Jessica Stover (00:07):
Hey, everyone. Welcome to Networks Looks At. This recording is an offering of Networks for Training and Development's online university.

Jessica Stover (00:16):
Hey, everyone. This is Jessica Stover with Networks for Training and Development. And welcome to a Taste of Wellness.

Rosa McAllister (00:25):
Hi, this is Rosa McAllister. And welcome to Finding Your Way of Meditation. So meditating eh- what is it? Well, some call it prayer or silence or I say "getting out of my head." Lama Surya Das, known as the Urban Buddha or the Western Lama, says it's like what happens when you hug. A really good hug where your mind just goes there and nowhere else. Time kind of stands still and nothing else matters. And how is it done, this meditation? Well, most of us think of kind of the transcendental meditation typical Buddha type yogi sitting cross legged on the floor. Maybe on a cushion, maybe not. Eyes closed, hands- palms up resting gently on their legs, or hands in prayer position at ch- at their chest level. And yes, that's one way to meditate.

Rosa McAllister (01:26):
But there's many, many other ways of meditating and I personally believe that we all meditate very often. Some of us do it by reading a book or dancing to a really great song or taking a long bath, singing lullabies to a baby, walking on a beach, maybe being in a forest. Somehow just being to ourself. Why do we meditate? Well, for many of us, we do it to chill out whether we call it actual meditation or not. Or to gain control because we're feeling out of control. Or because we need a time-out, or because we need to chill out, or because we hear it's very good for us.

Rosa McAllister (02:11):
And by whom? Who, who meditates? Well, nowadays, I think we all do, as I mentioned already. And I think meditation in its more truer sense, the sit on the, the floor cross legged and say, "Ohm," kind of idea of meditation, I think we're seeing more and more people do it nowadays. Doctors, lawyers, and everybody in between. We're teaching it to children in school and we're doing it more and more because we are hearing of all of the benefits and the effects. We know that it lowers and it evens blood pressure. It calms the mind and the body. It helps us to sleep easier and more soundly. It evens out our emotions. It helps us think much more clearly. It helps us take tests better. It's used in anger management. It's used with people who are trying to get over various addictions. It's used by people of all ages.

Rosa McAllister (03:10):
In its truer sense of meditation, but if you think of it in the expanded view as to prayer or other types of meditation, I think we'll see that it really is all of us. So I've already mentioned it a little bit, but what are the different types of meditation? Well, there's the traditional meditation if you will. There's breath work, and we're gonna practice some of that in just a little bit. Probably the first type of meditation that many of us became familiar with was transcendental meditation that became popular in the 70s, late 60s and the 70s. That's when I was first- became aware of and studied meditation. I was 12 years old and my brother, Michael, and his girlfriend, Kathy, took me to the local YMCA to take a class on transcendental meditation and hatha yoga and that's when I began my practice.

Rosa McAllister (04:08):
There's mindfulness that we hear a lot about and different versions of that. We hear about kundalini yoga and other types of yoga that also incorporate meditation. But then there's also these other types of meditations. There's movement, um, meditations like qi gong, chi gong, ecstatic dance, um, walking yoga, and other things like that. There's other types of meditation that we've heard of probably - guided meditation and visualizations. And we've heard about that a lot in its medical use with people fighting cancer or trying to deal with heart disease or other immune dis- diseases. More and more medical information talks about guided meditation and visualization and the power of that.

Rosa McAllister (04:56):
There's also trance space meditation and music, and chant, and prayer, and quiet time, as we already mentioned. And there's probably many, many more types of meditation like taking a long bath, taking a walk in the park, or getting that really amazing hug or giving an amazing hug, like Lama Surya Das talks about. So now we're gonna practice just a couple of simple, easy breathing techniques, some alternative breathing. Breathing number one we're gonna talk about is conscious breathing. It's known that in many styles of meditation, kind of traditional meditation, if we focus on our breath, sometimes we don't focus as much as what's going on in our mind. So breathing exercise number one, conscious breathing, I want you to try this with me.

