Keep 3 Technical Points In Focus:
- Draw energy into and expand away from the midline of the body in all poses.
- Be aware of the movement and rotation of your spinal column and initiate the movement in all poses from the center.
- In all twists, follow these guidelines:
- Stabilize your foundation as you twist, especially on the side you are turning away from.
- Work in two phases coordinated with your breathing: create space and length on the inhalation move on the exhalation.
Why You Should Try It
Practicing kindness is one of the most direct routes to happiness: Research suggests that kind people tend to be more satisfied with their relationships and with their lives in general. We all have a natural capacity for kindness, but sometimes we dont take steps to nurture and express this capacity as much as we could.
Loving-kindness meditation is a great way to cultivate our propensity for kindness. It involves mentally sending goodwill, kindness, and warmth towards others by silently repeating a series of mantras.
Exercise Number 1 The Beach
Begin by closing your eyes and taking some long, slow deep breaths. Take at least 3-4 breaths. Now imagine yourself walking on the beach. Try and use all of your senses and see, feel, and hear things. Feel the sun on your skin, and listen for the sound of the waves. Imagine the brilliant blue water and how nice and white the sand is.
As you walk, you might even pick up some small shells or enjoy the feel of the ocean water on your feet. Taste the saltwater on your tongue and enjoy the experience. Stay here as long as you like, and immerse yourself in the experience.
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Two Minute Guided Meditation Script To Help Your Clients Find Calm
- I invite you to take a deep breath and when you’re comfortable, begin to close your eyes .
- I wonder if you would take a moment to imagine yourself being more calm, peaceful and focused .
- And as you allow your unconscious mind to naturally conjure an image of what that would feel like consider what you might be seeing , hearing and what you might be feeling that shows you are more calm, peaceful and focused .
- And perhaps you are already feeling more calm, peaceful and focused .
- If not, notice that your unconscious mind can reveal how you might do this .
- Now, maybe you can think of a simple way to incorporate this feeling of calm into your life in the days and weeks ahead .
- And after you have done that, know that it really can be this easy to create a little more peace and calm in your life .
- So, I invite you now to take a breath for a moment, and begin to move your attention back to the room, listening to the sounds around you and begin to open your eyes .
- So, how was that? What did you learn?
This 2 minute guided meditation script uses Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP techniques to allow the client to imagine for themselves what calm will look like – and how to bring this into their lives.
Grounding Practice With The Moon
Allow all the worries and thoughts youve amassed during the day to float away from you on the night breeze. Feel every thought that angered or upset you roll up into a ball and roll away from you as easily as it came.
Stand or sit in this place and look around you. Find the moon in your sky and begin to pay attention to it. Note the subtle differences between the moon you see and the one you expected to see. Is this one fuller? Or perhaps brighter? Notice these differences and accept them. Acknowledge that the only time you are alive in is now. Not the one you imagined, not the one that will be. You are alive now and this is the moon that exists in your time. This is your moon.
Whatever you wished for is in the past, whatever might come is in the future. Tomorrows moon will be different, as different as yesterdays was. And the only time youre alive is now.
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Yoga And Meditation Schedule For Fall 2021
Classes start September 7th, 2021 and run until December 14th, 2021!
Most classes will be conducted via Zoom this semester.
Please note that classes will not be held on September 6th, October 11th, or November 25th-26th, 2021.
Come back for our Special Finals Schedule starting December 15th, 2021.
Meditation Schedule
The type of meditation we practice involves simple but not always easy! breath and awareness exercises that bring our attention to the present moment. We learn to relax and rejuvenate our bodies, look inward with more insight and wisdom, and cultivate greater compassion for ourselves and others.
Looking for a student led meditation experience? Check out our Student Groups at MindfulNYU!
Mondays at 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM ET, Practicing Awareness Meditation with Kim Thai
This meditation class will be focusing on one thing bringing awareness to your breath. Through the cycle of our inhales and exhales, if we are able to bring our attention to our breath, we are able to be more attuned to not only our body, but also ourselves. This class will help you either start or deepen a meditation practice through this simple act of mindfulness.
Zoom link:
Yoga Schedule
Mondays at 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM ET, Embodied Vinyasa with Amanda Gloria Valdes
Short Script For Mental Clarity
Bring awareness to the right hand.
Notice each finger of the right hand.
Touch thumb to index finger…thumb to middle finger…thumb to fourth finger…thumb to pinkie finger…thumb to fourth finger…thumb to middle finger…thumb to index finger. Relax the hand. Relax the fingers. Notice the left hand.
Notice each finger of the left hand.
Touch left thumb to index finger…thumb to middle finger…thumb to fourth finger…thumb to pinkie finger…thumb to fourth finger…thumb to middle finger thumb to index finger. Relax the hand.
