I Heart Meditation

A guided meditation leading you into the next step in proper instruction for meditation: the Full Breath. Deepening the breath allows one to rejuvenate, circulate, and de-stress.  Powerful, controlled, and slow contraction and expansion of the abdominal muscles and diaphragm soothes the central nervous system.  Specifically, it massages the Vagus nerve, the nerve most responsible for the "flight of fight" response.  By smoothing and deepening our breath in this way, we communicate to our central nervous system that we can relax, slow down, and harmonize inner rhythms from chaotic to rhythmic.

Holding your breath in meditation is just one of many techniques to purposefully intervene into the breath.  Susanna Bair uses the analogy of deep-sea diving to explain how Heart Rhythm Meditation can be used to gain awareness, even mastery, over fears which usually are held within unconscious realms of our psychological or emotional bodies.  Breath, we learn, has the capacity to sooth and transform our relationship to trauma.

Meditation requires attention and builds focus.  The first thing in beginning meditation practice is to attend to one's breathing: noticing the inflow and outflow.  Then we give the mind something to focus on: in this practice we bring the inhale and exhale into balance so that the duration of each mirror one another.

All meditation instruction in the world involves at least an awareness of the breath.  Instruction to pay close attention to the intricacies of the in-flow and out-flow of breath is central to any meditation practice.  Heart Rhythm Meditation not only involves breath awareness, but the added intervention to build stamina toward breathing with energy, balance, and power.

Puran Bair - author of three books on meditation and co-founder of the Institute for Applied Meditaiton - discusses scientific discoveries in quantum mechanics to describe inner experiences long understood by mystical traditions of the world. Puran continues his lecture and answers questions from the audience. This is Part 2 of a 2-part series.

Breath is a fundamental aspect of our being. Susanna Bair explains through practice of conscious breath in meditation, one may gain clarity and understanding of the breath's role in our lives.  Conscious, diaphragmatic breathing in rhythm with our heart-beat not only gives us physical rejuvenation, but also rejuvenates our deep inner resources enabling us to take on challenge and stress more gracefully.

Inhalation and Exhalation; Expansion and Contraction;  Rising and Falling; Tension and Release.  Susanna takes us into a space where we can listen to the "music of life" by following the breath's connection to the heart.

The human heart is so much more than a pump!  Susanna Bair reminds us of the heart's connection to thoughts, emotions, and the unconscious.  Where does the heart come from and what becomes of it when we pass away? This mysterious answer cannot be wholly understood with the mind, but we can begin to uncover an understanding of the answer by carefully listening to the messages coming from our hearts.

Puran Bair - author of three books on meditation and co-founder of the Institute for Applied Meditaiton - discusses scientific discoveries in quantum mechanics to describe inner experiences long understood by mystical traditions of the world. Is the Universe digital or analog?  Puran explains the implications for the exciting scientific identification of the "microcosm."  Puran continues by describing how our physical hearts, as generators of electromagnetic fields, act as both input receivers AND output amplifiers like the incoming/outgoing capacity of radio-tower to transmit and receive simultaneously.  He then explains how we might draw upon the field of energy which surrounds us constantly and direct it consciously toward oneself or another for the purpose of healing.  This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.

Susanna elegantly calls your attention to the fundamental rhythms of life - breath and heartbeat - in this guided meditation for beginners.  An inner experience of connection and stillness involves a welcoming attitude toward thoughts and emotions.  Concentration can be strengthened and emotional centering can be cultivated through harmonizing our breathing rate with our pulse.

Heart Rhythm Meditation is a powerful meditation technique which honors and appreciates our emotions and keeps our consciousness centered in our body.  Susanna Bair describes the benefits of meditating with the goal of aligning heart with breath.

Susanna Bair addresses you with a welcoming introductory-level meditation.  Posture is of key importance in this meditation and all you need is a sturdy chair to begin.  Discover how five minutes of conscious breathing can harmonize your atmosphere.

Susanna Bair, co-founder of the Institute for Applied Meditation and traveling lecturer on contemporary spirituality and heart-centered living, presents a general overview of the goal of meditation practice throughout history and how meditation can help our lives today.  She presents the idea that meditation is a tool with the capacity to integrate the relationship between the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our being.

Led by Asatar Bair. Day 12 Meditation: Make your heart a vast, wide-open space. The heart we know as our own can be a small place. Make it bigger. Make your heart a vast, wide-open space, filled with the spirit of love. Stress will not touch your vast heart. Meditation brings you into the subtle dimension of being, eventually bringing you to the realization that your heart is as large as the universe. This brings us to the conclusion of this series. I hope you have found it helpful in reducing holiday stress and making this a time of light and joy.

Led by Asatar Bair. Day 11 Meditation: Bring a sense of sacredness to the holidays.Remember that every contact you have with another person is an opportunity to give a blessing. But don't lay a trip on another person. People don't always share the same beliefs, and words like "blessing" can raise flags or be misinterpreted. Meditation gives you a sense of sacredness that turns your atmosphere into a blessing, regardless of what you say or don't say.

Led by Asatar Bair. Day 10 Meditation: See things from another point of view. And another. Much of our stress and suffering comes from our narrowness, the self-imposed limitations we have created on our viewpoint, attitude, and understanding. If we could adopt another point of view, how different things would look! It can be small things, like asking how does this experience feel from my child's perspective, or that of my parent, or my friend? Meditation offers a very profound way of seeing through the eyes of another, of feeling deeply what another person feels.

Led by Asatar Bair. Day 9 Meditation: Focus on the important, not just the urgent. Cut out the frivolous. Sometimes you can be your own worst enemy. Sometimes the most stressful times are due to your own loading on of additional tasks that aren't really important, they just seem to be at the time. Getting a lot done can be addictive, and it can add to things that aren't necessary. Meditation can help you prioritize, giving you discernment about what is necessary and what is not.