Meditation for Everyone

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By learning to practice slow breathing meditation for a few minutes each day, we are able to reduce stress and improve quality of life and our health. No special tools are needed, just a few moments of time and the intention to find a better way to live your life.

Meditation is a practice where an individual conditions the mind or induces a specific or desired state of consciousness, in order to allow the mind to become aware of self, to be mindful of current level of self, or for the the mind to simply acknowledge its content without becoming identified with that content.

Meditation may be done sitting, standing, laying down, or being active, such as a walking meditation. For example, Buddhist monks involve awareness in their day-to-day activities as a form of mind-training.  

Meditation has a calming effect and directs the practitioner’s focus inward until pure awareness is achieved, described as "being awake inside without being aware of anything except awareness itself." In brief, there are dozens of specific styles of meditation practice, and many different types of activity commonly referred to as meditative practices.

Studies have shown that meditation acts as an antidote to stress. Under stress, the nervous system activates the "fight-or-flight" response. This can cause an increased heart beat, increased respiratory rate, elevation of blood pressure, and increase in oxygen consumption. 

In our past this fight-or-flight response has an important survival function. But if activated repeatedly, even chronically, as happens in modern societies, the effects can be harmful. Regular daily meditation decreases the heart rate, decreases the respiratory rate, lowers blood pressure, reduces oxygen consumption and releases muscular tension. Today meditation has left behind the strictly spiritual and religious elements, and has become a popular means of reducing stress.With a regular meditation practice, gradually all the distracting thoughts, perceptions can fade, and we can experience a sense of inner peace and relaxation. This feeling of contentment and well-being helps us to cope with the busyness and difficulties of daily life. 

The fee for this class is $30, Venmo or PayPal. Pre-registration is required, so we will know to whom to send the class notes and materials. Therefore we will need an email address, as well. To pre-register, pleases contact Virginia Waldron at gatkepr@gmail.com.