Feel the connection between your body and the floor.
Notice each point that connects your body to the floor.
Begin to feel the heaviness of the body sinking into the floor.
Now come to notice the breath. Feel the belly rise and fall. Feel the chest rise and fall.
Begin to feel the lightness of the body as you bring awareness to your breath. The body is completely relaxed. The mind is completely aware. The body is feeling light.
Bring awareness to the toes. Feel the toes on the right foot. Envision your toes attached to your left foot. Left big toe…fourth toe…third toe…second toe…pinkie toe. The left foot. The heel. The sole of the foot. The ankle. The whole of the left foot. The right foot. Right big toe…fourth toe…third toe…second toe…pinkie toe. The right foot. The heel. The sole of the foot. The ankle. The whole of the right foot. Both feet together.
Feel the lightness of the whole body together.
Relax.
Open your eyes.
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End Your Yoga Class With Restorative Yoga Poses
The majority of yoga classes are quite active classes aimed at building heat and increasing strength and flexibility by moving through a variety of different poses. However, when the body is moving at full-speed, the mind is running as well. To calm body and mind down, its a good idea to end a yoga class with some slower paced movements.
Restorative yoga poses are perfect poses to practice before Savasana since they help to find physical and mental balance and can thereby reduce stress and anxiety. The use of props such as bolsters, blocks, and blankets allows practitioners to hold the poses for a longer period of time, thus providing all the benefits of deep and passive stretching.
Kat Fowler doing a restorative yoga pose on TINT.
Due to the long holds, the muscles can relax deeply, which is a good way to counteract the more active part of the yoga practice and a perfect antidote to stress. Restorative yoga poses are all about slowing down and opening the body
A restorative yoga sequence at the end of a yoga class does not have to include more than five or six yoga poses to practice before Savasana. Restorative yoga poses include gentle twists, forward folds, and back bends, which are mainly practiced seated.
Grounding Practice With The Sun
Sit or stand, whichever feels more comfortable to you. You can keep your eyes open or close them, whichever allows you more focus. Position yourself in a place with lots of sun. By doing this, you are leaving the shadows behind you and are allowing yourself to step into the light.
Gently, push away any other worries, tasks or thoughts and bring your awareness to the warmth of the sun on your skin. Specifically, focus on how the sunlight feels on your chest. Take a moment to really explore the sensation. Where does it feel particularly warm?
As you sit in the sun, imagine this warmth in your chest beginning to grow, expanded by the glorious sunlight. As it grows, the heat filters through the rest of your body, into your heart and through your belly. Gradually, it fills your every pore and strengthens it. Allows you to stand a little taller and a little brighter. When the sun has filled every last inch of your body, continue through your day and know with each step that the sun is there to guide you.
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Script With Guided Imagery For Mental Control
Take a slow, deep inhale and a complete exhale.
As you begin awareness of your breath, start to notice what thoughts are going through your mind.
What are you thinking about?
Do not get caught up in your thoughts, but just begin to notice them as they travel across your mind. Let them go as they pass, and watch them come and go.
Continue to breathe deeply.
I will begin to describe settings. Allow your mind to jump immediately to those settings. Let your mind be free to travel, and do not become attached to any one setting or image. You are a traveler jumping from place to place in your mind. Now we will begin.
Now take a slow, deep inhale.
Long, complete exhale.
Find awareness of your breath. Total awareness in your breathing. Notice the inhale. Notice the exhale.
Begin to feel the belly expand with each inhale. Feel the belly contract with each exhale.
Feel the breath coming in through the nostrils and filling the lungs. Feel the breath exiting through the nostrils as the lungs deflate.
Relax the breath.
Relax the breath.
Find a feeling of heaviness in the body. Feel the heaviness. Feel each part of your body, from the toes to the top of the head become heavy. You are so heavy that you sink into the floor. Find that awareness. Feel the heaviness.
Now move into the experience of pain. Concentrate on the feeling of pain, emotional pain. Physical pain. Become aware of that pain. Sit with this feeling of pain.
Now come back to your breath.
Open your eyes.
Meditation Worksheet #1 How To Quiet Your Mind In The Midst Of Chaos
Step One: Focus on the Breath
Notice your state of being by focusing on your breath. What can your breath tell you about how you are feeling? For example, you might be feeling calm, grounded, energized or even agitated. Write down how you are feeling as you focus on your breath.
Step Two: Develop a Sense of Gratitude
List some things you feel grateful for in this moment. You can be grateful for many things including your health, friendships, financial security, relationships, abundance, etc. What do you feel grateful for?
