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Hello. I am Jean Stoddard–a Mindfulness Meditation Instructor certified through the University of Holistic Theology. I am going to set you up for Mindfulness Meditation Practice.

Mindfulness means awareness in present time.

Meditation is a technique to create more awareness.

Practice is the action of doing something repeatedly.

Mindfulness Meditation Practice goes back 2600 years to the enlightened Buddha. Today, in modern western culture, MMP has largely become accepted due to the work of the American molecular biologist–Jon Kabat-Zinn–whose career using mindfulness meditation techniques with hospital patients at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center produced successful results.

Mindfulness Meditation Practice begins using the acronym PAIR first coined I believe by Lani Muelrath in her HIGHLY RECOMMENDED beginner’s meditation book and audio, The Mindful Vegan: A 30 Day Plan for finding Health, Balance, Peace and Happiness. You do not need to be a vegan to benefit from her teaching style and wisdom.

PAIR means
Position
Anchor
Intention
Remindfulness

Position happens many ways but today we are going to do it in a chair.
Sit on your chair.

Feet flat on the floor.

If your feet don’t reach the floor, either put a pillow behind your back or you may need something under your feet so that they touch the flat surface.

It is very important that your hips be higher than knees. Those who are tall may need to adjust for this ratio.

Calves are vertical.

Thighs are horizontal.

Torso is stacked–pelvis, abdomen, chest, neck and head. Imagine a string tugging your head and torso gently upward.

Hands go on top of thighs or are placed together on your lower lap.

Anchor

Like a ship’s anchor, that holds the ship in place, in Mindfulness Meditation we anchor at the breath.

Close your eyes.

Breathe at your normal pace.

Breathe in… Breathe out…Breath in…Breath out.

Notice the cool air going into your nostrils and the warm out going out. Keep breathing and find the place where you can feel the air as it enters and exits your nose.

Some feel it under the nose above the lip. Some feel it right inside the nostrils. Others further up the nose near the sinuses. It’s wherever it is for YOU! THAT spot becomes your meditation anchor at the breath.

If you have a cold or other condition that prevents you from breathing through your nose, and must breath through your mouth, I recommend that you anchor at the physical sensations of the movement of the abdomen.

Intention is your daily plan for your meditation. Typically, intention includes meditating for a time frame. You can start meditating for as little as one minute a day and build up to 5, 10, 15 minutes. 30 minutes is great. 45 is wonderful.

Meditating a minimum of 5 days a week helps create the habit.

Included with intention is bringing an attitude of loving kindness, patience and equanimity for yourself and perhaps others.

Remindfulness is meditation in action.

There are 3 minds (so-to-speak) in MMP–the concentrative, the egoic, and the mindful.

The concentrative one happens at the breath. You are concentrating at keeping your attention at the sensations of the in-breath and the out-breath.

However, our minds often worry about a future that hasn’t happened yet. Or a past from yesterday or long ago. This mind has many names including the egoic mind (from psychology) or the default mode network (from science).

The third mind is the Mindful One–the silent witness, the objective observer. It’s aware of what is happening in the present moment.

Meditation goes like this.

You position yourself, anchor at the breath, with an intention to meditate let’s say 10 minutes. Close your eyes and start breathing in…and out…in…and out…

Eventually the MINDFUL MIND observes the egoic mind wandering and brings it back to meditation.

It’s cyclical. You concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. The egoic mind travels. The mindful mind notices and brings it back to concentration.

Successful meditation is not about stopping egoic thinking. It’s about noticing egoic thinking and bringing things back to concentration.

Concentrative……….egoic……….mindful. REMINDFULNESS!

Eventually you learn to anchor at the body or at emotions.

So, what’s the point? MMP is meant to get more of the concentrative you on board and more of the mindful you.

It’s a powerful practice and with those two minds running more of your life, things change in truly remarkable ways.

So, sit in a chair, feet flat on the floor, hands on your thighs or in your lap.

Close your eyes.
Breathe in… breathe out…
Breathe in… breathe out…