Meditation with Stephanie

So this is the first episode of my Musings aspect to my podcast! I just want to make it clear that I am sharing my own thoughts on topics I feel are important, and that you can adopt or receive anything that works for you. If I do share facts moving forward, I will make sure to site them accordingly. In this short episode I talk about different tips to start a meditation practice. Starting small,...

Merry Christmas friends! This Gratitude Practice is one that is quite different from ones I've shared previously or that you may have seen elsewhere. Usually, gratitude practices ask us to bring to mind or write down items that you are grateful for. There is a real thought process that goes into it. But according to Andrew Huberman (Neuroscientist and ophthalmologist at Stanford University), you c...

Brrrrrr!! Sending hello from a chilly England! I have invested in a new mic and there is no noise in this neighbourhood I am in and am so stoked about the quality of audio on this episode!!!  Enjoy this meditation as I guide you towards better breath awareness. Have a wonderful Christmas, and happy holidays!!

It's quite the time to be alive, hey? With what feels like a whole new wave of fear, we are back here again with the Transformers Variant. Our world is still living under this blanket of the suffocating unknown, and once again we are kept on our toes. I've been quite contracted lately as I had to change my travel plans to Europe this winter season, but have tried to keep calm in the midst through...

This meditation goes beyond the peripheries of observing the breath, and allows us the chance to ruminate on our emotional body. By tuning inwards and acknowledging the states that are within us, we are less likely to react to them when they become more intense. It's also completely normal to feel numb or emotion-less if this happens to you! Neutrality is perfectly normal. Enjoy!

There are times when I sit for meditation, that tapping into my environment and the sounds around me first allows me to connect to my breath and bodily awareness. There are other times when I find it more resourceful to tune into my breath and body FIRST before expanding my awareness to the environment and what's around me.  This gentle meditation will allow you to move from the awareness in the e...

A calming meditation to connect yourself to Body and Breath for attention and ease. 

So thanks to the influence of my partner I have become a huge fan of Andrew Huberman. He is a neuroscientist professor at Stanford and his episodes (which are more like lectures) are not for the faint hearted. You like, actually have to pay attention. But he's kinda cute and his voice doesn't annoy me PLUS he is ridiculously smart which all contributes to my fan-girling. I am particularly engaged...

So I threw out my back the other day. Don't ask. But a week after my 33rd birthday it definitely made me feel old. Anyway - I have trouble moving and it made me ponder on what it was like to live and work with pain and discomfort. We often try to resist or complain about the pain (as experienced first hand), but the moment I quietened down and really observed what was happening inside me, when I r...

I love the word "ease." I am aware I use it often in my teachings, but that's because the word ease somehow invites ease into the body/mind!!!  Anywho, this practice is for those who seem to feel tension in their being and require a little assistance when it comes to relaxing. The first step to softening is to bring awareness to the areas of tension in the first place. I invite you to be open, and...

Your body can tell you so much about your inner world. While it's important to listen to those contractions, we must also consistently check in with our bodies. When left unchecked, we lose the connection with our bodies and all that accumulated tension gets buried and pushed down. And we all know what happens when too much pressure builds with no outlet right? If you love these meditations, show...

You may be familiar with using hand mudras from your yoga practice, but did you know that according to yogic tradition, mudras help balance the elemental energies in our bodies and minds? Mudra means "gesture" in sanskrit, and while we can use mudras with our whole bodies (as illustrated in prostration), most often we use mudras with our hands. When we connect the mudras we use in accordance to th...

Assigning a value to the compartments of the breath can be so useful for instilling focus in our practice. For example, counting numbers as you breathe (inhale "1", exhale "1", inhale "2", exhale "2" and so forth), or assigning a phrase with each in-breath and out-breath as we did in this practice, we allow the mind to still be in thought, but with an intention behind it. Depending on each day, we...

We all have our Gratitude Journals. Or our 5-Minute Journals that ask us to write the three things today that we are grateful for. It's a powerful practice that is proven to increase our happiness levels and generally allows us to move through life with more appreciation. Not to mention it allows for a little positivity to enter our hearts, especially during a time where I would say negativity per...

Ahhhh the power of a smile. When you really find stillness, and feel the effects of an intentional smile, you cannot deny it's power. I often close my yoga practice with an image of a smile across the heart and even belly. This meditation was inspired by my teacher Tara Brach, who herself was inspired by the teaching of Thich Naht Hanh. He quotes: "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, b...

"Energy flows to where attention goes." A now overused expression but one that still holds so much truth. When we scan through the body, the attention we bring to that body part coupled with our intention to let go allows us to relax. You'll realise just how much tension you hold in your body on the most subtle of levels!  We live in a society so consumed in our heads that we often forget to groun...

I believe these three words can be important when we are caught in a state of reactivity, or as I describe in the recording, "when the inner demon comes out." How many times have you blurted something out with the intention to hurt someone? With the need to blame others? This defense mechanism we all possess seems to be universal, and often times can cause so much pain and suffering to not only an...

This meditation was tough to share. A bit delayed in the upload, I shared this meditation when the Afghanistan situation was at the peak of its flurry. The whole world seemed to be bleeding. I don't share this meditation often, but it seemed a fitting one to help cultivate selfless compassion and to give back to the world with heartfelt intention. Tonglen means "taking and giving," where we inhale...

It's been a while since I've shared RAIN, but it is one of the practices I confide in regularly for when I encounter difficult moments in my life. Whether you are feeling "stuck" in a work or personal relationship, be it through communication issues or other, RAIN is a great technique to help transform the attitude of stuckness into one that feels more forgiving and understanding.  I remind you ag...

In this meditation, we move through a single nostril breathing exercise with the emphasis on really relaxing both sides of the body. When we think of our body in two parts, right side and left side, we can narrow our attention and drop into the softening of the body with more focus. This breathing exercise will leave you feeling balanced, and allows you to breathe with more ease throughout the day...

Oooooosh! We go deep on this one. "Don't push anyone out of your heart, including yourself." I love this. When we forgive ourselves and others, we dissolve the protective armoring of the heart. Ones that keep us tight and closed. There is freedom with forgiveness, and we must forgive ourselves in order to shed light to our intrinsic goodness. If you are in the grasp of self blame and self judgemen...

Ahhhh the breath and body. Two anchors that can be tapped into at any given moment. The breath is always with us, so when we are caught in a flurry we can always pause and take those 3 nurturing breaths. And there are always sensations in the body if we slow down and listen. This is a very simple practice, but a powerful one! If you love these meditations, show your support at https://www.patreon....

There are a few postures we can assume when approaching a practice. The first and most commonly used posture is the seated position, but we can also meditate lying down, in a standing position, and also walking! I love this practice because there really is a sense of embodiment when we walk slowly with at/intention. The slower we go, the more we know.  Thich Nhat Hahn uses the image of an empress...

One of my faves! The technique of humming stems back to the Tibetan tradition of deep, monotonous chanting, where the ongoing vibration allows the mind to come into a deeper state of presence and calm. As we move through the humming, we think of our bodies as a hollow instrument, allowing our own vibration to bring ease into the face, and calm the system down altogether. It's also a fantastic medi...

Carving out time for your breathing exercises is crucial when it comes to monitoring stress levels, as it helps with balancing out the nervous system. By constricting one nostril at a time, we encourage the body to breathe deeper and fuller. This in turn not only enhances the quality of your breath, but you will leave feeling a sense of calmness in the mind.  If you love these meditations, show yo...