Breathing, Relaxation and Meditation – An Introduction
Today I’m announcing the release of my new Breathing, Relaxation and Meditation CD. I’ve been inspired to create this CD by many of you who have asked me how to relax and breathe properly. I’ve included 3 techniques that introduce you to 3 different types of breathing and relaxation practices. All the practices are at an introductory level so that you can feel confident and comfortable in practising them. I use all of these practices as part of my yoga practice and in teaching and I hope you will find them equally useful.
The first technique is conscious relaxation or Yoga Nidra. The Yoga Nidra is a 15-minute pathway through your body from the tips of your toes to the your skull and brain which releases tensions and stress and leaves you feeling profoundly relaxed. You can use this technique at any time – all you need is somewhere to lie down. The people who I’ve tested this on report that it’s great to listen to in bed – it promotes deep and relaxing sleep. You can put this track on your smartphone, iPad, tablet or laptop and let the letting-go begin.
The second technique is conscious breathing or Pranayama. Pranayama takes you through the process of deep breathing and shows you how to breathe from your lower belly to the top of your lungs. There’s also an introduction to alternate-nostril breathing with breath retention. The conscious breathing technique will help to calm your mind and improve your mental clarity and concentration. Eventually, once you have learnt this technique, you will no longer need to rely on the CD but can practice this on your own any time you need it.
The third technique if mindfulness meditation. Meditation puts in you touch with what is happening in your mind and introduces you to techniques to calm and relax the mind. If we stop and pay attention to what is happening in the mind, we’ll notice that the nature of the mind is to be active with distracting, disconnected thoughts that flit across the surface of the mind. But, just like we can train our muscles, we can also train our minds in order to calm the flow of distracting thoughts and bring real relief to our mind and emotions. This is also a technique that once learnt, can be practised at any time.
Throughout the 3 techniques I’ve incorporated the use of Tibetan singing bowls to help you focus and calm the mind.
Everyone who buys the CD will also receive a download link to the high-quality original recordings to improve the listening experience. The total cost is $20. An excerpt of the Relaxation track is available for streaming for those of you who would like to sample part of the CD:
Thank you to all the clients, friends and family who have inspired me to do this and encouraged me along the way, providing technical expertise and giving feedback at different stages of this project. I have designed this CD in response to many of the questions I have received from you and my desire is that it will give you the structure and guidance you have asked for. I am also grateful to Geshe Michael Roach and Christie McNally’s commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali for providing me with a fresh perspective (and lots of food for non-distracting thought) on a text that underpins my own yoga practice. Releasing this CD is a really joyful occasion for me and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed the path of creating it.