How to Practice Mindfulness Meditation

There are many different meditation techniques available but we will use our body and breath as the focal point for this practice.  Bringing our awareness to the body and the breath is a well-tested method of developing concentration.  As a meditation and yoga teacher Swami Janakandana explains:

‘To feel and experience your own body is a fundamental and natural basis for meditation and relaxation...To be conscious about natural or automatic breath is a meditation technique.’ 

Feeling our body and breath helps to settle the minds and encourage us to feel grounded.

Body & Breath Meditation

What you may need:

• Chair or cushion

• Timer (you can use your phone but switch it to silent)

• Pen and paper – we will record how you are after the practice

You can sit on a chair, on a cushion or on the floor. Sit with your spine straight and make sure that your weight feels even throughout the body. Keep your chest opened and your shoulders relaxed. It’s possible to practice lying down but there’s a danger that you might fall asleep so try to stay vigilant and relaxed. 

Set your timer for 10 to 20 minutes. You can start with 10 minutes and gradually increase to 20 minutes over time. I recommend that you use a nice sound so that it’s not alarming when it rings. 

Start to feel your natural breath and your body. Take a note of how you’re feeling right now – mentally, energetically, emotionally and physically - however it is.

Your mind may wander or experience fatigue, boredom, anxiety, aches and pains. You may also experience ease, openness, feeling of spaciousness and connection.

Try to feel and be with all the sensations that come and go, without creating too much commentary or analysis. Simply feel and observe the thinking mind without becoming lost in your thoughts. Notice what happens when you’re watching your mind.

Feeling your grounding points such as your feet, legs and hips can be a good way to come back to the body if you feel distracted. You can also try deepening the breath if your thoughts start to take over.

During the practice, you may feel overwhelming desire to move or to itch, be aware of these tendencies and try and stay with the practice as much as possible. If you’re in pain, you can gently change the position of the body. Once you’ve adjusted your position, try to settle back to the practice as soon as possible. Stay open to your experience and resist having too much expectation. Be kind and compassionate to yourself.

Once the alarm goes, slowly open your eyes and you can gently stretch the body. Notice how you’re feeling right now. As soon as possible, write down your observation from the practice. This could be a word, couple of paragraph or even a drawing.

Repeat the practice daily. At the beginning, it helps to do the practice at the same time everyday.

‘Attention is the beginning of devotion’

Mary Oliver, poet and a bird watcher

Importance of Mindfulness Mediation during challenging times

We are undoubtedly going through challenging times, most countries are still in lockdown. The NHS is under funded and staff are struggling. As of yet, there is no cure for Coronavirus and sadly many people are getting ill and dying. To make matters worse, there is no clear time frame when things will start to improve.

Everyone’s lives are restricted and we’re all worried about catching the virus and spreading it to our loved ones, especially vulnerable people. It’s natural for people to feel anxious in these times.

As we face these challenges, there is a tendency to want to distract ourselves, but unless we acknowledge what’s going on, we will continue to be anxious. Due to the lockdown, many people now have more time available to find new hobbies such as DIY, cooking and fitness. Whilst this is a great opportunity to take up things we’ve always wanted to do, it’s also important to make the time to connect to how we’re feeling. This way we won’t just be filling our time with lots of activities but we’ll begin to find what’s truly nourishing and engaging. 

Mindfulness Meditation encourages us to be more aware of ourselves by teaching us to be in each moment. As Mindfulness teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn said,

‘Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment non judgementally’

We begin to notice our thoughts and action more clearly and understand that our behaviour affects others and our environment.  Most people are now confined in smaller spaces and living under each other’s feet, and more than ever, we must be conscious of how we’re behaving towards others.

Regular practice of meditation enables people to watch over themselves in a relaxed open manner. As Kabat-Zinn emphasised, 

‘Compassion and kindness towards oneself is intrinsically woven to mindfulness’.

When we practice with compassion and kindness, there will naturally be more peace and ease. We begin to accept our feelings rather than to try and hide them or to make them better.

When we become less hardened by our experience, we will feel a whole spectrum of subtle sensations. You’ll also recognise that nothing stays the same - every moment is different (no matter how similar it may seem) and precious.

We can feel disconnected from others especially during isolation but the practice will remind you that you’re not alone and everything’s interconnected.  As a biologist and philosopher Donna Haraway said, 

‘None of us should think of ourselves as individuals, isolated and alone. Whether we like it or not, our lives are inextricably entwined with the lives of others…and recognition of this entwining can teach us what it means to be rooted in the world’. 

There is a misconception that meditation is difficult, it’s in fact one of the most simple and accessible practices.  You don’t need special equipment or to be physically fit.  All you need is time, patience and willingness to learn.

I will be posting different meditation techniques and tips of practice to help you get started. I also offer live online donation based mindfulness meditation and yoga class on Wednesday morning from 10-11am every week.  Suggested donation is £6 but you can pay whatever you can afford. The proceeds for this class will be going to Bristol Mind, mental health charity in Bristol.

