Embodied Mindfulness Meditation for Somatic and Emotional healing.

Dina Kushnir

Podcast Intro – Heart Attending Welcome.This is a space to slow down, to arrive, and to listen — not only with the mind, but with the heart and the body. I’m Dina A. Kushnir. My work offers a feminine, embodied approach to somatic meditation and spiritual awakening — one that begins not with effort or striving, but with tenderness, presence, and loving attention. At the center of my guidance is a practice I call Heart Attending: an invitation to awaken the heart to awareness, to meet yourself with kindness, and to allow loving attention to become the ground of healing and awakening. In a world that often pulls us out of ourselves — into speed, fragmentation, and self-judgment — this practice invites a return. A return to the body as an ally. A return to the breath as a home. A return to the quiet wisdom already living within you. Through Heart Attending, the body, breath, sensations, emotions, feelings, and perceptions become doorways — not obstacles — to presence and peace. As we cultivate gentle awareness and compassion toward ourselves, somatic and emotional healing unfold naturally, forming the foundation for all spiritual growth. The roots of my work are in Buddhist Vipassana meditation, with a deep emphasis on embodied awareness and the direct experience of body sensations. For over three decades, I have guided meditation groups, retreats, and classes, integrating this lineage with somatic, body–mind, and emotional healing modalities from both Eastern and Western traditions. In this podcast, you are invited to rest, to feel, and to remember what it is like to be at home in yourself.There is nothing you need to fix, achieve, or become. Just bring your presence.And let the heart attend.

  1. Sep 9

    Module 14: Episode 5 - Air Element #3 - Observing Thoughts as Sensations

    Send me a note, love to hear from you. The central guidance is to observe thoughts arising in the mind without judgment, criticism, or engagement — and instead of following a thought's content, to notice how it feels in the body. Key points: ·       Thinking is not "you" — it can be witnessed with compassionate equanimity ·       Each thought carries an energy that produces a bodily response: contraction, expansion, trembling, ease, or pleasure ·       The practice is to anchor in body/breath sensation and let thoughts arise and pass, simply noting their physical effect (e.g., faster breath, tension, warmth) without interpretation or story ·       This applies equally to "positive," "negative," neutral, angry, or sad thoughts — all are simply observed as energy/vibration in the body Applied Exercise — Choosing a Soothing Thought: As an experiment, you are invited to intentionally generate a calming thought (e.g., "may you be free of suffering, “may I know joy today") and notice the felt sensation — breath softening, tension releasing — illustrating that we can consciously use thought to shift from a stress response into relaxation. Theme: Treating thoughts as energetic events to be felt in the body rather than analyzed or judged — using present-moment bodily awareness as the bridge between mental activity and nervous-system regulation, and demonstrating that consciously chosen thoughts can be used as tools for self-soothing. Click here to support the show. Visit Dina's website, oliveoasis.com, to learn more about her work and her sanctuary in upstate New York. Click Here to Sign up for Dina's newsletter to receive meditations in your inbox every Wednesday.

  2. Aug 12

    Module 14: Episode 1 - Touch–Body Scan–Emotions

    Send me a note, love to hear from you. This session in a guided body-scan meditation series, this time incorporating physical touch alongside internal awareness, and touching on emotional/somatic release. Befriending the body through touch and attention, the body (especially the back) as a repository for unexpressed emotion and memory, and treating self-inquiry as an act of intimacy, gratitude, and compassion rather than analysis. 1.     Physical touch warm-up: start by rub hands together to generate energy, then gently touch/wash the face, scalp, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, belly, and back with their hands — using touch to "awaken the nervous system" and greet the body ("Good morning, body... good morning, my friend"). 2.     Breath as inner touch: Attention shifts to how the breath itself "touches" the body internally — the nostrils, lungs (affectionately called "mama lungs," with the heart as "daughter"), diaphragm, and belly — framing the breath as a form of internal contact and aliveness. 3.     Guided internal scan (now without hands, using awareness/touch and imagination): Moving from the crown of the head down through: o   Skull, face, forehead, eyes, jaw o   Throat ("the speaking portal") o   Right shoulder, arm, hand — then left shoulder, arm, hand — with gratitude expressed for their service o   Upper back and spine, described as central and protective o   Lower back — described metaphorically as a "backpack" that holds unexpressed emotions, memories, and repressed feelings; the teacher invites participants to meet any surfacing emotion with compassion o   Belly — linked to digestion, intuition, and repressed "knowing" o   Legs, feeling their structure and contact with the chair/ground 4.     Closing: you are invited to linger with whatever body part is asking for more attention, even after the bell rings. The session ends with a gratitude reflection and a loving-kindness dedication ("may all beings be free of suffering"). Click here to support the show. Visit Dina's website, oliveoasis.com, to learn more about her work and her sanctuary in upstate New York. Click Here to Sign up for Dina's newsletter to receive meditations in your inbox every Wednesday.

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Podcast Intro – Heart Attending Welcome.This is a space to slow down, to arrive, and to listen — not only with the mind, but with the heart and the body. I’m Dina A. Kushnir. My work offers a feminine, embodied approach to somatic meditation and spiritual awakening — one that begins not with effort or striving, but with tenderness, presence, and loving attention. At the center of my guidance is a practice I call Heart Attending: an invitation to awaken the heart to awareness, to meet yourself with kindness, and to allow loving attention to become the ground of healing and awakening. In a world that often pulls us out of ourselves — into speed, fragmentation, and self-judgment — this practice invites a return. A return to the body as an ally. A return to the breath as a home. A return to the quiet wisdom already living within you. Through Heart Attending, the body, breath, sensations, emotions, feelings, and perceptions become doorways — not obstacles — to presence and peace. As we cultivate gentle awareness and compassion toward ourselves, somatic and emotional healing unfold naturally, forming the foundation for all spiritual growth. The roots of my work are in Buddhist Vipassana meditation, with a deep emphasis on embodied awareness and the direct experience of body sensations. For over three decades, I have guided meditation groups, retreats, and classes, integrating this lineage with somatic, body–mind, and emotional healing modalities from both Eastern and Western traditions. In this podcast, you are invited to rest, to feel, and to remember what it is like to be at home in yourself.There is nothing you need to fix, achieve, or become. Just bring your presence.And let the heart attend.