Step Three: Set an Intention
The next step involves setting an intention for the day. This might include setting the intention to be present, to feel grounded or to remain calm during a challenging situation. List an intention or intentions for the day.
Step Four: Let Go
Ask yourself what you are holding onto that no longer serves you? List some worries or some things you can let go off. For example, you can let go of the need to be liked, the need to be perfect or let go of the constant tendency to worry. What can you let go of?
This worksheet is similar to the meditation worksheet you can download at Quartner & Associates.
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A Guided Script Can Help You
These scripts can be adapted to fit your own personality, using language you find comfortable. Practicing meditation for even just a few minutes a day can help with mental clarity, bringing about a feeling of calmness and centeredness.
Meditation techniques vary from person to person, but using a guided script for meditation can help demystify the practice and also ease you into regularity. Use these scripts as a jumping-off point to explore your technique. Then find your personal practice. If find you need change direction, you can always come back to a script.
The Real Beginning Of A Yoga Class
While you might like to think class starts when youve finished checking everyone in, and the door to the yoga room officially closes, the reality is that it starts well before that for your students. Thus, the timing of your actions can be a powerful way in which you facilitate a feeling of belongingness for those in your class. This can enhance their thoughts and emotions of you, and of yoga as a whole. Plus, it can be a valuable building block to keep your yoga business growing.
Here are some simple ways you can connect with your students BEFORE you begin to lead the class:
Arrive early
This way you can be organized, confident and centered before students show up.
Clear the yoga space
Ring a gong or singing bell to clear the area with sound, or light a sage smudge stick to alleviate smells.
Adjust the light
What mood do you want to set with class? Do you want to get the class energized? Do you want them calm from the get-go? The amount of light you set initially will set the tone without even saying a word.
Select the sound
Again, you decide whether music will be playing or not when students arrive. This will give an indicator of your energy levels, as well as your intentions for theirs. If you choose to play music, make sure it suits the time of day, type of class, and focus for your class. By doing this, you will create a sense of congruence with you and your students before you even open your mouth. .
Ask Questions
Offer your time for conversation
Start class on time
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How To Start A Yoga Class: The Power Of Beginnings
Many conversations today are focused on the HOW-TOs of yoga, such as how to build a yoga business, how to relate to students, or how to create a sequence of poses with purpose and safety. While this article is titled how to start a yoga class, were really going to dive into the importance of beginnings, and why its essential to leverage the newness in those time periods to provide maximum impact for your students.
Thanks to the book WHEN, by Daniel Pink, the author uncovers the hidden science of timing. Pink explores a wide array of topics, and shares enough scientific data to make your eyes go cross. To simplify matters, Ill share some of his notes below and add some very specific applications and insights of timing for the yoga world.
Photo Credit: Bex White
Grounding Practice On The Earth
Take time to make yourself comfortable where you sit today. If your hands are on the earth, take a moment to feel it, the texture, the temperature, everything about it. Become aware of what supports you. Then close your eyes and straighten your back. Allow your thighs to grow heavy and your chin to be high. Remember you are worthy.
With your hands either in your lap or still on the ground, feel the earth rise up to meet your body and hold it. Become aware of the sturdiness of the earth beneath and visualize it as it rises up and supports each aspect of you. As you sit up a little straighter, imagine the earths strength traveling up along your sacrum, up across the spine, steadying it, reinforcing it.
Become aware that every day of your life, the earth has been here to catch you. Remind yourself that for each day that is to come, the earth will be here to catch you. Now open your eyes.
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Exercise Number 3 Forest Trail
This is a great exercise to do for stress relief. Imagine yourself walking on a trail in the forest. Hear the sticks and twigs crackling under your feet as you walk and smell the mustiness of the environment.
As you walk, notice how good you feel. Feel the sun on your skin and smell the flowers and plants. You could even stop and sit on a log and see what else you notice. Take as much time as you need to rest and relax. For a bonus, see if you can picture yourself sitting in front of a beautiful, serene lake.
The more you visualize, the easier it gets. Try some visualization work the next time you have an important goal to work on, and you might be surprised at how well it works!
Beginner Yoga Sequence For Teachers
Just because you enjoy complicated yoga sequences in your personal practice doesnt mean you should attempt to teach this way. Most students enjoy and benefit from more straight forward sequences where they can focus on the present moment instead of trying to keep up.
A beginners yoga class sequence might include fewer postures repeated more frequently. Build the sequence in a way that lets your student intuitively move from one position to the next.
If youre looking for ideas, most bigger yoga studios have beginner yoga sequences that rarely change. Take a few beginner classes around town for inspiration.
Pro tip: a yoga sequence for beginners allows the teacher to focus more on the space their holding, giving dharma, and adjusting students.
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