Category: meditation

home, meditation

Beginning: A Meditation to Take You Home

Christa Avampato

Yesterday I wrote a post about one of my students at New York Methodist Hospital. In it I referenced a meditation technique that taught, and I got some emails from readers asking if I could send the technique to them so they could practice it at home. For your reading and practicing pleasure on this fine Tuesday, here is a meditation to take you home. This meditation is also available as a podcast if you’d like to listen to it rather than read it. It lasts for 7 minutes.

Meditation to take you home
Come to a comfortable seat, either in a chair or on the floor. You could also be lying flat if that feels more comfortable to you.

Bring attention to the even inhale and exhale of your breath. Begin to arrive at a place that you treasure – a favorite vacation spot, your home – past or present, a place you go to regularly that brings you comfort. Maybe it’s a place you’ve never been to but dream to see. Let yourself go there. Slowly begin to trace your mind’s eye to take in a 360 degree view of where you are. With every inhale, bring more and more detail of the place into focus through the five senses.

What colors do you see? Is there vegetation or wild life nearby. Are there other people around? Are you in the company of others or are you alone? Is there activity happening or is there complete stillness?

What sounds do you hear? Are there voices of loved ones or the sounds of nature – a bird, maybe a pet whom you love. Is the wind blowing or the rain softly failing? Is there music, and is that music nearby or far off in the distance? Do you hear the sounds of ocean? Or is there no sound at all except the rising and the falling of your breath, the beating of your heart?

What scents are present? From flowers or fruit or the salty air. Maybe there’s that deep, rich scent of an ancient forest or the scent of rain. Maybe you’re baking a favorite food. Or is there a scent nearby that you associate with someone you love.

What do you taste? Is it just the clear air that you take in on every inhale or is there a strong flavor associated to this place memory? A favorite meal, a special gift made for you on a special occasion.

What are the tactile textures of your memory? Is there sand or water that you can touch? Is the sun shining on your face? Are you wearing a favorite outfit, and how does that fabric feel against your skin? Are there flowers or plants or rocks that you can glide your fingers along? Is it another person that you hug and can you allow yourself to actually feel that hug again as if it is happening right now, in this moment?

And now take all of that detail and bring it inside your heart. How does this place make you feel? Calm and peaceful? Adventurous and alive? Comfortable and safe? Allow yourself to really be present in that place, to take in each of its dimensions.

And now to slowly come out of the meditation, with every exhale allow the picture of this place to slowly fade, to softly recede into your memory where you can return to it at any time. Release it by counting backwards from 10 to 1. Slowly open the eyes and be thankful for the opportunity to have such a beautiful memory in your heart.

Namaste.

happiness, home, hope, meditation, yoga

Beginning: Finding Your Way

Christa Avampato

San Marino Island, Croatia. http://www.find-croatia.com
“Blessed is the person who finds what she’s meant to do with her life.” ~ Sonia, one of my meditation students at NY Methodist Hospital and a caregiver

I met Sonia at NY Methodist Hospital this past week during one of my meditation sessions in the Physical Rehab Unit. She is from Croatia and is now caring for her elderly mother. Her journey as a child refugee out of Croatia ultimately landed her in Park Slope Brooklyn, where she has lived ever since. That evening we took a traveling meditation in which we focused on a specific place as a point of concentration. Sonia emerged from the meditation with teary eyes and a peaceful heart. Though she has been in Brooklyn for so long, she misses her Croatia even now. Its beauty, its history, its people. “If you go through this life and never see Croatia, you are missing out,” she said. With that kind of endorsement, I dutifully added it to my list for future vacations.