Community Yoga and Mediation classes

If you can breathe, you can do yoga

– Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

Bristol Yoga Centre believes classes should be accessible to everyone so we have decided to introduce donation based community classes. There are currently three weekly community yoga and meditation classes available:

Wednesday 10:00 -11:00am - Mindfulness Meditation with Naomi

Thursday 7:45 – 8:45pm – Hatha Yoga with Amber 

Saturdays 11:30 - 12:45pm - Krama Vinyasa Flow Yoga with Vicky

Students can pay whatever they can afford and no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Absolutely everyone’s welcome but we especially invite people on low or no-income, benefits, refugees and asylum seekers. The classes are suitable for all levels of students and taught by fully qualified and experienced yoga teachers, who are passionate about making classes accessible to everyone.  

Tash Neeley, who teaches Yin & Yang Yoga class on Wednesday evening, told us why she wanted to be involved.

‘Even though yoga at its roots means to unite, many yoga classes can feel somewhat exclusive. I wanted to get involved in Bristol Yoga Centre's community classes to bring yoga to Bristol's wider community, with the freedom to pay what they felt they could afford. I believe the benefits of yoga and meditation should be available to all people, no matter their experience, background, or lifestyle. 

What I love about the community classes is that they are in a well equipped yoga studio with friendly and experienced yoga teachers, creating a warm and nurturing atmosphere for all bodies and minds’.

One of the regular students from Naomi’s Mindfulness Meditation class said,

‘I find that meditation is really useful way to centre myself, which helps me maintain a more relaxed and positive outlook. I find this is very useful when dealing with emotionally challenging situations. The fact that these classes don’t have a pay barrier means that everyone gets the chance to benefit from this incredible practice’.

The profit from the Mindfulness Meditation class goes to Bristol Mind, a mental health charity based in Bristol. Bristol Mind was originally founded in 1965 and aims to promote a positive view of mental health and encourage emotional wellbeing.  

Please feel free to share this post and let especially those that might really benefit know about the community yoga and meditation classes at the Bristol Yoga Centre. For more information about the classes, please contact the teachers directly.  

Mindfulness Meditation Class

‘Mindfulness is the key to the present moment. Without it we cannot see the world clearly, and we simply stay lost in the wanderings of our minds’

- Joseph Goldstein

We have started a new donation based Mindfulness Meditation class at Bristol Yoga Centre. This is part of a new programme of community classes that we introduced recently so that more people can come to our classes. It’s our strong belief that classes should be accessible to everyone. There are currently three community classes available and people can pay whatever they can afford.  See here for more information.

The profit from my Mindfulness Meditation class goes to Bristol Mind, a mental health charity based in Bristol.  Bristol Mind was originally founded in 1965 and aims to promote a positive view of mental health and encourage emotional wellbeing.  It was important for me to have a sense of give and take for the community class so that we are not just doing our practice for ourselves but also for others. People will be benefiting from the practice and their money will be going to a really good cause.

The idea developed after I completed a foundation in teaching Mindfulness Meditation earlier this year. I’ve been interested in meditation for some time and studied BWY Meditation module several years ago as well as attending regular weekly classes. I’ve gained so much benefit and wanted to share the practice with others.

When I regularly meditate, I feel connected and relaxed not just during and after the class but also in everyday life. It was quite different experience from my asana (posture) practice. It’s much more refined and subtle but powerful and profound.  My mind is clearer and settled yet focused and steady. I am much more aware of my actions and able to be in the present moment.  As an Indian Philosopher, Jiddu Krishnamurti said ‘to understand the immeasurable, the mind must be extraordinarily quiet and still’.

I have been teaching the Mindfulness Meditation class for almost a month and there are now students regularly coming. The atmosphere is really friendly and relaxed, and we have different people coming from yoga teachers to complete beginners. A yoga teacher that’s been coming from the beginning said,

"Naomi's mindfulness meditation classes have given me a new depth which I had not known, or given time to explore, and which I've found extremely beneficial to my every day life. The way she incorporates breathing exercises, sound, sensation and body movement gives my practice an added immersive dimension so I'm excited to come and learn something new each week. Naomi is a profoundly knowledgeable teacher but she keeps the sessions accessible, creative and playful.  The classes have given me a sense of spaciousness and sensitivity to my responses to daily life and I have felt able to be more peaceful, focused and in tune with myself and others."  

Similarly, another regular student said,

“Naomi creates a calm and welcoming environment where it becomes much easier to switch off from the hectic goings-on of the outside world and really connect with your own inner sensations. She uses a great variety techniques including sound meditation and using energetic movement before settling to find interesting ways of accessing a meditative state.  I leave the classes feeling relaxed and centred.”

It’s really fantastic that we are all able to practice together and I’m really happy about how it’s going. Usually we do two short sitting practices, gentle stretches and asanas, pranayama and relaxation techniques. I try and use yoga techniques to settle the mind and body in preparation for mediation. So far, we have been working on different themes every week, from importance of breath to learning how to relax. We also set aside a bit of time to discuss how it’s going so that people can learn and share from each other. I believe that students really benefit from sharing experiences and it helps to create a wonderful communal feel.

If you’re interested in the class, come and join us. My meditation class is on every Wednesday from 10-11am. Absolutely everyone’s welcome.