Have you heard that mediation would be good for you, but think that your mind is too busy to actually try it? While yogis have known about the benefits of meditation for thousands of years, there is growing scientific evidence showing the benefits of daily meditation—especially in our hectic, modern world. A few of the most compelling benefits include: brain health, stress and anxiety reduction, increased attention span, reduced age-related memory loss, enhanced self-awareness and improved sleep. In this program, we'll explore what meditation really is, why even YOU can do it, and learn some techniques that can help start your home practice (with as little as 3 minutes per day). Meditation can be done anywhere, any time—busy mind or not. Meditation really is for everyone!

1. MEDITATION FOR
EVERYONE
Susan von Thun
MBARI, Jan 2019

2. Is meditation REALLY for everyone?
•You don’t have to be a monk or yogi
on a mountaintop to meditate!
•You can do it any time, anywhere
(and you don’t have to be able to sit
in lotus!).
•Many people have a perception of
meditation that keeps them from
trying it.

3. Why don’t YOU meditate?
•My mind is too busy.
•I don’t have time.
•I can’t sit still.
•I just don’t think it will
work for me.

4. Practice #1: Don’t meditate!

5. What IS meditation?
•Meditation is NOT about turning
off/suppressing your thoughts!
•It is about observing your
thoughts without judgement.
•It is a skill, that takes practice.
•Over time, you may become less attached to
your thoughts and may begin to understand
your thought patterns.

6. Benefits of meditation
Boosts HEALTH
•Increased immune function
•Decreased pain
•Decreased inflammation at
cellular level
•Improved sleep

7. Benefits of meditation
Boosts HAPPINESS and EMOTION REGULATION
•Increased positive emotions
•Decreased depression
•Decreased anxiety
•Decreased stress
•Increased self-awareness

8. Benefits of meditation
Boosts Productivity and Prevents Aging in the Brain
•Increased attention & focus
•Improves ability to multitask
•Improves creativity and thinking
outside the box
•Improves memory and prevents age-
related memory loss

9. Benefits of meditation
Changes your BRAIN
•Increased volume in areas of
emotion regulation, positive emotion
and self-control. (hippocampus and
orbito-frontal cortex)
•Increased cortical thickness in areas
associated with attention (prefrontal
cortex and right anterior insula)

10. Practice #2: Meditation for the Negative Mind
•Sit comfortably.
•Cup hands in front of you (right hand over left).
•Inhale through nose letting negative thoughts
come up.
•Exhale through mouth, breathing out negativity.
•To end, hold breath in while tightening every
muscle in the body. Exhale and relax.

11. Observations?
•Were you surprised by your negative
thoughts?
•Were you able to let them go?
•Did the same thought keep coming up?
•Daily meditation practice and observation of thoughts can lead
to an ability to be more authentic, compassionate, and
humble.

12. Practice #3: Kirtan Kriya
•Sit comfortably.
•Chant Saa, Taa, Naa, Maa.
•With each sound, alternate through four mudras:
•2 min out loud, 2 min whisper, 3 min silent, 2 min whisper, 2 min out loud.
•When done properly you use or activate all of your senses, awakening your
brain and rejuvenating your energy.
•To end, inhale, exhale. Stretch the spine, with hands up as far as possible;
spread the fingers wide, taking several deep breaths. Relax.

13. Kirtan Kriya benefits
•The Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation has found that
this meditation has immediate, long-term positive effects on the
brain.
•The use of the tongue and lips combined with mudra activates the
motor and sensory areas of the brain (occipital lobe of the brain)
•Increased cerebral blood flow (helps you think better).
•Improve blood flow to the posterior cingulated gyrus (improve
memory retrieval).
•Increase activity in the frontal lobe (sharpen attention, concentration,
and focus).
•Replenish vital neurotransmitters and brain chemicals
•Increase energy levels, improve sleep quality, reduce stress (lower
cortisol levels).

14. You’re convinced? Now what?
•Make a commitment to yourself
(and even an accountability partner).
•Commit to 3, 5, 11, 20 minutes/ day.
•Commit to 40 days (breaks old/ creates new habits).
•Do it at a consistent time every day.
•Look for results in life, not in the experience of meditation
Start today!

15. MEDITATION
RESOURCES
•Apps: Insight Timer https://insighttimer.com, Headspace: https://www.headspace.com, and MANY more!
• 20 Scientific Reasons to Start Meditating Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-it/201309/20-scientific-reasons-
start-meditating-today)
• 3HO Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan— Featured meditaitons (https://www.3ho.org/kundalini-yoga/meditation/featured-
meditations)
• Gaia online (www.gaia.com)
•The Chopra Center (https://chopra.com)
•Bliss More by Light Watkins
•Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics by Dan Harris
•How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newborn, MD
•Three Min Start by Mahankirn Kaur
•The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer
•Other authors to explore: Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Gabrielle Bernstein, Guru Singh, Guru Jagat, Yogi Bhajan

16. Kundalini Yoga for Everyone
•6-week series, part of the MBARI Wellness
programs (free).
•Open to ALL levels.
•Kundalini yoga is the yoga of awareness.
•You will tap into your energy potential,
move, heal, breathe and MEDITATE!
Thursdays at noon starting January 24