Tag: Awareness

Interior Illumination

BuddhaBreak: Simplify Your Meditation During The Holidays

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The holiday rush can add a ton of stress to our already too busy day.  Think about it, there are now seemingly way more things to do, more things to buy, more disruptions in our usual routines – it can be a heavy price to pay on our body and mind.

I feel like I’m going through this now. As all of my classes are wrapping up for the year, I’ve had this feeling of not having enough time to do what is needed – to connect fully – without thinking of all the stuff I need to get done, or didn’t get done.  In the beginning of some of my meditations this week, I’ve felt restless and anxious and will notice one of my restless legs tapping (a sure sign for me that my body and mind is saying saying, “hurry up, Andy… get this over with.” .

No matter how busy the holidays get, we need to take time each day to stop and be present with our life – as it is – even if it’s restless.

If you can’t meditate for 10 minutes each day, don’t throw in the towel. Meditating for 5 minutes can be just as an effective practice – even better for you, if you can schedule it in a few times a day.

Above all, remember our mantra for this year – be kind to yourself.  Inner peace is the best place to make sure we all make it hOMe for the holidays;).

I hope this helps.

Why it's awesome if you think you're "bad" at meditating.

“For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. ” – Shakespeare

A common misunderstanding about meditation I often hear is, “I can’t stop thinking” – but thinking is actually a good thing.  Our mind’s job is to produce thoughts.  And, thoughts are a very important part of the meditation process.  The more you try to force them out, the faster the thoughts will rush right back in.

When we meditate we actually need the mind to be distracted in order for us to see the process at work.  When we’re focusing on our breath, a mantra, or some other object of our meditation – we need to be able to catch ourselves distracted about the past and the future. We need to observe the fidgeting around and notice wanting to stop the timer.  We have to be aware that we’re tired and restless – notice what our mind is doing – and then find a way to come back to our breath, or the object of our meditation.

Understanding and noticing you are having thoughts is a breakthrough in your practice, because you’re beginning to shift your awareness (that internal reference point) from your ego to YOU, your real authentic self. Continue reading “Why it's awesome if you think you're "bad" at meditating.”

Winter Solstice – Yoga & Meditation

Winter Solstice  – Yoga & Meditation – @ STIL YOGA

   Thursday, December 20, 2012      7:00 to 8:00 PM

Stil Studio, 740 Legacy Place, Dedham, MA 02026

with Betty Riaz & Andy Kelley

The holidays are a time to gather with family and friends – to reflect, and enjoy the new season.  What better way to approach the New Year with renewed energy, flexibility, and inner strength!

Come celebrate the beginning of the Winter Solstice at STIL Yoga with Betty & The Boston Buddha. We will transition into a new way of BEING by honoring the cycles of life and setting some positive intentions for the New Year.  It’s a beautiful time where the Sun Stands STIL!

Continue reading “Winter Solstice – Yoga & Meditation”

Connecting Beyond The Classroom

June, 2012 – Taken by my Special Photographer – Anika

I had the pleasure of seeing one of my students yesterday, Tiye, who is now up at the middle school.  She was picking up her younger sister from school and came right over to me with a big smile on her face.  She told me how she still remembers to use her breath to come back to the present moment when she’s feeling stressed.  Tiye holds the record for taking our Morning Mindfulness classes – four sessions in a row.

I’ve seen Tiye’s confidence grow over those two years and now it seems that she can jump hurdles that would stop most of us adults.  Just seeing her enthusiasm smile made me smile, proof that kindness is truly contagious.

Peace IN.

-Andy

 

 

Connecting With Community

Below is an incredibly sweet note from a student who recently attended a TBB Meditation Challenge.

Hi Andy,

I was endorsing your workshop to the nice woman working at STIL STUDIO the other day. I told her I had attended one of your workshops and that I was a complete novice, and that you are wonderful (which you are!) and that she should certainly attend. You get my thumbs up, way UP!

I started my yoga practice a little over 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until the past year or so that I noticed I needed something else other than asana. Don’t get me wrong, I love the asana part of my practice, but something inside of me told me I needed more, that I deserved more.

So, I began seeking out ways to get in touch with with the real me, my authentic Self. I started practicing another style of yoga (Para Yoga), focusing on pranayama and realized that beginning a meditation practice might be what I need the most. But where was I to begin?

Continue reading “Connecting With Community”

"Meditation – does it get easier with practice?"

This was the subject line in an email I received from a fairly new student of mine – one that had been meditating twice a day for about three weeks.

It’s a great question and one that students, friends and colleagues ask me often. There are plenty of days I ask myself the same thing.  My answer is that for me personally, some days are easier than others and we need to try to accept the present moment as it is – without trying to change it or make it different.

When you’re trying to create a new healthy habit like meditation, the first thing you need to do is accept that every meditation will be different.  This is true for anything we do in our lives.  In whatever we do, we have good days and bad days.  Some days at work our mind just isn’t as focused – we need to accept it without judging it good or bad.  If we play basketball, our timing may be off when we shoot the ball. Other days everything comes very easily – it flows and our shots seem to fall naturally.

Highs and lows are a part of life.  We need to accept them without holding on to the feeling that something isn’t as it should be.   Meditation is the same way –  some days we experience more mental turbulence than others.  As we practice meditating, and let go of trying to control or change things to make it better- over time, we’ll find that those highs and lows even out.   But, we’ll always be practicing.

After all, I call it my meditation “practice”… because I will always be practicing to accept what’s happening right now… as it is.

Peace IN.

-Andy

“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.  Always work with it, not against it.” – Eckhart Tolle

"Breathe" Free Guided Meditation (audio)

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”  – Thich Nhat Hanh

I hope you enjoy this free guided meditation that I created for you to help you stay centered in this turbulent time.  A Breath Awareness Meditation is one of the quickest ways to ground and center yourself.  Watching the breath in a meditation practice can help your mind let go of its often chaotic and turbulent thoughts.  The breath will fill you with invigorating energy and inspiration to be in this world, but not caught up in the drama around you.  I hope this helps!

 

Guided Meditation “Breathe” (10 min audio)


(MP3 download) Right click and “save link as…”  to download it to your computer

 

 

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