I Heart Meditation

A guided meditation leading you into the next step in proper instruction for meditation: the Full Breath. Deepening the breath allows one to rejuvenate, circulate, and de-stress.  Powerful, controlled, and slow contraction and expansion of the abdominal muscles and diaphragm soothes the central nervous system.  Specifically, it massages the Vagus nerve, the nerve most responsible for the "flight of fight" response.  By smoothing and deepening our breath in this way, we communicate to our central nervous system that we can relax, slow down, and harmonize inner rhythms from chaotic to rhythmic.

Holding your breath in meditation is just one of many techniques to purposefully intervene into the breath.  Susanna Bair uses the analogy of deep-sea diving to explain how Heart Rhythm Meditation can be used to gain awareness, even mastery, over fears which usually are held within unconscious realms of our psychological or emotional bodies.  Breath, we learn, has the capacity to sooth and transform our relationship to trauma.

Meditation requires attention and builds focus.  The first thing in beginning meditation practice is to attend to one's breathing: noticing the inflow and outflow.  Then we give the mind something to focus on: in this practice we bring the inhale and exhale into balance so that the duration of each mirror one another.

All meditation instruction in the world involves at least an awareness of the breath.  Instruction to pay close attention to the intricacies of the in-flow and out-flow of breath is central to any meditation practice.  Heart Rhythm Meditation not only involves breath awareness, but the added intervention to build stamina toward breathing with energy, balance, and power.

Puran Bair - author of three books on meditation and co-founder of the Institute for Applied Meditaiton - discusses scientific discoveries in quantum mechanics to describe inner experiences long understood by mystical traditions of the world. Puran continues his lecture and answers questions from the audience. This is Part 2 of a 2-part series.

Breath is a fundamental aspect of our being. Susanna Bair explains through practice of conscious breath in meditation, one may gain clarity and understanding of the breath's role in our lives.  Conscious, diaphragmatic breathing in rhythm with our heart-beat not only gives us physical rejuvenation, but also rejuvenates our deep inner resources enabling us to take on challenge and stress more gracefully.

Inhalation and Exhalation; Expansion and Contraction;  Rising and Falling; Tension and Release.  Susanna takes us into a space where we can listen to the "music of life" by following the breath's connection to the heart.

The human heart is so much more than a pump!  Susanna Bair reminds us of the heart's connection to thoughts, emotions, and the unconscious.  Where does the heart come from and what becomes of it when we pass away? This mysterious answer cannot be wholly understood with the mind, but we can begin to uncover an understanding of the answer by carefully listening to the messages coming from our hearts.

Puran Bair - author of three books on meditation and co-founder of the Institute for Applied Meditaiton - discusses scientific discoveries in quantum mechanics to describe inner experiences long understood by mystical traditions of the world. Is the Universe digital or analog?  Puran explains the implications for the exciting scientific identification of the "microcosm."  Puran continues by describing how our physical hearts, as generators of electromagnetic fields, act as both input receivers AND output amplifiers like the incoming/outgoing capacity of radio-tower to transmit and receive simultaneously.  He then explains how we might draw upon the field of energy which surrounds us constantly and direct it consciously toward oneself or another for the purpose of healing.  This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.

Susanna elegantly calls your attention to the fundamental rhythms of life - breath and heartbeat - in this guided meditation for beginners.  An inner experience of connection and stillness involves a welcoming attitude toward thoughts and emotions.  Concentration can be strengthened and emotional centering can be cultivated through harmonizing our breathing rate with our pulse.

Heart Rhythm Meditation is a powerful meditation technique which honors and appreciates our emotions and keeps our consciousness centered in our body.  Susanna Bair describes the benefits of meditating with the goal of aligning heart with breath.

Susanna Bair addresses you with a welcoming introductory-level meditation.  Posture is of key importance in this meditation and all you need is a sturdy chair to begin.  Discover how five minutes of conscious breathing can harmonize your atmosphere.

Susanna Bair, co-founder of the Institute for Applied Meditation and traveling lecturer on contemporary spirituality and heart-centered living, presents a general overview of the goal of meditation practice throughout history and how meditation can help our lives today.  She presents the idea that meditation is a tool with the capacity to integrate the relationship between the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our being.