Meditation – Page 2 – Estelle Brodeur

Coming to the Senses

digital roots

The human body receives constant sensory input that provides up to the second information about the world around us. This is great news! And thankfully, we are created to modulate these responses. So, how can we use this amazing instrument, the human body, and play healthier music within? Intentionally noticing the five hard-wired senses gives us opportunities to do just this.

Whether or not you believe in behavioral resolutions this time of year, bringing awareness into our lives is a powerful practice. Why? Because when we go through the motions of the day without noticing how we feel physically or emotionally, stress, body pain, and inflammation occur. Instead, when we tune in and witness what our sensations and reactions are, we can use this information to calm, center, and choose a different response.

Use this simple exercise to practice sensory self-care. Please be patient and compassionate with yourself. Noticing the world around you, your reactions, is a process of change by itself. It takes practice, for all of us, every day, moment by moment.

What sight, sound, touch, smell or taste reminds you of relaxation, comfort, joy… or any other positive emotion or experience that’s linked to your health?

Take a few moments to be still and visualize easy, accessible things you can do to bring pleasant awareness to the senses. Is it listening to a favorite song on the way to work? Enjoying a cup of tea with a friend? Using essential oils? Feeling the feet on the ground as you sit at your desk? Wiggling the toes? Looking up from the laptop and allowing eyes to rest? Taking time to really taste food while chewing? Taking a deep breath? Hugging someone you care about, love? (Remember, to get a hug you’ve got to give one).

Be as specific as you can and write down three things that bring you relaxation for each sense. Before you begin, take a few deep breaths. As you hold your pen, or write on your laptop, drop shoulders away from ears. You may want to write about or focus on one sense each week, or each day. Do what “makes sense” to you!

Sight

Sound

Touch

Smell

Taste

After you complete the exercise, even if you haven’t actually done any of these things yet, check in with yourself and notice your mood. What do you notice? How’s your body feel, compared to when you began this writing or visualization exercise?

Incorporate with any meditation practice and en-joy coming to your senses.

Awareness, from a visual seescape

After receiving acupuncture recently, I sat up on the table and took time to admire the vintage silk scarf my practitioner had lovingly placed on my knees and legs to keep me warm while I rested during treatment.

This curly-haired woman drawn within the fan image peered out from the scarf–hair not unlike mine, or my acupuncturist. After considering several messages of meaning, one of many that brought gratitude was the choice to notice the scarf on my legs! I’m endeavoring more to notice what’s present, as a part of an awareness practice, which brings centering, a brief pause, and whatever teachings become present. What fullness a simple observation of the visual field can bring. The noticing itself provides the meditation.

We often take for granted the beauty in such simplicity of our environments, and those around us. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking, particularly about the future and be swept away by agendas and plans. Every season of the year, of life brings newness, a fresh perspective. Even things and people we see every day can be noticed and appreciated…if we take a moment. Just a moment.

Mornin’ Rituals

When one wakes up, rituals can establish a rhythm to the day. Some are early morning risers, others may rise much later, as I well remember when working night shifts in the hospital a good while back. (I must admit I had a challenging time figuring out what and when to eat.) The important consideration here is consciousness of what you bring into waking up. What are you waking up to?

I’m not suggesting there’s a right or wrong way to awaken, rather, to become aware of what is present. For example, do you watch the morning news, check your social media status, or do you allow yourself a minute of noticing your feet as they carry you to the bathroom? I remember when our children were wee ones that it seemed I bounded out of bed and was somehow carried miraculously to their crib, in spite of being incredibly sleep deprived. I realize that there are times in life when a minute of conscious breathing or noticing seems like an eternity.

What do you drink in the morning? A cup of water? Tea or coffee? Smoothie? How does that refresh you, bring you into the day? What mug or cup do you drink in?

What chair do you sit in? What do you see out your window? What do you read? Who do you greet upon awakening? How do you greet them?

