NITA SWEENEY
Using your five senses in meditation When you practice mindful movement meditation, the “experience” you choose to infuse with awareness and equanimity is made of real-time thoughts and body sensations. This chapter discusses body sensations including the five senses. I start with body sensations because they are easier for most
Qualities of sensation in meditation When I was learning to swim, many of the moments seemed “bad.” In truth, they were only unpleasant. But we humans tend to categorize experiences as good or bad. We go through each day thinking, “This is good. That’s bad,” on and on as we
The art of not drowning If I didn’t stay present, I would drown. At least that’s how it felt at age forty-nine as I crawled my way across a four-foot-deep Olympic pool. Determined to learn to swim before my fiftieth birthday, I’d signed up for lessons at a local health club.
Why do you bother to meditate? Pain (and that guy) brought me to meditation. Reduced suffering keeps me here. I combine principles from ancient Buddhist teachings with my own movement experience to implement mindful movement. And, I tried many other practices. I only named a few. They either put a
The real reason I “bother” meditating This is all lovely, but, really, why do you care so much? Because my attempts to create my reality, fake positive thinking, and be something I wasn’t nearly killed me. For nearly ten years I practiced law. I mostly excelled. I love research and
Foundations Many sources inform my practice. Formal meditation study Jacqueline Mandell (now Lama, Honorific Teacher) led the first weekend silent mindfulness retreat I attended at Grailville, in Cincinnati, Ohio, introducing me to formal retreat practice. I attended many retreats she led. About the same time, I picked up Bhante G.’s
Why did you first begin to meditate? There was this guy. On one of our early dates, he asked, “Wanna sit?” I shrugged. He set the microwave timer for five minutes and said, “Close your eyes. Notice your breath. Try not to fidget.” I did as he instructed, peeking at
Summary: How to meditate while you move How do you meditate while you move? Infuse the thoughts and body sensations (your experience) of movement with awareness (focus and concentration) and equanimity (a calm, curious mind). Here’s a recap: 0. Set an intention. 1. Choose a form of movement. 2. Choose
Meditation: No minimum requirement. Who Is This Practice For? Who should undertake this training? The great thing about mindful movement is that there’s no minimum requirement, no prerequisite, and no basic fitness level required. It also doesn’t matter if you have never meditated or never even heard of meditation. Anyone who
Safety first! I slammed hard into the bright white wall of the tai chi studio. A few years before I began to run, I took the Nia Technique white belt training. During one day of the course, our teacher instructed each of us trainees to free dance, moving spontaneously. When
