Meditation Monday: Moving Meditations

Hello and Happy Monday! This week I'd like to talk about moving meditations. I've written before about the fact that I have trouble with traditional still meditations as I am a mover. I find it easier to go to that quiet place of contemplation in my mind when I'm doing repetitive movements of some kind: swimming laps, jogging, walking, or even doing dishes. That's why I thought I would concentrate on various kinds of moving meditations today and give you links to videos of those meditations also. Below I've given you a brief overview of three different kinds of moving meditations. I hope that if you're like me and you prefer to move while meditating, you find one that works for you. Remember though that if you try these meditations and they don't feel right to you, simply take the movement of your choice and if you're consciously aware the entire time you're doing it, it becomes a meditation in itself.

Lightwork: Moving Meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptsq5Ur5yQ0 Almost 7 minutes long, filmed on a beautiful beach. Easy, standing postures.

Mahasati Meditation: Moving With Awareness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow4ffdfw0BI
Tibetan monk sitting by the side of a lake, walking and sitting postures, concentrating on moving only one body part at a time.

Qigong Meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUtRnDdDsPc  Qigong is a practice with roots in Chinese medicine, martial arts, and philosophy which allows access to higher realms of awareness and develops human potential. It aligns body, breath, and mind and is viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi) or life energy. It is now practiced worldwide and throughout China for recreation, exercise and relaxation. Qigong involves slow flowing movements, deep rhythmic breathing, and a calm meditative state of mind.

Meditation Monday-Comparing Guided Meditations Part 2

Today I'll be talking about two meditations that are both free but very different than the meditations from two weeks ago. The first is a meditation that you can download through the Oprah.com Spirit Channel. It's by Kim Eng and is part of the Eckhart Tolle New Earth series. It can be downloaded for free on iTunes. There are many different meditations within this program like Breath Awareness, Object Awareness, Inner Body Meditation, Rising Meditation, etc. I chose the Inner Body Meditation to review today.

1. Relaxed Awareness Meditation: Inner Body Meditation by Kim Eng
Cost: free

There is no interface per se for this meditation because it's part of a podcast series. Kim's voice begins after the prayer bell sounds. There is no other background music. The entire length of the guided meditation is about 7 minutes, but she does instruct you to continue it for 5 or so more minutes longer. Her voice is very even and calming and I like the fact that she begins with awareness on the outer sounds and sensations around you before directing your focus inward. She directs you to move your attention through each part of your body, which is both very calming and also helps you to become more aware of how you are actually feeling. One thing I like in particular is that she says that if you have pain, be it mental or physical, notice the pain but don't associate a certain story with that pain. When you do this, I think the pain lessens and you feel like a burden has been lifted that you don't have to think about anymore. We all have our stories that we carry around about what's happened to us in our past and this helps you release those.


2. Laura Evans Spiritual Medium: Meditation For Your Higher Mind
Cost: free

This is a podcast that I also downloaded for free from iTunes. I had never heard of Laura Evans but I was drawn to all the different podcasts about both hypnosis and meditation. She has MANY to choose from so look her up. Here are just a few of the hypnosis subjects:Become free of worry and anxiety, A.D.D. Better concentration, Drawing love to you/self love hypnosis, Trusting your intuition, Self-esteem for young adults, Authentic power, etc. Laura's voice begins and there is background music but it's very light. She also has a calming voice and I noticed that she will speed up or slow down her cadence depending on the meditation or hypnosis. This meditation is also around 6 minutes long. She says this meditation comes from Sanya Roman, who is another medium, and her two spirit guides. This meditation is a listening one rather than an internally quiet one, where it's more about focusing on those qualities that you want to pull toward you: love, clarity, intent, abundance, serenity, enthusiasm, commitment, peace, creativity, etc. and you repeat them as a mantra. Although it's not at all like Kim Eng's meditation, it's a good meditation to help you start out the day focusing on the positive within you. I could see listening to this meditation when you just need a short break in the day or when things aren't going so well. I really did feel lighter and more positive overall when it was done and I find myself repeating those good thoughts to myself afterwards too.