Newsletter - June 2011

Brighten up your winter: Sunday meditation workshop

Step out from your winter hibernation and nurture yourself during a meditation and relaxation workshop on Sunday 26 June. It goes from 11am – 1pm.

You will emerge from this gentle ‘you’ time, feeling revitalised, motivated, positive and calm. 

The workshop is ideal for beginners and for anyone wishing to nurture themselves into a beautiful 'inner space'. 

The workshop will include relaxation techniques, mindfulness meditation practices with its focus on the present moment and also a creative visualisation segment. As always, the focus is on making meditation easy and enjoyable.

Class numbers are limited so you enjoy a personal and caring approach during this delightful session.

EARLY BIRD OFFER: Enrol and pay by 12 June: $45
After that date, the cost is $55.

Brighten up your winter – and meditate is at the Caulfield School of Yoga, 101 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield.

For details, phone Eileen 0407 881 285 or go toContact Us.

Meditation in the workplace

You’ll notice the difference when you incorporate meditation in the workplace for staff health and wellbeing programs.

The health and wellbeing benefits of meditation are well documented. Meditation promotes a clear and calm mind, improves concentration, enhances creativity and creates harmony and balance within the body and mind.

In the workplace, such benefits translate to:

~ Skillful and effective decisions and actions

~ Handling stressful situations more effectively

~ Staying focused in challenging situations

~ Feeling more energetic

~ Being more confident and happy

De-stress at Your Desk, Meditation for Ultimate Wellness, Creating Calmness and Sleep Soundly are among the workshop themes available.

All theoretical concepts introduced are based on research evidence.

Session times can be adapted to your requirements, from 30 minutes to half-day workshops.

For details, phone Eileen 0407 881 285 or go to Contact Us

Just relax your breath

Your breath is always the barometer to how you are feeling.

If you are rushing through life with thoughts tumbling through your mind, drop your attention to how you are breathing – it may well be shallow, quick movements from the chest.  Such tight breathing translates into tension in your upper body so by the end of the day, your body is tired and aching.

In contrast, a relaxed breath from the abdomen will gently nurture your body through the day.

Discover how you are breathing

~ Lie down and close your eyes.

~ Place one hand on your abdomen at your waist and the other hand on your chest.

~ Then simply notice how you are breathing. As you inhale, become aware of which hand rises higher.

~ If your abdomen expands more, you are creating the soft breath by breathing from your abdomen.

~ If your chest moves more, you are breathing from this area.

Make the change to abdominal breathing by:

~ Sighing a couple of times so the out-breaths push out the air from the bottom of your lungs.

~ Then the space is ready for a deep breath from the diaphragm.

~ Now notice how your body starts to soften.

As you move through your day, keep creating the relaxed breath.

You can easily tap into the relaxed breath when:

~ Sitting and working at the computer

~ Driving or walking

~ Waiting in a queue

~ Sitting with friends and work colleagues

~ Before and during presentations

~ When dealing with a challenging client

Of course, the more often you bring the ‘relaxed breath’ into your life, the quicker it becomes automatic and you enjoy the health benefits that flow when you have less tension and tiredness in your body and mind.

Mind-body connection

I should have known better when I stayed up working to midnight at the computer and then was at the screen again by 6am the next day. It was all in the name of being ahead of some deadlines.

On the flip side, I felt fantastic. Writing at those quiet hours is amazing creatively. I remember when I did those late night stints. But I should have left that practice back in the past, where it belonged.

Within 24 hours, the signs were there that l had placed my body under stress. Of course, there are a lot of colds and flu going around. However, stress is the trigger that impacts on the immune system making you more prone to infections and other bugs roaming around.

According to Dr Herbert Benson of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in America, stress can cause or worsen numerous common ailments, including hypertension, anxiety, depression, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome and headaches.

He says when you elicit the relaxation response, this does not change the stress itself but protects your body against the harmful effects of stress so you feel better and less anxious or depressed or angry.

All it takes is 10 minutes to just relax – and let go of your day.

Simply tell yourself - 'let go'

Positive affirmations are a powerful way for creating a more relaxed ‘you’ so you tackle life with clarity and calmness – and a generous dose of enthusiasm.

The affirmation ‘let go’ is one of my favourites. Like any affirmation, you have to feel it and fully experience what you are telling yourself.

Those two simple words – 'let go' – can apply in several ways. ‘Let go’ can be directed to your breath to make it slow down, to your body so it softens and eases out tightness, and to your mind so you ease out the thoughts and busyness of your day.

Making 'let go' part of your life

~ Sit in a quiet place and create a relaxed breath

~ As you breathe in, feel your abdomen expand gently and the slight movement in your chest

~ On the out-breath, tell yourself, ‘Let go’ and really become aware of the feeling of letting go.

~ Enjoy following each in-breath – and on the out-breath become aware of how your breath and body start to soften, and your mind becomes a little quieter.

To create the desired effect, you have to take it slowly, keep focused on your breath and body as you breathe, and also believe in what you are saying.

When you take the time to ‘let go’, you create space in your mind so you come from a point of balance and calmness, enabling you to act rather than react when life becomes challenging.

You only need a couple of minutes to enjoy the benefits.

Other happenings

A special place

A special shop to explore for New Age books and CDs, and a beautiful range of cards is Awakenings Card & Bookshop in Hawthorn.

Owner Lena shares her knowledge and warmth so generously. You may like to check out more at: www.awakeningscardandbookshop.com.au

Move with ease into yoga

Interested in discovering what yoga is all about?

Michel from the Caulfield School of Yoga draws upon almost 30 years experience in sharing her passion and adopting yoga practices to the needs of her students. Phone Michel on 0403 939 666 for details about her day classes.

For evening sessions, Lauren has recently moved her classes to this venue. Her classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 6pm - 7.15pm. Contact Lauren on 0438 254 266.

The Caufield School of Yoga is at 101 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield.

Meditation Pathways gift voucher

Give the beautiful gift of meditation.

This is ideal for family or friends keen to discover the health and wellbeing benefits of meditation for the first time or if they wish to continue the meditation journey.

For more details, phone Eileen 0407 881 285 or go to Contact Us

Simple ideas to inspire you

For weekly hints about stress-free living and simple ways to journey to health and wellbeing, follow Meditation Pathways on Facebook.

Please click on the link below and ‘like’ my page and please pass on this link to your friends who wish to enjoy optimum health and wellbeing

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Meditation-Pathways/169174019804403

Meditation Pathways News

If this is the first time that you have read the Meditation Pathways newsletter and you would like to receive future editions, please go to Contact Us.

Enjoy your meditation journey
Eileen