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Body Scan
The body scan practice can be done either lying down or sitting. The task is noticing whatever sensations are present (or not present!) as the guidance directs you to each part of the body in turn. If this is the first time you have done this practice, please listen to the Introduction to Body Scan Recording before you begin.
| Introduction to the Body Scan |
| Body Scan 20 Min |
| Body Scan 30 Min |
Anchoring Practice-Breathing and Hearing
These meditation practice focus your attention on a single point of focus, either breathing, or hearing. We work at focusing our attention, also on noticing when our attention moves away from our focus to something else. If you are new to meditation, you might start here. Please listen to the introductory video before you begin.
| Introduction to Anchoring Practices |
| 10 minute breathing meditation |
| 10 minute hearing meditation |
| 20 minute breathing meditation |
Three Minute Breathing Space
This very short practice is designed to bring meditation practice into real life. It uses a three-step choreography with each step approximately one minute long.
Step 1: Check in with your experience (thoughts, emotions, and body sensations) and become aware of what's going on as opposed to reacting on automatic pilot.
Step 2: Focus attention and anchor yourself by bringing attention to breathing in the lower belly.
Step 3: Expand your attention outwards and move on with your day.
This practice can be used during calmer times as a way of learning to check in with yourself, building resilience, or during stormier times as a way of creating space for yourself before deciding what to do next.
Step 1: Check in with your experience (thoughts, emotions, and body sensations) and become aware of what's going on as opposed to reacting on automatic pilot.
Step 2: Focus attention and anchor yourself by bringing attention to breathing in the lower belly.
Step 3: Expand your attention outwards and move on with your day.
This practice can be used during calmer times as a way of learning to check in with yourself, building resilience, or during stormier times as a way of creating space for yourself before deciding what to do next.
| 3-minute breathing space (with instruction) |
Breath, Body, Sounds, Thoughts, and Emotions Meditation
This longer practice starts with a breathing meditation, then asks you to move your attention to sensations in the body, then sounds, then thoughts. This is a longer meditation practice so you should get some practice with shorter meditations first.
| Breath Body Sounds Thoughts Open Awareness 30 minutes |
Mountain Meditation
The mountain meditation practice is a visualization practice intended to help us access our inner strength and stability during challenging times, in the same way the strength and stability of a mountain helps it to weather nature's storms.
| Mountain Meditation |
This short “Dropping Anchor” grounding meditation helps us during times of stress, stormy emotions, or when challenging thoughts, memories, or worries are present. This practice is not intended to fix anything or to make the emotional storm or pain go away. Like an anchor on a boat, this practice is intended to hold you steady until the storm passes in its own time. This practice is practical and short and can be used anywhere. The Dropping Anchor practice is also accessible to those not comfortable with breathing meditations. It focuses on the five senses of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste, and can easily be modified according to your location, and your personal needs. You don’t have to wait for a moment of stress or difficulty to Drop Anchor. You can do this at any time during your day as a way of staying grounded.
| Dropping_Anchor_Introduction.mp3 |
| Dropping_Anchor_Recording |
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is particularly helpful for those living with anxiety or stress. In PMR, we systematically tense and release different muscle groups in the body with the purpose of:
- Noticing tension and cues for tension in the body. PMR helps us to build mindful awareness of what is happening in the body.
- Progressive muscle relaxation also provides an approach for releasing tension in the body in a systematic way.
| Progressive_Muscle_Relaxation_Introduction.mp3 |
| Progressive_Muscle_Relaxation_Recording.mp3 |