Mindfulness Practice

Mindfulness is about being fully alive and aware, without any preconceived bias towards what is happening in our thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and environment in the present moment.

These secular and non-religious inner practices are about liberating mind. Ordinarily, our mind is bound up in different sorts of attachments, fears, hopes, likes, dislikes — it’s like a sky that is covered with different layers of clouds.

The innate nature of mind is like an open and clear sky. The mindfulness practice is to uncover our innate inner sky, freeing ourselves from any confusion and cloudiness. There is no state of mind that cannot be released or liberated.

Easy Mindfulness Practice for Stress & Anxiety

This is a 4-week 60-minute sessions course in small group setting ( max 12 people).  We will meet on zoom live at 5:30p ET / 2:30p PT 60-minute session.

In each one hour session we will explore the understanding of mindfulness practice and its application by doing the sitting practice.

Session One – 5:30p ET / 2:30p PT : Opening and overview
We will start with introductions, aspirations, and intentions. We will explore the roots of mindfulness practice, and its benefits in managing anxiety & stress in daily life. We continue into 25mins guided sitting practice in comfort of your dwelling. We will end the session with brief Q&A.

Session Two – 5:30p ET / 2:30p PT : Working with thoughts & sensations
We start by check-in and with any questions from last week’s practice. We will explore working with bodily sensation of anxiety and stress, and then continue with guided sitting practice for mindfulness of thoughts and sensations. We will end the session with brief Q&A.

Session Three – 5:30p ET / 2:30p PT: Working with feelings & emotions
We start by check-in and with any questions from last week’s practice. We will explore working with bodily feelings and emotions around anxiety and stress, and then continue with guided sitting practice for mindfulness of feelings and emotions. We will end the session with brief Q&A.

Session Four – 5:30p ET / 2:30p PT: The Heartfulness
We start by check-in and with any questions from last week’s practice. We will explore cultivating heartful presence during the moments of stress & anxiety and continue with guided practice for mindfulness of Being Where We Are in the present moment. We will end the session with brief Q&A.

I am offering this course on a one time donation basis as this is a part of my training to complete the Mindfulness Meditation Certification program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. These sessions will be recorded. At the end of four weeks you agree to complete a course evaluation form which will assist in my growth as a mindfulness meditation teacher.

Please contact me for the course (4 sessions) .

Please read the following important information before the first session.

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE

Adapted from Visions Inc., “Guidelines for Productive Work Sessions.”

We aspire to cultivate an inclusive, diverse, and welcoming learning environment where students, instructors, and all people involved are mutually respectful and kind.

Please, join online/zoom/live class on-time and with microphone muted. Please be comfortable and present. To reduce distractions please, mute or turn-off your cellphones.

“TRY IT ON”
Be willing to “try on” new ideas, or ways of doing things that might not be what you prefer or are familiar with.

PRACTICE SELF FOCUS
Attend to and speak about your own experiences and responses. Do not speak for a whole group or express assumptions about the experience of others.

UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTENT AND IMPACT
Try to understand and acknowledge impact. Denying the impact of something said by focusing on intent is often more destructive than the initial interaction. Good intentions are not enough. Listen and learn from the impact.

PRACTICE “BOTH/AND”
When speaking, substitute “and” for “but.” This practice acknowledges and honors multiple realities.

REFRAIN FROM BLAMING OR SHAMING SELF & OTHERS
Practice giving skillful feedback.

MOVE UP/MOVE BACK
Encourage full participation by all present. Take note of who is speaking and who is not. If you tend to speak often, consider “moving back” and vice versa.

PRACTICE MINDFUL LISTENING
Try to avoid planning what you’ll say as you listen to others. Be willing to be surprised, to learn something new. Listen with your whole self.

CONFIDENTIALITY
Take home learnings but don’t identify anyone other than yourself, now or later. If you want to follow up with anyone regarding something they said in this session, ask first and respect their wishes.

RIGHT TO PASS You can say “I pass” if you don’t wish to speak.

Whether participating in a live webinar or watching the recordings, please understand that students’ personal information, classroom participation, and course-related comments, images and media shared in forum discussions, comments and emails is to be kept confidential, held with care and respect, and is only presented for internal circulation within the cohort of enrolled students’ learning experience.

If you do not wish to appear in a recording, please ask your questions in the chat or turn off your video while you unmute yourself to speak. (Having your video on will NOT result in your appearance in a recording unless you unmute your microphone at the same time).

If you experience any difficulties, please email me (pranaji@live.com) so I may assist you.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Before attending webinars, you will need to make a free Zoom account, which you can sign up for here : https://zoom.us/freesignup/

Please be sure to check for updates to Zoom, and install them, regularly throughout the course.

We strongly encourage you to have access to a reliable computer with a strong internet connection. While it is possible to access our online courses on your mobile or tablet device, it is easiest to participate in discussions and complete assignments on a laptop or desktop computer. Please install on your computer the most recent version of the common browser of your choice: Google Chrome, Apple Safari, or Mozilla Firefox.

A secure, stable internet connection is:

25 Mbps (average cable internet): sufficient for streaming 1080p HD video
10 Mbps (average 4G LTE connection): sufficient for 720p video
5 Mbps (average DSL connection): sufficient for 480p video
You may test your internet speed here: https://www.speedtest.net/

COMMUNICATION

For support in your study and meditation practice you may contact me directly at pranaji@live.com.

Thank you for joining us!