The Meditation Course Podcast Robert Mitchell

I taught this class today on Saturday, the 29th of April on The Meditation Course at https://meditationcourse.live because I was contacted by yet another person who told me that they can't meditate because they can't stay focused on their breath.

It is a common misconception that meditation is an attempt to stay focused on the breath and the successful meditation is one where we remain focused on the breath instead of losing our attention and mind wandering.

In this class, I explain the mechanism behind all the benefits of meditation, which is called the *Moment of Recognition*, and is actually what happens when our mind wanders.

Blessings🙏🙏🙏

PS, apologies for the delay in getting a podcast published. I've been really busy with retreats and courses and classes.

Mindful Awareness is that crystal-clear sensory experience we can feel in a forest. Or when standing on a quiet beach or at the top of a mountain. Mindful Awareness is what we can sense when we connect to nature and what we share with animals.
We can culture Mindful Awareness by practising focused attention meditation.
Focused attention meditation is often called mindfulness meditation and is an ancient mental exercise that helps you focus on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Focused attention builds attention regulation, which in turn, can enhance many aspects of our lives.

In 2013, I started teaching meditation to a group of friends, who then suggested that I teach it at a local church room. In 2015, I was asked to run some courses by my students who wanted more structured training. I had discovered the high level of stress in the modern world, so I started by including stress management and emotional regulation techniques with the mindfulness and meditation practices. I learned after some research that this combination contributes to resilience.

Resilience is the ability to cope with adversity in a way that helps us cope with future adversity.

Resilience is a process, not a state. At any given time, our resilience is either growing or diminishing. Since 2013 I've taught around 3,000 sessions, with an average of 10 people per session. I gather feedback at every stage. I continually research to better understand and improve my teaching, drawing from wisdom traditions and scientific studies. Building resilience has been my guide throughout most of this time.

The practices of Mindfulness-Based Resilience are aimed at five aspects: focus, calmness, relaxation, mindfulness, and resilience.

Focus is Attention Regulation. Attention Regulation comes about through practice. Meditation is that practice. Focus and calmness involve attention regulation, being aware of the mind's direction, and regulating its choices.

Mindfulness is the undistracted awareness of the experience of the present moment.

Mindfulness is awareness of all the sensory experiences happening right now. Life isn't the past and the future. It is a succession of present moments. Unfortunately, we're trained to live in a world where the past and the future are like a continuum. And we are simply walking along this path from the past to the future. The present moment then becomes something to get out of the way to gain future happiness.

Mindfulness brings awareness of the present moment. It doesn't mean that you don't have any memories, or that what has happened in the past doesn't affect you. It isn't that you ignore your future or you stop caring about it. What does happen is that fear of the future and regret or resentment of the past no longer rules your present moment. Because life is a succession of present moments.

Mindfulness is the foundation of all the Mindfulness-Based Resilience techniques. For example, if you learn a stress management technique, you have to be aware that your stress is growing to know when to use it.

To relax, we might have a glass of wine and watch TV. That is not relaxation. Relaxation is releasing the musculoskeletal tension that builds up in our bodies due to stress. I teach relaxation practices that are also great stress management tools.

Calmness is becoming comfortable with the mind, thoughts, and emotions. Training the subconscious to become sensitive to changes in state enables awareness and intervention using various tools, like extending the breath. Mindfulness-based resilience includes stress management, emotional regulation, and meditation practices to process emotions and improve focus, relaxation, and calmness. It's about integrating these skills and not relying on external factors.

I teach Mindfulness-Based Resilience in 6-week online and in-person courses.
Learn more here: https://bromleymindfulness.org.uk/mindfulness-courses

Each Sunday Evening from Sun 26 March 2023 on The Meditation Course for the next few weeks, I shall run a Yoga Nidra meditation.

Yoga Nidra is a type of meditation that can help us access the hypnagogic state. This state is the transitional phase between wakefulness and sleep. Practicing Yoga Nidra can make it easier to move into this state and therefore help us achieve rest.

