Meditation for Beginners Part III
Meditation for Beginners Part III
The last few weeks I have been hosting live Facebook events to give people a chance to learn or re-learn some basics of meditation to start the new year off in a calm, and more relaxed state of mind. With all the energy of the more recent currents events, we all need to find some calm, centering peace of mind amidst the chaos going on around us.
Every week we have added a different breathing exercise, gone over postures, and did a very short, guided meditation with some singing bowls. Last week we added one of my favorite and useful breathing exercises…The 4-7-8 breath.
The 4-7-8 Breath is a simple, short breathing exercise that can be done anywhere and in any position. I actually use and find this practice most beneficial when I’m stuck in traffic. It brings instant calm to me in an otherwise stressful situation. It acts as a natural tranquilizer for your nervous system. Tranquilizing drugs work in the begging to calm you, but often lose their effectiveness over time, which is why you will feel the need to take more. The 4-7-8 breathing exercise may seem subdued when you first try it but strengthens in its effectiveness with repetition and practice.
To start, place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the process. Exhale completely through your mouth, feel free to make a sound when doing so.
• Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
• Hold your breath for a count of seven.
• Exhale completely through your mouth, again making a sound as you exhale completely to a count of eight.
• This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.
In performing this breathing technique, you will always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. Keep the tip of your tongue against the ridge of mouth just behind your upper front teeth during the whole process. The time you spend on each phase is not important. What is important is the ratio of 4:7:8. Keep each exhalation twice as long as the inhalation. If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up, but keep to the ratio consistent. In this case you may want to adopt a 3:5:6 ratio breath.
Use this whenever anything upsets you. It will instantly relax you and allow you to react more calmly in any situation. In the beginning you may feel a little lightheaded when you try this. Just shorten you breathing time and soon this will adjust. You can use this breathing technique to help you fall asleep. Try it twice a day to fully reap its benefits.
Please visit my Facebook Business page to go back to some of the live meditations I hosted. These are short, live recorded meditations with instructions. https://www.facebook.com/LisaAlexanderSpeaker/
If you live in the Lehigh Valley, you can join our live group meditation workshops. Go here to learn more. We start with some simple instruction and use tuning forks, singing bowls and other instruments to put you into a deep theta state. Then I guide you through a beautiful, channeled meditation for an hour of pure bliss. You won’t even believe that you have meditated that long. When you come out of it you will go home relaxed and ready for the best night sleep ever. You can read some of my clients comments here.
Namaste,
Lisa Alexander
Certified Meditation Trainer
Certified Master Vibrational Sound & Energy Practitioner
Certified Intuitive