Home Practice
Spring 2023
Week 1
Formal Practice
AUDIO: YOGA NIDRA MEDITATION
Practice the Yoga Nidra meditation daily, guided by the recording.
Informal Practice
THEME: NOTICING THE WAVES OF LIFE’S ENERGIES
Spend a few minutes in the midst of daily life noticing the arising, cresting, and subsiding of life’s energies - perceived as sounds, sights, sensations, tastes, and smells - without attempting to alter these natural rhythms. Also rest into “I am” for a few moments.
Record your observations on the Week 1 calendar.
Week 2
Formal Practice
AUDIO: BREATH & SIMPLE BEING MEDITATION
Practice the Breath & Simple Being meditation daily and Yoga Nidra at least 5 times, guided by the recordings.
Informal Practice
THEME: RIDING THE WAVES OF ATTENTION
Spend a few moments in the midst of daily life discovering the wave-like pattern (arising, cresting, subsiding) of attention. Notice where attention is being drawn. Also knowingly connect with I Am/Simple Being/Presence as well as the breath periodically.
Record your observations on the Week 2 calendar.
Week 3
Formal Practice
AUDIO: BREATH THROUGH HEARING MEDITATION
Alternate daily between the Breath Through Hearing meditation and Yoga Nidra, guided by the recordings.
Also practice the Three Part Breath meditation during the day to soothe your nervous system.
Informal Practice
THEME: RIDING THE WAVES OF STRESS
If there are any times when you are feeling stressed in your daily life, see if you can ride some of the “stress waves” passing through - such as quicker/shallow breathing or muscles tightening - and also briefly reconnect with I am/Simple Being/Presence at that time. You might also notice which affliction seems most at play - ignoring Simple Being, separate self, fear/threat, attachment, or aversion.
Record your observations on the Week 3 calendar.
Week 4
Formal Practice
AUDIO: BREATH THROUGH SENSATIONS MEDITATION
Practice the Breath Through Sensations meditation most days and Yoga Nidra a few times, guided by the recordings.
Informal Practice
THEME: RIDING THE WAVES OF SENSATION
Spend a few moments each day discovering the arising, cresting, and subsiding of various types of sensations - touch, tingling, warm/cold, contraction/expansion, comfort/discomfort, etc.
Practice noticing sensation in a non-reactive way: note the geography, qualities, center/edges, and wave-like pattern of the sensation. Also, recognize the space around the sensation and the context in which it arises: Simple Being/I Am/Presence/Awareness. I have included a short recording guiding this process (below); once familiar, it is intended as something you can do on an informal basis without the recording.
You might also notice what happens if you gently welcome breath into or around difficult sensation for a few moments, with curiosity and the intention to support, as opposed to aversion/judgement.
Record your observations on the Week 4 calendar.
Week 5
Formal Practice
AUDIO: BREATH THROUGH SENSATIONS MEDITATION
Practice the Breath Through Sensations meditation most days and Yoga Nidra a few times, guided by the recordings.
Informal Practice
THEME: RIDING THE WAVES OF EMOTIONS
Spend a few moments each day discovering the arising, cresting, and subsiding of various types of emotions - glad, sad, mad, etc. When difficult-to-ride emotions arise, try out applying the emotion “cliff notes” (4 N’s):
Orient to Now
Notice the Emotion
Bring the Emotion Nearer: Feel it in the body (geography, qualities, center & periphery, mutable nature of emotional energy, and recognize the spaciousness of Presence/I Am/Simple Being/Awareness naturally welcoming the emotion)
Non-attachment: See the story but cease fueling it.
After applying the emotion “cliff notes,” when feeling particularly upset or emotional, try using the Extended Exhalation breath practice to support the nervous system. This can be done using the recording below until you are familiar with the practice or informally on your own.
Also, explore how love is at the center of troubling emotions. What person, thing, or idea do you love that feels threatened, lost, etc.? See if you can let the feeling of love mingle with the original emotion. Notice if this affects the tenor of the emotion and shifts the response.
Record your observations on the Week 5 calendar.
Week 6
Formal Practice
AUDIO: BREATH THROUGH THOUGHTS MEDITATION
Practice the Breath Through Thoughts meditation most days and Yoga Nidra several times.
Informal Practice
THEME: WATCHING THE WAVES OF THE MIND’S STORY
Spend a few moments each day noticing the difference between the actual events you are witnessing and the stories the mind weaves about the events. Try doing this under various circumstances - some easy, others stressful. Also briefly reconnect with Simple Being/Presence/Awareness/I Am at that time, recognizing this sense of Presence as that which observes and knows the mind’s story.
You might also explore “open eyes” meditation - taking in the visual field without engaging in narrative about what is seen.
Record your observations on the Week 6 calendar.
Week 7
Formal Practice
AUDIO: BREATH THROUGH THOUGHTS
Practice the Breath Through Thoughts meditation most days and Yoga Nidra several times.
Informal Practice
THEME: RIDING THE WAVES OF RELATIONSHIP
Spend a few moments each day recognizing reactivity/responsivity arising in body/heart/mind while interacting with “others.” Recognize there are no “others” - all exist 100% in consciousness and there is no “out there,” which is an imaginary boundary created by the mind that also exists in consciousness.
Week 8
Formal & Informal Practice
In this eighth week, your meditation practice transitions from our weekly meetings to the rest of your life. Whatever you have gained from this Know Thyself program, whatever you have learned about how to ride life’s ever changing waves - this truly is only the beginning!
Your meditation practice now becomes self directed. Continuing to practice regularly can allow for a gradual transformation in a very deep and rewarding way. Utilizing the skills you have developed, your homework is to keep up your practice and make it your own.
The guided meditation recordings are available to you indefinitely. You can choose to download them or continue visiting this page.
If you would like to read about what we have worked on, the Relax Into Yoga for Chronic Pain Workbook is a great resource. While the context of that program is different, the practices/teachings are similar and described in a very accessible way. There is also a wonderful library of meditation recordings that come with the book.
Please remember: Keeping up your informal practice - the integration of the teachings and practices into daily activities and interactions - is equally if not more important and can provide some of the richest learning for us all.
My wish is that the practice of meditation will continue to provide you with the growth and transformation it has given me and so many others. Remember, I am always only a message away should you have questions or need support in maintaining your practice!
“The work we do on ourselves, whether it is psychological or spiritual, is not meant to get rid of the waves in the ocean of life, but for us to learn how to surf.””
- Ken Wilbur