You probably notice flux during the year in your morning routine. In the wintertime, I get up and sit in a favorite worn chair and watch the daylight come. I tend to write more in my journal then. In the summer, I keep my eyes open and may sit on the porch and watch the birds and insects, listening to the outdoor sounds.

What’s your spiritual or prayer life? How do you incorporate that into your day?

Some of you get up really early and walk, run, or practice yoga, perhaps with a buddy or at the gym. Does this change with the seasons? When is it important for you to connect with others, and when is it time to be more solitary? When do you yearn for quiet? Some may have jobs that provide conversation all day, so the morning is a time to drink in the quiet. It’s taken me many years to give my husband ample space in the morning. He needs time to wake up and I appreciate that now—finally!

If quiet is important to you as a morning ritual and doesn’t seem to be created at home, can you gravitate to quiet within, perhaps in your car before you get out to go to work, or on the subway, or on the bus?

Since life is by nature in constant flux and we are adaptive beings, I invite you to look for moments in your day that create rituals that mean something to you. One of the first great conversations I remember having with my coach was about rituals and the rejuvenation provided. So have fun with rituals. They don’t need to be so serious or complex, rather simply of benefit for you and in turn, perhaps for those you love or care about.

Here’s a robust post from Gilbert Ross on morning rituals.

Mindful Opportunities

Today an opportunity presented itself. I took advantage of lovely sounds in my dentist’s office, while waiting for the biannual scrub. Truly lovely sounds. A flatscreen monitor placed in the corner of the waiting area displayed waves lapping on the shore of Hawaiian Islands. Instead of hearing broadcast news in a healthcare provider’s office, I listened to ocean waves at what seemed like nature’s perfect cadence. As I sat on the comfortable couch, with my back supported and feet flat on the floor, I began by watching the waves on the beach. Then, closed my eyes and simply drank in the auditory landscape. I knew there was a gentleman sitting nearby reading a magazine, and I could occasionally hear the staff quietly talking. I thought about looking at my smartphone and checking e-mail, and although that would’ve been perfectly OK, now I have the gift of a beautiful image that keeps bubbling up in my awareness today.

In her book, The Willpower Instinct, health psychologist Kelly McGonigal states “Neuroscientists have discovered that when you ask the brain to meditate, it gets better not just at meditating, but at a wide range of self-control skills, including attention, focus, stress management, impulse control, and self-awareness.”

Where are opportunities, even for 1-2 minutes during your day, where you can listen, or “watch” your breath, or observe the world without striving to accomplish anything, except for the gift of self-care?

Looking Out

Bentley's Perspective — Bentley’s Perspective

If you allowed yourself a brief, intentional pause or breath today, what might that bring you? Are you willing to do it? How much is your breath worth to you?

Using More Senses

We start in Mountain pose. Some are standing on beach towels, others on yoga mats, a few with feet on the grass. I stand on my mat, with eyes open at first, relishing the lush green, soaking in the misty, fully humid morning. Then I close my eyes, hearing bird songs, lawnmowers, and children’s voices at play. My muscles feel relaxed and warm, and I am so grateful to be alive, outside, in this moment. The hour continues, with about sixteen sweaty practitioners quietly flowing through poses, with what feels like just enough instruction from our teacher. As we begin sitting postures, a cooler breeze ever so gently floats by. We end, and several offer thanks for this out of the ordinary experience. As we walk back into the building, a classmate comments on the outdoor component of class, with “You feel so connected”.

When do you experience, by happenstance, or on purpose, a sense that grabs you, in a good way? What amazes me is how our bodies are built to use our five senses, yet how often do we actively engage them to more fully learn, enjoy, change, then sustain change? We can choose to bring in one, two or more senses to a new habit, practice, or behavior, or one that’s established in our lives. Either way, we will remember the experience, and more likely to repeat it, especially if it’s pleasurable. The best classroom teachers know this. Our brains are both partitioned and bridged to adapt, and be aware. All we need to do is wake up and notice….one moment at a time, one sense at a time.

Click on the link below for a 30 second video that recreates what I heard this morning.

Sounds on the Mat