Learning The Basics Of Mindfulness And Meditation

In this introduction, Theresa shares a bit more about her background and how she came into both practicing and teaching mindfulness and meditation. She believes in the benefits of these tools and wants to make them available to as many people as possible.

In this lesson, we'll discuss what exactly mindfulness is, why it's beneficial in our lives, and how to begin implementing mindfulness in both formal and informal ways.

In this lesson, we'll discuss what exactly mindfulness is, why it's beneficial in our lives, and how to begin implementing mindfulness in both formal and informal ways.

Let's do a mindful eating practice together. Theresa guides you through the "raisin exercise" which is a mindful eating practice where we slow down and intentionally notice our experience as we eat.

We'll discuss the practice of mindfulness of the breath to include understanding the importance of the practice along with learning how to feel the breath in the body. This lesson also raises awareness of when this practice may not be appropriate and what to do instead. Following this lesson, students are encouraged to practice the Breath Awareness practice at least once before moving on to the next lesson, "Mindfulness of the Body".

In this guided practice, we become aware of the feeling of the breath in the body while experimenting with the skillful means of adding mental cues, a half-smile, and a hand on the belly to more fully feel ourselves breathing in the present moment.

This is a brief introduction to walking meditation, its benefits, and how to practice. Students are encouraged to try this practice for 3-5 minutes and see how walking meditation feels for them.

In this lesson, we'll apply the practice of mindfulness to the experiences in the body. This is the first Foundation of Mindfulness which is Mindfulness of the Body. We'll answer the question, "What if the body is the last place I want to be?", and we'll discover kind and gentle approaches to connecting with our bodies. Following this lesson, students are encouraged to practice the Body Scan practice at least once before moving onto the next lesson, "Mindfulness of Feeling Tones and Emotions".

This is a guided body scan practice. In this practice, we'll use mindful attention to gently connect with the sensations in our bodies, allowing them to be just as they are without having to fix or change anything.

Learn what mindful movement is and how to incorporate this practice while our bodies move. This can be practiced informally by just becoming aware of what our bodies feel like as we're moving through our day. It can also be more formal by dedicating a set time to moving our bodies and connecting with what it feels like. This can be done through yoga, tai chi, qigong, or even working out at the gym. Students will also be guided in a short mindful movement exercise in this lesson.

In this lesson, we'll discuss the second foundation of mindfulness which is feeling tones. We'll then move beyond feeling tone into emotions, learning how mindful presence can help us in using our emotions in skillful ways, not pushing them away but also not reacting immediately from them. We'll also learn a beautiful practice called RAIN which combines mindfulness and compassion.

This is a guided R.A.I.N practice. We'll use the steps of RAIN to connect with a challenging emotion and allow some space and compassion in relating to this difficulty (remembering to use an emotion that is mildly difficult right). R: Recognize A: Allow I: Investigate N: Nurture

In this lesson, we'll discuss the Third Foundation of Mindfulness which is mindfulness of thoughts and mental activity. We'll discuss how to bring mindfulness to our thoughts, and we'll also deepen the practice by learning a cultivation practice called loving-kindness or Metta practice.

In this lesson, we'll do a fun 1-minute thought counting exercise to practice mindfulness of thoughts. We'll then do a loving-kindness meditation using the phrases of, "May I be happy. May I be safe and protected. May I be held in loving-kindness." We'll offer these well-wishes to both ourselves and others. Students are encouraged to try these practices multiple times before moving onto the next lesson.

In this final lesson, we'll discuss the fourth foundation of mindfulness which is connecting with the truth of impermanence. We'll review many of the topics already covered in the class and learn an important practice called H.E.A.L which was created by Rick Hanson as a tool to really take in the good of our lives.

This is our final mindfulness practice which is the H.E.A.L practice as taught by Dr. Rick Hanson. - Have a positive experience - Expand/enrich the experience - Absorb the pleasant experience - Link it to a past less pleasant experience This is followed by the course conclusion and an invitation to connect through Insight Timer, join my online community, "Theresa's Tribe", and continue to deepen your mindfulness and meditation practices with the support of the Insight Timer community.