Rosa McAllister (05:53):
Not hard. You can do it whether you're seated or standing. You can even do it walking or in others' company and they may not even know you're doing this. You can do it in a meeting. Maybe they'll notice. So I want you to breathe in as fully as you can through your nose. As fully and comfortably as you can, breathe in, hold it for just a second, and then breathe out but sigh as you're breathing out. Like an, "Ahhh," through your mouth. Breathe in again through your nose, hold it for a second, and ahhh, breathe out through your mouth with a sigh or an ah. Find your own rhythm and do this four or five more times. Breathing in through your nose, holding it just for a minute, and then ahhh, sighing it out through your mouth. Do it again another three or four times. Finding your own rhythm, ahhh. Ahhh. And you can do it quietly too. I don't know about you, but I immediately realized as I was breathing out and sighing, my shoulders were dropping away from ears, my stomach was expanding and then relaxing, my face was relaxing. And afterwards, I want to stretch my neck a little bit and stretch my head in a couple different directions. All a good sign

Rosa McAllister (08:00):
... that something happened here, there was some level of relaxation. So, try this very easy conscious breathing whenever you need calmness. It immediately lowers your blood pressure, it immediately brings more rhythm and evenness to your regular breath, and again, you don't have to do it loud, it can be quiet.

Rosa McAllister (08:24):
Breathing exercise number two is my favorite alternate style or alternative style of breathing. It's known as the five-seven-nine breath, and Andrew Weil, Dr. Andrew Weil, a very well known wellness physician talks about this. Andrew Wile says that if we do this five-seven-nine breath the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night we could add 10 good years to our life. So, let's give it a try.

Rosa McAllister (08:56):
So, similarly, I want you to breathe in slowly through your nose, but this time do it to a count of five, if you can. If you can't, do it to a count of three. Breathe in slowly through your nose to a count of five, if you can. Hold the breath in for a count of seven, if you can. If you can't, try five. And then, exhale through your mouth while making a slow "Hiss" sound for a count of nine, and if you can't do nine, maybe try seven.

Rosa McAllister (09:31):
So, the idea with Andrew Weil's five-seven-nine breath, which is actually an alternative style of breathing that's been around for a very long time, it's just become more famous through Dr. Andrew Weil, you breathe in slowly through your nose for a certain count, like maybe five, you hold the breath in for a little bit longer, say maybe seven, and then you exhale through your mouth while making a slow hissing sound for a count of maybe nine, but longer than the other, and try, as you do this repeatedly, see if you can expand the numbers as you expand your capacity. The importance of this, you might notice, is the exhale, the exhalation, getting it all out as slowly as you can for as long as you can, and push yourself. Some people then hold it for a couple of counts before they breathe in and start again.

Rosa McAllister (10:35):
So, let's give it a try if you haven't already. Breathe in slowly through your nose for a count of five. Hold the breath in for a count of seven, if you can, and exhale through your mouth while making a slow "Hiss" for a count of nine, if you can.

Rosa McAllister (11:03):
Now, I can attest that I've actually tried doing the five-seven-nine breath while having my blood pressure taken. Having my blood pressure taken normally, which is normally pretty low, and then while doing the five-seven-nine breath, and the result was amazing. Even my doctor couldn't get over it. My blood pressure dropped dramatically as I held my breath and then slowly let it out. This has increased my lung capacity incredibly by doing this regularly. I've been doing this five-seven-nine breath first thing in the morning and last thing at night for decades. Decades. And this old asmatic girl now can sometimes do an exhale up to 30 seconds. Not bad. I'll let you know if I get 10 extra good years.

Rosa McAllister (12:05):
Breathing exercise number three that we're going to try is known as altern- alternate nostril breathing. Now, this is a little funny, and some of you may be familiar with this. It's been around for a very long time and has been used in meditation and yoga practices for quite a long time. The effects are amazing in how it awakens your brain and makes you more alive, much better than a cup of coffee.

Rosa McAllister (12:35):
So, I want you to breathe out fully through your nose and lift your right, or your left if you would prefer, thumb and forefinger to your face. With your right thumb, close off your right nostril and breathe in slowly through your left nostril. Hold your breath and let your thumb release the right nostril while your right forefinger closes off your left nostril, and then breathe out through your right nostril. So, we're going to repeat this several times very slowly.

Rosa McAllister (13:09):
Let me explain it again. Breathe out fully through your nose, and with your right thumb and forefinger, put them aside of your nose, and with your right thumb close off your right nostril and breathe in slowly through your left nostril. Hold your breath, then release your thumb from the right nostril while your right forefinger closes off now your left nostril and breathe out through your right nostril. You're going to repeat this several times and then reverse it so that you'll be breathing in through your left nostril and breathing out ... No. Breathing in through your right nostril, sorry, and breathing out through your left nostril.