We also got to talking about my work at the hospital. I told her about the transition I’m hoping to make, and surprised myself when I freely said, “I wish I could be doing the work I do here every day.” For some reason that statement made me both sad and glad. Glad that I had that kind of clarity, and sad that it is not yet my reality. Maybe Sonia sensed that wistfulness in me, because she offered up the simple quote at the top of this post. I may have offered her a meditation that night that allowed her to go home for a few moments, but she gave me much more of a lesson. To someone who’s lived a life of struggle, it seemed to her that my clarity of purpose was more than enough of a reason to be happy, to feel whole.

meditation, SXSW, yoga

Beginning: Summary of SXSW Presentation ‘Taming the Monkey Mind: Yoga and Creative Focus’

Christa Avampato

Being a presenter at SXSW was an incredibly exhilarating experience. I get a little teary eyed when I think about how awesome it was to be there. I cannot thank the dedicated SXSW team enough for all of their hard work and their generosity in having me be a part of such an incredibly talented group. It was humbling to be with such a creative set of people. I also owe a huge hug of gratitude to the 40 amazing people who attended the session at SXSW, and a special thanks to friends Amanda, Jordan, and Colleen for the personal support they offered before, during, and after the presentation. Namaste in the highest – the light that is in me honors the light that is in all of you. Thank you a million times over.

I presented on the topic of Taming the Monkey Mind: Yoga and Creative Focus. Here are some notes on the session, complete with references and links that I hope you will find helpful. As always, would love comments, ideas, suggestions, additions, questions, etc. Fire away!

Main points:
Awareness – This is the moment we so often miss. Yoga and meditation help us to be right where we are.

Thank you Albert Einstein, one of history’s great yogis: “It’s not that I’m smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Yoga and meditation help us sit with our challenges longer. This is how we get to our breakthrough ideas.

“Gut feeling” is rooted in intuition and in neurology. We actually have more nerve endings in our gut than we do in our brains. (Isn’t that crazy???) Prajna is the Sanskrit word for wisdom, the knowing before knowing. This is the philosophy of the gut.

When we sleep, the rational mind disconnects and that’s why we often have odd dreams that connect our thoughts and experience is strange ways. These strange connections are often what help us develop our creativity. They help us see things in new and different ways that we can’t when we are awake and active because our rational minds often block them. This is why sleep, rest, and idle time are so crucial to the creative process.

We have 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts per day. (This fact still shocks me!) And still, the quiet mind is actually always present within us. Yoga and meditation help us to clear away the frantic thoughts so we can experience the quiet.

Meditation practices:
Nadi Shodhana – this is a very powerful breath practice, pranayama, that helps to balance the body and the mind by closing off one nostril for a pull inhale and exhale and then switching to the other nostril. When first practicing it, it can feel a bit scary and the heart may race slightly. If that happens, just rest with both nostrils fully open. You can also open the closed off nostril slightly if that helps to ease the anxiety.

Awareness Breathing – Sit in a comfortable position, allow the palms to face up toward the sky with the back of the hand comfortably resting on the knees. (The Sanskrit word for hand positions are called mudras and this one is the mudra of receptivity.) Be aware of the sounds around you; allow them to just be. Feel your body resting into the Earth and the Earth supporting you in return. If after a few minutes, your mind still feels busy count “1” picturing the number one fading in with the inhale and fading out with the exhale. This method of counting “1” can also be practiced in Savasana (final relaxation posture at the end of a yoga practice) if you feel any anxiety about the yoga class ending and having to return to the outside world. Stay in this practice as long as you’d like. With practice you may find that you are able to sit for longer periods of time with a very clear mind and that the effects of the meditation stay with you for longer stretches of time after you complete your practice.

Other practices to enhance your creativity:
Dimitri, one of the awesome SXSW volunteers and an attendee of our SXSW session asked what else he could try in addition to yoga and meditation to enhance his creativity. Beyond yoga and meditation, these are some other practices that may help you find more peace and tranquility which in turn will help you hone your creativity further:

Kirtans – I started going to kirtans as part of my yoga teacher training. Kirtans are gatherings of people who sing and play percussion instruments, many of them of Indian origins. You can join in the music (it’s very much an improvisation) or just be there as a silent observer, however you feel most comfortable. I’ve found kirtans to be truly transformative and healing events. I highly recommend giving them a try. To find one near you, just do a Google search of “kirtan + [the city or town you live in]”

Pilates – Pilates is a physical practice that focuses on strengthening our core abdominal muscles. The chakra, or energy center, within our core is the seat of our creativity and strengthening this area of the body has a wonderful effect on our creativity. Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates in the 1920’s and has its roots in yoga.

