This blog accompanies the Whole Health programme 30 Days of Meditation - click here for more details and to sign up 

The audio at the top of this blog is the 15 minute meditation from Day 1 of that programme: What is Mindful Attention? This question enquiring into mindful attention is to notice the quality and nuance of our experience in any given moment, without judgement. This is a the essence of any aspect of yoga and other meditative arts. The meditation that accompanies this blog can help foster presence in a still practice, but also feed into awareness in movement, action and relationship with others.

Below we explore ways of meditating (not just sitting!) - also explored in the blog Meditation Positions - but first some let's look at how we can weave still and moving practices into our lives for awareness of the whole human spectrum of experience.

Meditation and yoga postures

Meditation is part of the eight-limbed path of yoga...

This blog accompanies the Whole Health programme 30 Days of Meditation - see here for more details and to sign up

Meditation is not just about sitting

Images of meditation are widespread, often giving the impression that simply sitting serenely is what it's all about.. but meditation is steady, focused, mindful attention - as explored in Whole Heath - and this can be explored in many positions; it is finding ease, comfort and a place where awareness can be cultivated that is the guide for where you need to be at any time. 

Although most meditation images are seated, if you don’t often sit cross-legged, this can initially create more tension in the neck, shoulders, chest, back or hips and dominate the experience. It is better to be fully supported in a way that allows the whole body to rest and the chest to open easily or you can feel like you are swimming upstream rather than flowing with the river. There are enough undercurrents to meet without...