensing and releasing each body part. (Starting at the feet, legs, spine and then the belly as we breathe. Open and close the hands, stretch the arms, lift and drop the shoulders, carefully stretch the neck and face.)

 

Stage 2.

 

Secondly, we can begin to be more aware of our breathing patterns. Simply notice the coolness of the inhalation and warmth of the exhalation to begin with. You might like to count the length of the in breath and compare it to the out breath. Gradually, with guidance, we can begin to expand this breath. For now, simply noticing is enough. 

 

Is there a flow to your breath? Can you release a little extra tension on the exhalation? 

 

 

 Stage 3.

The next fun stage of meditation preparation is visualisation or using the imagination. This is another way we can gently draw our attention to a place of our choice. 

 

As I mentioned in the class, you don’t want those 70 000 thoughts shifting and changing too much but it’s natural for this to be happening if we have a lot of responsibilities, worries or stress when our sympathetic nervous system is activated. 

 

*Each of these stages can calm body, mind and emotions. In calming these areas our thoughts naturally settle and thoughts can become more manageable. During stage 3 we tap into how it feels to be in one of our favourite outdoor spaces. I asked the class to name how this place might make you feel. We came up with ‘energetic, fresh, at peace, nourished and grounded.’

 

With that in mind I asked the class to close their eyes and imagine their favourite outdoor area and how it felt to be there. We tried to visualise the landscape in detail. 

 

*It is so natural to get distracted during any of these exercises. The key is to accept distracted thought as very normal. Simply notice the new area you are focusing on and try to return to thinking about the landscape again. Over time you will improve. Some days it feels effortless to focus on what you want and other days, near impossible. 

 

On the days when your mind feels settled you might move into a minute or two of silence – this is where meditation begins. 

Audio by Nel STAGE 1 - Releasing Tension 

Recording By Nel - Releasing Tension

 

Audio by Nel STAGE 2 - Breath Awareness

Recording by Nel - Simple breath awareness

Audio by Nel STAGE 3 - Visualisation and Meditation 

Recording by Nel - Visualising Landscape and Meditation

Kind Regards

Narelle Hunter

Instagram Narelle.hunter (DM me there if you have any questions)