Writing / Journaling – It’s been said that all burdens can be bourn if you can put them into a story. Whenever I am upset about something or at a loss of how to proceed, I find that writing out the problem helps to release my anxiety about the situation and clears my mind. This practice may help you as well. Try it and see if it works for you, too.

Nia – Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that leads to health, wellness and fitness. It empowers people of all shapes and sizes by connecting the body, mind, emotions and spirit. For more info on a class near you, check out http://www.nianow.com/

References:
The Journey from the Center of the Page (Thanks, Amanda!)
Breath Pacer iPhone app (Thanks, Veronica!)
Stretch: The Making of a Yoga Dude (Thanks, Neil!)
New York Zen Center from Contemplative Care
Books on Chinese Medicine by Dr. Nan Lu OMD have extensive information on the mind-body connection as well as the intelligence of the body

fear, free, health, meditation, yoga

Beginning: Meditate on Breath

Christa Avampato

“We all die on the exhale.” ~ Robert Chodo Campbell, HHC

On Sunday I wrote a post the opening meditation session of the Integrative Healthcare Symposium that was run by Robert Chodo Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison, two Buddhist monks who co-founded and co run the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. I learned so much in their hour presentation and am looking forward to taking some classes at the center and learning from them. (Rest assured that I’ll be sharing all of that on this blog!)

Our closing breath practice was very simple, similar to the opening. Chodo asked us to close our eyes and breathe. On the inhale, he asked us to send love to every person around the world who was drawing their very first breathe of life at that very moment. On the exhale, he asked us to send compassion and love to every person letting go of their very last breath. “We all die on the exhale,” he said. And it wasn’t the least bit morbid; it was just a fact. It is one of the things that binds all of us together. The exhale is every life’s very last act.

This caused to wonder what it means then for us to master the exhale. If we gain that mastery, then can we also master the great transition that we’ll all make in our own time. When we learn to master the exhale, have we also learned how to release? And if we can truly release, can we finally free ourselves from any fear?

calm, care, clarity, commitment, community, healthcare, meditation, silence, simplicity, yoga

Beginning: The Moment We Miss

Christa Avampato

“The moment we most often miss is this one.” ~ Robert Chodo Campbell, HHC

My heart is still singing from the Integrative Healthcare Symposium I attended on Friday. It felt so good, so nourishing to be in the company of so many people who think about health and wellness as a spiritual and a physical journey. I found confirmation in my beliefs that have largely been from my gut as medical doctors from the world-class medical facilities such as Beth Israel and top research universities presented their research and advocated for a more holistic approach to heathcare in the US.

We started Monday morning with a presentation by Robert Chodo Campbell and Koshin Pauley Ellison, two Buddhist Monks who co-founded and co-manage the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. We did some meditation exercises that have given me weeks worth of material for this blog and for ideas for my SXSW session that is coming up in Austin next week. They shared stories about their work as the co-directors of Contemplative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center, where I’m hoping to do some type of volunteer / intern work.

One of the lines that really hit me was Chodo’s quote above. We are constantly trying to get somewhere. This is not a new revelation. They actually joked about the idea that nothing they teach is revolutionary – it’s ancient wisdom. And still, as often as we hear it, we don’t always take the idea into our hearts. There is still so much opportunity to improve our awareness, to cultivate more gratitude.

They counseled us to take a breath, a full, conscious, beautiful breath several times throughout the day. When we finish a phone call, take a breath. When we complete a task we’ve been concentrating on, take a breath. And when our thoughts are racing by us, close the eyes and count 1. No complicated mantra needed. Just focus on counting to 1, over and over again until the racing mind, the monkey mind, calms down.

