Monday, February 18, 2008

Meditation - Tips for Insightful Instruction

For teachers of meditation
or other forms of mind and body disciplines


Questions that we as instructor’s need to answer honestly.
Why do you meditate?
Why did you begin to meditate?
What would honestly induce you to meditate if you didn’t already? (imagine one of your family or friends)
What are the benefits you gain from meditating?
Will students also gain these things?

Ask your students to identify what they want from meditation.

Meditation facts
It clears the mind, relaxes the body, offers us distance to the every day concerns, allows us to gain another perspective. What else?

What types of meditation are there?
(Be careful of giving too much information for new beginner students)

Steady gaze
Moving meditation (tai chi, shojin (cooking), sumi-e)
Affirmations/Mantras
Guided relaxation
Breathing
Chakra
Inner beauty
Visualization

How will you practice?

I like to introduce several different methods, for example, exercises from
Tai chi -
wu chi
ball
look back at the moon

using affirmations -(I prefer to introduce affirmations to a new beginners class rather than the traditional mantra because I think the idea of ‘positve thinking’ is modern and appealing, whereas new beginners associate the word ‘mantra’ to be something less pertinent to their lifestyle.)

Examples of affirmations
I am centred and feel satisfied with my life.
I am fearless
I am one with the universe.
I now let go of any sadness and pain I have experienced.
I am filled with inspiration and divine energy.
I am at one with mother nature and feel safe and secure.
Extra Tips
In my experience, short and frequent sessions are more productive to new beginners than longer sessions.
Listen to student’s experiences with an open mind.
Give something of yourself when you teach. A typical example is to introduce a topic, or style of meditation, and give, honestly, your real life impressions.

I hope you liked the article! If you have more tips to add, let me know!

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