Rosa McAllister (13:59):
Again, it's called alternate nostril breathing. So the idea is, by closing off one side you're forcing yourself to breathe in just one side of your nose and then breathe out through the other side, however you wish to do it. Some people do it with two hands, one hand on one nostril and one hand on the other nostril. However you wish to do it. Take your time with it, especially in the beginning, because it feels awkward, and don't get upset if you maybe you screwed it up or used the wrong nostril, it's really okay.

Rosa McAllister (14:33):
Again, what this does, this alternate nostril breathing, breathing in fully through one nostril and then out through the other nostril, doing that several times and then reversing it helps to clarify, there's been studies that have been done and what it does is helps to clarify our thought process, awakens our brain and gets our left and right hemispheres of our brain working better together. Give it a try. And I've even done this in meetings, kind of surreptitiously, quietly, with my hand to my face, just kind of doing this very quietly, not letting anyone know what I'm doing, and again, it's great for an afternoon pick me up or a time that you're just feeling kind of sluggish or your brain needs clearing, before a test, before a speech or a presentation, before something that you're a little nervous about. It's a great way to clear your head.

Rosa McAllister (15:33):
Breathing exercise number four, which is the last one that we're going to do is today is just a simple one, and this is one where you just notice your thoughts as you breathe at your own pace. You quiet yourself and just notice your thoughts as you breathe, and allow them to pop in and out without w- any judgment. Kind of watch them flow or fly or float

Rosa McAllister (16:00):
By maybe as you would lying on your back on the ground looking up at the clouds. So the idea is, you get yourself in a comfortable position and you just breathe whatever pattern you want as naturally as you can. And when trying to quiet your brain, as a thought pops in, cause they're going to do it, just watch it float, fly, flow as you would a cloud. Try not to judge it or analyze it or shush it or push it away. Just allow it to float by. Some other meditations, there are moving meditations. So they're walking meditations and variations on this, but this is a lovely exercise whether you walking in the woods or beach or in your neighborhood. Take a 30 to 60-minute walk outside. It's best to do it outside, not in the mall, although you can. Pay attention as you move along your path to the sounds and the colors and the sense and the sensations you experience. In other words, you're various senses. Your sounds, colors, sense and sensations that you experience along your path, along your walk. Allow your arms to swing softly, feel yourself connect with the Earth beneath your feet and with each deliberate step that you take. Now if you're in a wheelchair or you're walking with someone else you can adapt this very easily. Because what you're doing as you're walking or mobilizing or moving about, is you're taking enough time, 30 to 60 minutes, and you're just going to focus on it as much as you can, all the sensory input. Some people like to do a meditation like this, where they focus more on one sense or the other, what they hear or what they see or what they smell or what they feel. Try it. It's a lovely way to meditate and to get out of your head. One of my all-time favorite ways to meditate while moving is joyful dance, sometimes it's called consciousne- dance or sacred dance, there's all kinds of different types of joyful moving meditative dance. Including 5Rhythms, and Nya, and all kinds of other different styles that have been put together by people just with the idea to consciously dance. Choose whatever music you love and move to slow, fast, hypnotic, or energizing. In fact, sometimes I like to have a bit of a playlist or a song or two and vary the rhythms, vary the pace, vary the mood that it brings about. Close your eyes and allow your body to respond to the rhythm and the beat, moving from the center of your body outwards. And as you move, visualize your body observing the joyful sound, filling your heart and spirit with positive energy. So the idea is here more than anything is to dance, to allow the rhythm to enter your body and to move you, not you move with the rhythm but allow the rhythm to move you. Allow the music to enter you and to move you. For some of us, we can only do this by ourselves with the windows closed and the headphones on. For some of us, we can do this outdoors or anywhere. But it's amazing even for those of us who don't consider ourselves dancers, how freeing and beautiful a meditation this can be. There are also lots of different apps for our smartphones, for our computers. Just a few that I have that I really like, they're changing all the time. But some of the more popular ones are known as Calm, and Breathe, and Headspace, Insight Timer, Mind PT, and there's so many others. There's lots and lots of meditations that are available on YouTube that are visual, or auditory, or both. There's tons of pod, podcasts that are visible, uh, available as well. Next I want to talk about visualizations. Many of us know about guided imagery, guided visualization. Well here's one that you can do, a meditative one, you can do almost anywhere, almost anywhere and nobody needs to know you're doing it. Immediately calming and soothing. So find an object nearby that has four corners. Now I want you to realize that we are surrounded by squares, rectangulars and things that have four corners. Every wall does, windows do, your computer screen, your phone. So many things, your desktop. Literally, the desk, the seat of a chair, the back of the chair, a TV screen, a picture frame, mini patterns on walls. It's a very common pattern that you can find almost anywhere. An end table. I'm looking around my home right now, a bookshelf, a basket, a piece of paper, a box. Find an object nearby that has four corners. Start by looking at the upper, left corner and inhale for four counts. Turn your gaze then to the upper, right corner and hold your breath for four counts. Move to the lower, right corner and exhale for four counts. Now shift your attention to the lower, left corner and tell yourself to relax and smile as you hold your breath for four counts and repeat it again. Start at the top, left corner and breathe in for four counts. Turn to the top, right corner and hold your breath for four counts. Move to the lower, right corner and exhale for four counts. Now to the lower, left corner and tell yourself to relax and smile and hold your breath for four counts. And start back up at the top left corner again, breathe in for four counts. Look to the top, right corner, hold it for four counts. Look down to the lower, right corner and exhale for four counts. Look to the lower, left corner, smile and relax and hold your breath for four counts and start again. As with your eyes and your breath, you follow the shape of that four corners, that square or rectangle, you doing a gentle movement with your head and your eyes but you're matching your breath to go with it. You don't even have to move your head if it's small enough, you can visualize a small square anywhere or look in the distance and see a window. And no one has to know that you're even doing this. This kind of a finding focus visualization is how it's known actually does help us find focus.

