Meditation Secrets Revealed

As I look around me at a classroom of over 20 eager and curious 6th graders sitting on pillows in a carpeted room with colorful paintings, famous quotes, and a picture of social change leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, I can’t help but think how far we have come.

At this West Oakland School, every youth is taught mindfulness meditation, yoga, and mindful listening. This under-funded inner city school is taking a radical step towards preventing further violence in it’s community by teaching  students to seek more peaceful and harmonious ways to live.  Growing Up Mindful, is a program designed to teach students mindfulness, open and honest communication, yoga, and other consciousness raising activities. Knowing that this class is now integrated into the school curriculum with the approval and encouragement of the staff and principal is a dream come true.

This program is no singularity, similar programs are sprouting in many elementary, middle, and high schools all over the country. Yoga and Mindfulness are also being taken into jails, juvenile halls, and hospitals. With so much research to back up the claims that Mindfulness meditation and yoga improve concentration, memory, attention, reduce stress, and improve overall health, its no wonder that these ancient practices are finally making their way to public schools.

In addition to the benefits already mentioned, in a school setting students experience a radical boost to their self esteem and improved self image and confidence. By practicing yoga students are able to gain confidence in their own abilities to overcome physically and mentally challenging poses with a peaceful mind. The curriculum also focuses on establish mutual respect, kindness, and understanding- crucial to students facing inner city violence and oppression in their own communities.

The teacher’s voice is like a soft whispering hum filling the room, it tickles the skin and nourishes just the right place within. To be in the presence of such a brilliant, loving, and soulful teacher is a rare opportunity. As we move from pose to pose, sweat dripping from our faces, there is an internal smile that awakens with gratitude and joy at the awesomeness of such a class. This is no regular yoga class, here, we are a community, we are loved, and we feel at home. We are at the Ojai Yoga Crib.

Having been to many festivals, workshops, and gatherings, few events feel so deliciously good, so inspiring, and refreshing. Maybe it is because the crib takes place in the small town town of Ojai, nestled into a beautiful and lush valley just one and a half hours north of the busy concrete jungle of Los Angeles. Perhaps it is the amazing venues where classes are held. A class in the geodesic dome reveals the stunning acoustical properties of its geometric shape, where the musical voice of the teacher’s singing arcs and leaps with a whispers right into your ear. We pack into a school bus, bringing back memories of school days, and with giddy excitement we head for the stunning meditation center. Up there, as I move from downward dog into cobra, my gaze travels far ahead looking at the distant mountains surrounding us and the lush oaks covering the hills like millions of broccoli heads. Ojai is infused with the energy of spiritual wisdom and radiant beauty, it is where the famous spiritual leader Krishnamurti settled down and spent much of his time.

The crib is hosted by Lulubandhas – a yoga studio in Ojai. It is the brainchild of Kira and Eric Ryder and is made possible by the joint effort of a loving community of yogis. From the moment one arrives at headquarters, there is a sense of joy and togetherness that is unlike anything else I have experienced. Every detail has been thought through to make this three day yoga retreat exciting and accessible. Starting from the butterfly engraved outfits of the friendly team of volunteers to the simple and colorful schedule, every detail is an expression of the care and love that went into this event. Participants are able to choose from some of the best and most diverse teachers, each one bringing a unique perspective, years of experience, and a deep reverence for the science and art of yoga. The biggest challenge for me was to choose between the teachers for the five classes that are offered. Two classes the first and second day, one class on the last.

Meditation is held every morning. At 9 am, the first two and a half hour class begins. Afterwards, a vegetarian lunch is offered at headquarters or participants can choose from any of the wonderful restaurants around town. After lunch, allowing for some time for digestion, contemplation, and possibly a mid-afternoon nap, the second two and a half hour class begins. In the evenings, inspirational dharma talks, kirtan, music, and dancing provide entertainment and bring all the yogis together for a celebration of the spirit, mind, and heart.

As hard as it was to leave the crib, I am left with a deep sense of fulfillment and love. Rejuvenated and re-inspired, I already can’t wait for next year to come soon enough. Thank you Eric, Kira, Lulubanhdas, and everyone that helped make this such a masterful and blissful event.

The Ojai Yoga Crib Website
Lulubandhas Website

Here is something new. A rather interesting technique that people are calling super brain yoga.

The exercise in itself is very simple and involves the use of breath retention combined with crossing the left and right arm. This is very similar to the eagle pose in yoga where the left arm is crossed over right as right leg is crossed over left. The idea is to mismatch and break the natural synchronized patterning of body motion in order to create new patterns and awareness. Using breathing and an up and down motion also help retrain the brain and makes the movement more memorable. The video below mentions that the effectiveness of the technique is due in part to the placement of the fingers on the earl lobes that are related to acupressure points.

Supposedly, doing this exercise 15 times daily in the morning makes children and adults smarter by synchronizing the two brain hemispheres. I wanted to bring this technique to your attention with the hopes that some of my readers will try it out and comment back on this post what they thought of it. I will try this technique out for the next two week doing 15 repetitions every morning and will send out an update on the effects based on my own self observations.

Here is the short video from CBS2 News about it and a link to the specific instruction on how to do it. As the video points out, this is especially powerful for kids with learning or emotional disabilities.

Video, Instructions.

USA Today Article: June 8, 2008

This article just barely touches on all the research that has been done in the last 30 years to prove that meditation and mindfulness can create huge psychological and even physiological changes. In fact prayer and meditation are very similar but the main difference is that one the former is intricately associated with a religion practice while the latter is a technique. Meditation is a skill, just like riding a bicycle or learning to drive a car. One does not have to be spiritual or religious in any way shape or form to practice meditation or mindfulness. In fact, the same can be said for prayer. People frequently get confused by this because these techniques come from religious traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism, but they can be separated out. I personally practice meditation daily and love yoga but do not have any interest in Buddhism or Hinduism. Is this wrong? Would any Buddhist hold this against me? I doubt it.

Despite a growing pile of Western and Eastern scientific research about these practices, there is still a lot of misconception and narrow minded thinking, especially among scientists. The Dali Lama recently spoke at a neuroscience conference about conducting more research on meditation to help people deal with stress and better control their moods and as a response to his invitation, over 500 scientist signed a petition to try and stop him from speaking there. Their reason; don’t want religion mixed in with science. What rubbish! Like helping people deal with stress and gain greater emotional control is such a terrible thing. If there is one thing that we can all learn from the great religions of the world it is to have more compassion, kindness, and love. I think that everyone could use a bit more of these qualities, no matter what religion or belief system they ascribe to.