Three Dragon Basics

   Everyone can meditate!  You don’t have to climb to the top of a mountain and experience seclusion or wrap yourself into a pretzel!  Whether you are a yoga adept or a working single mom, you can learn to relax their mind and body and enter a healing meditative state.  Everyone can meditate!

   Each one of us has unique ways of dealing with a situation that triggers an arousal or stress response, likewise we have individual preferences for relaxing and attaining a calm state.  Our goal in this workshop is to present techniques to help you find your own individual and effective methods of relaxation.  In other words, we want to show you how to personalize your meditation practice to fit your lifestyle and personality.

  The Three Dragon Basics are the backbone of our program.  They are the basic skills you need in order to develop and practice meditation and self healing.  They aren’t complicated and each one has research to back its efficacy and show its positive effect on the body.

First Dragon Basic

Breath

    Ancient healing practices taught the essential properties of the breath through the moving meditations of qi gong and yoga.  They promoted the importance of breathing as a means of focusing, gathering and distributing vital energy and force to all areas of the body.  Through the breath we can gather energy, circulate its healing flow and purify our body systems.

    When in an aroused state your autonomic nervous system causes your breathing to become shallow and quick.  During the relaxation response your breathing slows and becomes deeper.  When you use your breath through consciously slowing and deepening it, you communicate to your autonomic nervous system that it is time to relax and release your body from stress and tension.

Abdominal Breathing
    Take a moment to practice abdominal breathing.  As you perform the exercise please consider your inner awareness.  What is your body feeling?  What thoughts are running through your mind?  Make a conscious note for reflection later.

    Sitting in a comfortable position place your hand on your abdomen.  Take a deep breath and concentrate on drawing the breath into your abdomen.  Feel your tummy  expand and your hand rise.  As you continue to inhale fill the upper part of your lungs so you get a good satisfying lungful of air.  Exhale through your mouth with a satisfied “Ahhh….”  Repeat this at least ten times. 

How did you feel?
Did you experience any physical changes?
What was your mind thinking about?

    During any meditation use the breath to help redirect your thoughts.  If you find your mind drifting into thoughts of what to make for dinner or how angry you are at your spouse, acknowledge the thoughts and then release them, focusing once more on your breathing.  You may find counting while you inhale helpful or focusing on how the breath feels as it enters and circulates throughout your body.  If you find you cannot focus too long on just breathing give yourself only a short time  then work up to longer times as you become more proficient and focused.

Posture
      Your spine connects every part of your body to your brain, acting as a conduit for energy.  When energy flows freely your body works at optimal levels.  Proper posture allows this movement of healing energy and in addition, provides organs and organ systems the space to enhance performance.  Take a moment to try this exercise.

    Sit comfortably in your chair.  Now hunch your shoulders and slouch into the seat.  Breath deeply from your abdomen, making note of how your body feels as you breathe deeply.  Now stand up into the proper Qi gong posture.  Breathe deeply into your abdomen.  Do you notice a difference?  Good posture is so important.  Even if you are lying down or sitting, by adjusting your posture you can maximize the flow of healing energy.  This excerpt is author Roger Jahnke’s book, The Healing Promise of Qi.

“In either the sitting or standing posture, visualize a connection from the crown of your head up into the celestial realm – Heaven.  Through this connection a gentle force lifts your head upward, which straightens and lengthens your spine.  Relax your shoulders completely.  Now visualize a connection from your sacrum to the center of our planet.  Through this connection a force gently pulls the lower part of  your body downward, which straightens and lengthens your spine.  The upward lift and the downward pull opens the center of the body, from the umbilicus to the heart, which fills with water (blood, lymph) and is infused with Qi.”

     Keep your feet about shoulder width apart with your toes pointing forward.  Your knees can be slightly bent which will cause the pelvis to shift slightly forward flattening your lower back and pulling the abdomen in.  Relax your shoulders and hands and let them gently rest at your sides with your elbows slightly away from your body.  If you are sitting, rest your hands in your lap.