To practice Yoga Nidra, find a comfortable and relaxed seated position with your back free and your head balanced. The goal is to enter and stay in the hypnagogic state while maintaining awareness of the warm, comfortable feeling that comes with it. If you wake up from this state and you don't feel sufficiently rested, use the feeling to guide you back into it. Use the feeling of the hypnagogic state to get back into it. So, get comfortable, and let's start practicing. You can also find various other Yoga Nidra meditations on my podcast.

This podcast episode is a recording of a class from The Meditation Course, an online program that offers live guided meditations throughout the year, with up to four classes per week!

You can join us on The Meditation Course by clicking on this link here: https://www.meditationcourse.live/about-the-meditation-course/

If you can't join us for whatever reason but you enjoyed this meditation, I encourage you to become a podcast supporter. By joining us, you'll receive two newsletters and a host of other benefits that will take your meditation practice even further. All for the price of a monthly Starbucks extra shot, caramel latte! Become a Podcast Supporter here: https://www.meditationcourse.live/podcast-supporters-membership/

And if you're feeling generous and you would like to support my work with a single one-off donation, you can buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/robertmitchell

Yoga Nidra is a type of meditation that can help us access the hypnagogic state. This state is the transitional phase between wakefulness and sleep. Practicing Yoga Nidra can make it easier to move into this state and therefore help us achieve rest.

To practice Yoga Nidra, find a comfortable and relaxed seated position with your back free and your head balanced. The goal is to enter and stay in the hypnagogic state while maintaining awareness of the warm, comfortable feeling that comes with it. If you wake up from this state and you don't feel sufficiently rested, use the feeling to guide yourself back into it. Use the feeling of the hypnagogic state to get back into it. So, get comfortable, and let's start practicing. You can also find various other Yoga Nidra meditations on my podcast.

This podcast episode is a recording of a class from The Meditation Course, an online program that offers live guided meditations throughout the year, with up to four classes per week!

And get this: the price of this program is actually less than what you might spend on a weekly Starbucks latte. Enjoy the countless benefits of regular live guided meditation classes while saving some serious cash. You can join us on The Meditation Course by clicking on this link here: https://www.meditationcourse.live/about-the-meditation-course/

If you can't join us for whatever reason but you enjoyed this meditation, I encourage you to become a podcast supporter. By joining us, you'll receive two newsletters and a host of other benefits that will take your meditation practice even further. All for the price of a monthly Starbucks extra shot, caramel latte! Become a Podcast Supporter here: https://www.meditationcourse.live/podcast-supporters-membership/

And if you're feeling generous and you would like to support my work with a single one-off donation, you can buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/robertmitchell

Mindfulness is the undistracted awareness of the experience of the present moment.
Mindfulness meditation is a set of ancient practices now supported by a mountain of scientific study that we use to gain that experience of mindfulness.
There are many barriers, distractions and dead ends that can divert us from our path of acceptance and connection to all of the experiences of the present moment, internal and external.
By connecting to the entire body, we are able to minimise physical and emotional pain enough to learn to become comfortable with it. This is a key step in the process of learning to accept and release our suffering.
In the period leading up to the next nature connection day retreat, I will be teaching practices specifically to support this process of acceptance and connection.
In this class, taught on Thursday 9 March on The Meditation Course, I teach a set of practices designed to connect to the present moment and to our bodies.

This podcast episode is a recording of a class from The Meditation Course, an online program that offers live guided meditations throughout the year, with up to four classes per week!

And get this: the price of this program is actually less than what you might spend on a weekly Starbucks latte. Enjoy the countless benefits of regular live guided meditation classes while saving some serious cash. You can join us on The Meditation Course by clicking on this link here: https://www.meditationcourse.live/about-the-meditation-course/

If you can't join us for whatever reason but you enjoyed this meditation, I encourage you to become a podcast supporter. By joining us, you'll receive two newsletters and a host of other benefits that will take your meditation practice even further. All for the price of a monthly Starbucks extra shot, caramel latte! Become a Podcast Supporter here: https://www.meditationcourse.live/podcast-supporters-membership/

And if you're feeling generous and you would like to support my work with a single one-off donation, you can buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/robertmitchell