Rosa McAllister (24:01):
It can in a meeting help us recenter ourself, not say something we probably shouldn't say. And all it takes is maybe a minute, or two. Next, I'm gonna help you with a guided med-, visualization, or a guided meditation. There are many of these that are available. You can buy, you can download, you can borrow, you can write your own and record your own. Here's one.

Rosa McAllister (24:35):
Sitting comfortable or lying down with your eyes closed, let's begin by becoming aware of your breath. Feel the breath as it enters with a cool feeling, and then warming as it gently travels down into your lungs. Fill your lungs with a deep inhale, bringing in energy, vitality, and prana, the very life force. As you exhale in your own rhythm, feel the body releasing toxins, stress, and any negativity that has accumulated. Stay with this breath, focusing on the feeling of deep peace for 10 deep inhalations and exhalations. I'll say that again. In your own rhythm, stay with this breath, focusing on the feeling of deep peace for 10 deep inhalations and exhalations. We'll wait just a couple of minutes.

Rosa McAllister (25:51):
As you're breathing, feel the energy that is in your body. Become aware of the warmth and tingling of every cell. Feel the energy that is in the extended environment around you, in every part of nature, and in every living thing. Bring all those energies together, and feel them as one. Visualize all of that energy shining brightly as the sun. Bring that shining glow of bright energy over the crown of your head. Feel it starting to travel down into your body from the top of your head, slowly going down into your face and neck, traveling down into your shoulders, all the way down into your arms, and down to your fingers. Feel the healing energy and light going down into your chest, all the way down to your belly, and swirling to your hips. Feel it continue to travel down your legs, all the way to your toes. Your whole body is now filled and glowing with divine healing, light, and energy.

Rosa McAllister (27:12):
Allow that healing energy to completely fill any physical area that needs healing. Feel it warming, healing, and expanding through that area. Allow the healing light to bring peace and healing to any emotional issues or traumas within you. Bring your awareness to any intentions or desires that you may have. Hold the thoughts of those intentions or desires as you allow the healing energy to bring your deepest desires to life, and your intentions into reality. Feel your connections to divine energy and light, and know that all is one, one within you. Stay with this deep relaxing peaceful feeling of bliss.

Rosa McAllister (28:08):
Thank you so much for joining us, for finding your way of meditating. We have many, many more opportunities and treasures in our Taste of Wellness series, both our podcast and our wethin- webinar series. Find your way to meditate, find your way to breathe, may you ever vibrate with the universe in your own beautiful way. May you live long. May the meditative remembrance of the energy of the universe give you infinite delight. May joy and pleasure be yours. May your hopes be fulfilled, and may you never be troubled by worries. Let this mind of yours be the bumble bee. And may you be the lotus flower with the heart that blossoms fully.

Jessica Stover (30:35):
Thank you for listening. We hope the information provided was helpful. Don't forget to stop by our website, and take advantage of all we have to offer.