There’s a lot of beauty, a lot of blessing, right now in this moment. In every moment. Take it in; it’s yours.

I love the beauty and simplicity of the image above. It appears on the NY Zen Center’s website.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

calm, clarity, happiness, harmony, meditation, yoga

Beginning: The Zen in You

Christa Avampato

This image is available at http://tinyurl.com/4scqgge
“The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up.” ~ Robert Persin via @Urban_Zen

During my yoga teacher training, my teacher Tracy would talk a lot about focus. One of my classmates asked her when we would know that we had tamed our “monkey minds”. She replied, “when you can meditate at a bus stop in Delhi.” We laughed. She didn’t; she was quite serious.

In that moment I started to think about different groups of people who could benefit from yoga if only they had access to affordable, conveniently located classes. It became clear to me that I truly wanted to provide yoga to underserved populations.

I came to yoga after a particularly difficult struggle with insomnia and anxiety. It took quite some time to crack the code because I didn’t really have a guide in the process. I had to figure it out on my own. Now that I’m healed, I want to be the guide to others that I wish I had when I started my practice.

I only have one thing to teach, and it’s simple though not easy. Robert Presin captures it beautifully in the quote above. You have everything you need. All the answers. All the abilities. All the knowledge. It lives in your gut. You know what you need to be well and whole. You don’t need to go somewhere else. You don’t need a new job or a new relationship or a new home. You don’t need anything except what sits within you now, at this very moment. Allow it to be.

We desperately seek happiness, peace, and harmony. We scurry around looking for it in every far-reaching corner. Just stop and sit. Close the eyes, draw the breath in, and then release it. You don’t need some fancy techniques or even the vocabulary to describe what’s happening. Just sit, breath, and be. Don’t perform. Don’t try to make an impression. Just watch and feel the breath.

This is the only practice that matters. Once you master it, once you can be fully present, the peace and happiness you want so much is readily and plentifully available whenever you want it, wherever we are. On top of mountains and at over-crowded bus stops. Your peace travels with you.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

art, children, creativity, dogs, meditation, yoga

Beginning: 3 Way to Get Fresh Eyes

Christa Avampato

“To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.” ~ George Kneller

How many times have you caught yourself saying, aloud or to yourself, “well, that’s just the way it is”? It’s a dangerous phrase, though entirely understandable when we are in the throes of frustration or disappointment. I’ve made a career out of busting up that phrase and trying to help others banish it from their thought patterns. I’m all for getting inside a system and learning its inner workings, but once I learn a system the tinkering begins. I get a kick out of seeing how my re-arranging of the rules, no matter how long-standing those rules are, can improve a system.

If you’ve been in a system for a long-time, whether that system is a job, a relationship, the city where you live, it can be a challenge to find joy, to think creatively about any challenges, to make it feel new again. Here are 3 ways to take George Keller’s advice and freshen up your eyes and mind.

1.) Yoga and meditation. (You knew that was coming, right?) No yoga practice, class, or even posture is ever the same experience twice for teachers or students. There is always nuance. Our bodies are different every day – literally. Our rate of cell turnover is tremendous. Some scientific studies say that every month all of our cells – every single one – is entirely new. That means you’re physically a new person every month. And since a yoga and meditation practice often begins in the body, then those practices must be new every time. Embrace the change from your practice, and you’ll be able to embrace change in other areas of your life. That’s yoga’s whole purpose.

2.) Check out the world with a dog or a child. Their eyes are new every day, and their literal and figurative perspective, is very different from that of adults. They are open to the world in ways that we are entirely closed off. We have a lot to learn from them. My nieces, Lorelei and Aubree, and my dog, Phin, show me new ways of thinking whenever I’m with them.

3.) Take in some art. We’re blessed in New York City is have the most incredible art, music, and performance landscape in the world. There is art in some form for every taste. Artists are constantly reinvesting themselves. Their livelihood depends upon reinvention. Let them inspire you to do some reinvention of your own.

