Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation

studio BE Programming

Modern science has and continues to confirm what long-time meditators have known all along: mindfulness meditation helps us live more harmoniously with life’s inevitable ups and downs. In particular, a regular meditation practice reduces stress and its effects, improves mental functioning, and cultivates feelings of peacefulness and well-being.

In this audio course, you’ll learn about and practice specific mindfulness practices that relax the body, steady the mind, and will help you relate to your inner life and the wider world with more balance and equanimity. You'll also receive guidance on attending to aches and pains in the body as well as tips for establishing and maintaining a regular practice.

The course includes 6 short lessons and 6 corresponding practices. We recommend you follow the program over several weeks, working with each practice individually for a time before moving on to the next lesson and practice. Once you've completed the course, you can always return to your favorite practices as much as you like.

Progress
0%
0/12 Lessons

Lessons
Right Chevron

1. Lesson 1: What is Mindfulness?

Prerecorded
In lesson 1, Senior Facilitator Jennifer O'Sullivan, explains what mindfulness meditation is and offers some tips on how to establish a mindfulness practice.

Lessons
Right Chevron

1. Lesson 1: What is Mindfulness?

Prerecorded
In lesson 1, Senior Facilitator Jennifer O'Sullivan, explains what mindfulness meditation is and offers some tips on how to establish a mindfulness practice.

2. Practice 1: Relaxing the Body

Prerecorded
One of the hardest things about meditating is getting comfortable. In the first practice of the series, Jennifer guides you through a relaxation meditation to help you find more ease in your body.

3. Lesson 2: Mindfulness of the Body

Prerecorded
In the second lesson of the series, Jennifer starts to unpack the most common type of mindfulness practice — concentration — while introducing your first mindfulness "anchor," your body.

4. Practice 2: Body Scanning

Prerecorded
Experience one of the most common and accessible mindfulness practices: body scanning.

5. Lesson 3: Taming the Monkey Mind

Prerecorded
In lesson 3, Jennifer shares why taming our distracted monkey mind is beneficial and introduces Mindfulness of Breathing.

6. Practice 3: Mindfulness of Breathing 1

Prerecorded
Practice three introduces one of two variations of Mindfulness of Breathing, this one working with practice phrases to help tame a monkey mind.

7. Lesson 4: Getting on Task

Prerecorded
In this lesson, Jennifer explains the two prongs of awareness when practicing concentration meditations: knowing when you're on task and when you aren't. And she busts the myth that meditation is about turning off thoughts.

8. Practice 4: Mindfulness of Breathing 2

Prerecorded
In the second of two Mindfulness of Breathing meditations, Jennifer shares a time honored practice of counting to help you stay "on task."

9. Lesson 5: Widening the Lense

Prerecorded
Lesson 5 introduces the practice of Insight meditation, a key aspect of mindfulness that helps us to relate to our surroundings in a non-judgmental way.

10. Practice 5: Toggling

Prerecorded
In the fifth practice, Jennifer introduces Insight meditation by guided you to toggle between mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness of the body, sounds, and the present moment.

11. Lesson 6: Non-Judgmental Awareness

Prerecorded
In the last lesson of the series, Jennifer shares the two aspects of Insight practice: knowing what's occurring and knowing how you relate to what's occurring. She also wraps up with some additional tips on how to maintain a meditation practice.

12. Practice 6: Insight Meditation

Prerecorded
In the final practice of the series, Jennifer shares a more traditional Insight Practice while introducing one last method: noting.