Practice #3: I’m Breathing in, and I’m Breathing out Meditation
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"After your meditation, take a few moments to reflect on the experience. Did you notice any shifts in your physical, mental, or emotional state? It’s helpful to remember that meditation is not about achieving a specific outcome, but about observing and accepting what is present in the moment. You could consider keeping a meditation journal where you briefly note how you felt before and after your practice. Over time, this can become a powerful tool for noticing patterns, shifts, and areas of growth." Dancing with Our Selves [Chapter 2] |

"I’d say ninety percent of the people I work with think they can’t meditate because they can’t stop their minds from thinking. There’s good news and bad news about this concern.
I’ll start with the bad news: You will never stop your thoughts. Thoughts are a part of the human experience.
The good news is: Your thoughts are your primary source for clues about your ego.
Meditation is many things, but it is not the practice of stopping thinking. It’s a practice of remembering. I don’t mean remembering things about your life or to-do list. I mean remembering who you are without all the added baggage our ego self has piled on.
Think about a baby. They are just a lump discovering what is possible in their body. They are learning to move the things on their body that we have labeled hands, feet, eyes, etc. It looks like an exploration of what happens if they try something. Yes, there seem to be deep preferences for comfort, connection, and nourishment. But there doesn’t seem to be a self-doubt about whether their actions are good, bad, or otherwise.
In meditation, you practice giving your mind a simple task, so that the ego can let go for a moment or more, and you can remember who you are without all the judgments.
Remember the elephant and bamboo stick metaphor? In meditation, you give your ego a task. In this style of meditation, the task is to focus on the mantra, so your nervous system can have a little break.
Some days, Brandi is so squirrelly that she refuses a mantra. This next practice is a nice alternative to a mantra meditation. In the guided meditation, I give you something to “think” about while sitting still and show you how to meditate without your ego running a muck."Dancing with Our Selves [Chapter 2]
I’ll start with the bad news: You will never stop your thoughts. Thoughts are a part of the human experience.
The good news is: Your thoughts are your primary source for clues about your ego.
Meditation is many things, but it is not the practice of stopping thinking. It’s a practice of remembering. I don’t mean remembering things about your life or to-do list. I mean remembering who you are without all the added baggage our ego self has piled on.
Think about a baby. They are just a lump discovering what is possible in their body. They are learning to move the things on their body that we have labeled hands, feet, eyes, etc. It looks like an exploration of what happens if they try something. Yes, there seem to be deep preferences for comfort, connection, and nourishment. But there doesn’t seem to be a self-doubt about whether their actions are good, bad, or otherwise.
In meditation, you practice giving your mind a simple task, so that the ego can let go for a moment or more, and you can remember who you are without all the judgments.
Remember the elephant and bamboo stick metaphor? In meditation, you give your ego a task. In this style of meditation, the task is to focus on the mantra, so your nervous system can have a little break.
Some days, Brandi is so squirrelly that she refuses a mantra. This next practice is a nice alternative to a mantra meditation. In the guided meditation, I give you something to “think” about while sitting still and show you how to meditate without your ego running a muck."Dancing with Our Selves [Chapter 2]