This blog is part of the 2011 WordPress Post Every Day Challenge.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

meditation, yoga

Beginning: Free 21-day Meditation Challenge With The Chopra Center

Christa Avampato

Earlier this month I heard Dr. Deepak Chopra speak about his new book, The Soul of Leadership. I was so inspired by that talk that I noodled around on his website for a good, long time and eventually found my way to his posting about his free 21-day Meditation Challenge. I’ve been participating in the 21-day Yoga Challenge with Yoga Journal and have found it to be incredibly beneficial to my practice and my teaching. I am certain that this 21-day Meditation Challenge will do the same.

If you’ve ever wanted to give meditation a try, been facing some difficulties setting up a regular mediation practice, or have a regular practice that you want to strengthen, let’s give this a try together and see what we find. It kicks off tomorrow, January 24th, and includes daily, guided meditations with davidji, the master meditation teacher and dean of Chopra Center University. All of the meditations are online so you can participate no matter where you live. All you need is an internet connection and a quiet place to sit and be. Sign up here.

This blog is part of the 2011 WordPress Post Every Day Challenge.

guest blogger, health, meditation, wellness, yoga

My Guest Post on Betterfly Today: Overcoming Insomnia with Yoga and Meditation

Christa Avampato

Lauren Margolis, blog maven over at Betterfly, a community of individual Betterists who help you look, feel, and live your best life. Lauren reached out to me after reading my blog and asked if I’d write a guest post for the Betterfly blog. I jumped at the chance to share my story about how yoga, meditation, and some additional evening rituals help me to unwind and get a good night’s sleep after years of insomnia.

Check out the guest post here. I also have a Betterist profile on Betterfly. It’s free to create a profile and search for coaches and instructors of all kinds on Betterfly – come visit us!

books, leadership, meditation, yoga

Beginning: Deepak Chopra and The Soul of Leadership

Christa Avampato

This post is also available as a podcast on Cinch and on iTunes.

“You are the mighty ocean in the drop.” ~ Rumi

“Leaders need to be reminders to their people of their own dreams.” ~ Dr. Deepak Chopra

On Monday night I attended an event put on by Inc Magazine at the Morgan Stanley headquarters. Dr. Chopra has written a new book, The Soul of Leadership: Unlocking Your Potential for Greatness. Yes, it’s an insightful read if you’re a CEO though it’s equally as helpful for those who see themselves as the CEO of their own lives, which is to say it’s a book for everyone.

There was so much information delivered in the hour-long event that I’m still processing a good deal of it for future posts. The quotes above are the ones that keep coming to the surface of my thoughts. It’s so easy to just imagine that we are only one small soul is a vast sea. Rumi, in his endlessly comforting words, says no, you, just as you are, have within in you as much potential as that vast sea. Your contributions, thoughts, ideas, and dreams matter a great deal. Your dreams, give rise to the dreams of others, and when living your dreams, you are inspiring others to do the same. Like passing a candle, your light gives light to others.

As Dr. Chopra continued to talk about the need for a wisdom-based society and the need to return to our role as human beings instead of human doings, he advocated for meditation and yoga. He talked about the need to stop the inner dialogue so that the wise creativity within us will spontaneously rise to the surface. The wisdom we need already lies within us if only we will quiet the mind long enough to hear it. This idea made me see meditation and yoga not as just healthy rituals, but as a necessary practice for reaching our own potential.

The idea I kept returning to was one of connection. We are now all linked across oceans and continents in a closer, more intimate way than we have ever been before. We will only grow closer as technology becomes more sophisticated and wide-spread. How we run our lives and our communities has great impacts in every other corner of the world. “No karmic debt ever goes unpaid. It is the only perfect accounting system,” Dr. Chopra said. How we treat each other, inspire each other, and encourage each other could mean a better world for all of us. And if we don’t nuture one another, then the consequences are dire. Our connection to one another will be our demise or our savior, and that outcome is largely determined by us.

This blog is part of the 2011 WordPress Post Every Day Challenge.