Mindful Focus
     Why are you taking this meditation workshop?  What is it that interests you in   the practice of meditation and self healing?  If you are like most people you have a specific reason for learning meditation and self healing and being here tonight.  Perhaps its for a specific health concern or dealing with stressful situations.  Whatever the reason, your focus and intention is part of the healing process.

    Let’s try an experiment.  Find a comfortable position and relax into your body.  In a moment I’ll  have you close your eyes and practice abdominal breathing for three minutes.  After the three minutes is up we’ll take a look at what happened during the exercise.

Did your mind shut off?
Were there feelings attached to the thoughts you were having?
Did you do any of the impulse thoughts that came into your mind?

     It is impossible to shut off your mind.  Thoughts constantly run through our heads, some random, others organized, some happy, some sad.  What is important to know is that the thoughts you have do not necessarily define who you are.  They are simply thoughts, flashes of chemicals with a few bursts of electrical impulses thrown in.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t important!

   Where your thoughts become relevant is when you consider your intent.  The reason you are meditating in the first place.  In order for meditation and self healing to be effective your mind must be in cooperation with your intention, in other words their must be a conscious choice and purposefulness behind what you are doing. 

   What is your intention?  Not all meditation sessions will be focused on the same intention so you need to understand your intention for a particular meditative session.  For instance, my friend and I are working through the Principles of Abundance, each day we read the principle and meditate on its meaning for us.  My intention for that session is to find inspiration and meaning in a phrase.  I spend about 15 minutes considering the meaning of the phrase, looking at each word, how it fits in the sentence, what the deeper meaning could be.  There are ten principles we are working on and once we finish the one a day we start over again.  My mind focus is on the words and phrases and gaining insight.  My mind may wonder but as I know my intent I can gently bring it back and refocus on the task at hand.

   Sometimes I want to focus on pain management so my intent would be to gather Qi and distribute it, to provide healing and relief.  I have specific mind exercises that help me manage the pain and again though my mind wonders I know my intent so can bring it back to the focus.

   There is a ancient anonymous proverb from China “When the mind is distracted the Qi scatters.”  When the mind is focused it is a powerful tool.  It is no longer ancient wisdom but scientific fact that that our minds have the ability to achieve incredible feats through belief, thought and intention.  This intentional focus is called Yi.

   A clear mind is a beautiful thing and when attained of great value.  Most people however can only maintain that clarity of thought for a short time and then off it goes wandering again.   Use your intent and mind focus and try these techniques for keeping the mind from getting too distracted.

·        If you try to control your mind it will fight back.  Release control, acknowledge the stray thoughts but do not engage with them.  Put them on a TV screen and watch them go by and then get back to Yi.
·        Try imagining the thoughts as though through a train window getting smaller and smaller as they go off into the distance.  Eventually, they will pass the horizon and you can get back to Yi.
·        Try noticing the inner darkness of your eyelids and then notice yourself noticing like you have become an observer of the observer. Now use that observer to watch your own thoughts.
·        Try exhaling the stray thoughts and inhaling energetic light.
·        Bring your focus back to your breathing, counting four beats per exhale and four beats per inhale.
·        If you feel sleep coming on, don’t fight it.  Instead let the sleep pass over and behind your head.
·        Try taking a few deep, slow breaths followed by ten rapid, shallow ones.
·        Listen to soothing baroque music or other music known to help achieve a meditative state.
·        Use guided meditations where you are being instructed.  This can help you focus on specific tasks and give you more practice at the Three Dragon Basics.
·        Have a short word or phrase that you repeat over and over.  If you say it quietly and your mind begins to roam than start saying it out loud, matching your breath to its rhythm.  Affirmations work extremely well.
·        If your mind does wander than just bring it back with the Three Dragon Basics: Check your breath, readjust your posture and consider Yi.
·        For some people sitting still is a challenge.  If this is the case, use the morning routine as your form of meditation, finishing it up with the energy tapping. 

   The most important thing to keep in mind, is that you are not doing it wrong.  Just by making the decision to learn and practice meditation you have created a positive intention.  You are on the right path!