Meditation is one of three fundamental tools that support the holistic healing approach at Paradise Valley Healing Center aimed at promoting balance and integration of body, mind and spirit.
Meditation provides the opportunity to release stress, physical and emotional toxicity, and move away from destructive patterns of behavior.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a tool for the re-discovery of the body’s own inner intelligence. It is one of the ways to experience inner silence and restful awareness providing physical, psychological andspiritual benefit. Practiced for thousands of years, it’s not about forcing the mind to be quiet;rather it’s a process of rediscovering the quietness that is already there and incorporatingthis into your daily life. Through this inner exploration – the progressive quieting of the mind,meditation awakens creativity, healing and transformation and cultivates our deepest senseof connection to the universe.
For thousands of years, people have used meditation to move beyond the mind’s busy activity and emotional turbulence into profound peace and expanded awareness. In the 21st century, the restful awareness we experience during meditation is more valuable than ever. The pace of life has accelerated, expectations of achievement have dramatically increased and every day we are bombarded with more information and stimulation than our ancestors encountered during entire lifetimes. Not surprisingly, the number of people suffering from stress, anxiety, insomnia, addictive behaviours, and chronic health problems is on the rise —and many are searching for peace of mind.
The most direct way to experience inner silence and well-being is through meditation. As scientific research reveals, when you meditate, your breathing slows, blood pressure decreases, stress hormone levels fall, and the immune system is strengthened, just to name a few of the physical benefits of meditation. Seen as an antidote to stress, it counteracts many of the physical symptoms of stress that, if left untreated, can lead to chronic illness. But meditation has benefits that go beyond the physical. By quieting the constant chatter and inner dialogue of our minds, we are able to experience deeper levels of stillness and silence and reconnect with our essential nature, restoring the memory of wholeness in our lives. Rather than constantly repeating the same thoughts, the same actions, the same destructive/non-nurturing patterns of behaviour, we are able to go beyond the conditioning of our minds. This allows us to start making more conscious, nurturing choices to increase our health and well-being, enhance our relationships, gain clarity on our purpose in life and experience expanded states of awareness and greater joy and happiness. Meditation often involves sitting comfortably and silently, centering attention by focusing awareness on an object or process such as breathing. The most basic approach to meditation is to relax, let go and do nothing.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is an activity that can be done at any time and it does not require sitting or even focusing on the breath. When we’re mindful, we’re aware of what we’re experiencing, moment to moment, without judgment or expectation. We observe our experience just as it is, right now. It is done by bringing the mind to focus on what is happening in the present moment. Mindfulness meditation can be practiced daily, from eating to exercising, to just breathing and living. Some examples are enjoying food when eating, feeling the waves over your feet as you are walking on the beach, hearing the sounds of the wind in the trees, enjoying each moment with a friend or partner, and smelling the flowers as you stroll through a rose garden. Daniel Siegal, renowned neuroscientist and author, is one among many neuroscientists reporting the importance of having a practice of mindfulness for developing healthy and happy relationships. Dr. Siegal indicates a mindful practice allows people to practice compassion, openness, acceptance, and love.
Meditation at the Center
There are many different forms of meditation, and at Paradise Valley Healing Center we practice a mantra-based meditation technique. Mantra is a Sanskrit word that literally means ‘mind vehicle’. A mantra is a specific sound or vibration, which when repeated silently, provides a vehicle to take your mind beyond thoughts to deeper levels of awareness. At Paradise Valley Healing Center we offer instruction in Primordial SoundMeditation, a powerful meditation technique rooted in the Vedic tradition of India. Chopra center co-founders Deepak Chopra and David Simon have revived this ancient practice of sound meditation and made it available in a format that is easy to learn. When you learn Primordial Sound Meditation, you will receive a personal mantra based on your date and time of birth.
We also provide instruction in So Hum Meditation, a Buddhist based meditation technique utilizing a universal mantra.
Meditation is one of three fundamental tools that support the holistic healing approach at Paradise Valley Healing Center aimed at promoting balance and integration of body, mind and spirit. In conjunction with regular yoga sessions and following an Ayurvedic diet and daily routine, meditation provides the opportunity to release stress, physical and emotional toxicity, and move away from destructive patterns of behaviour. The regular, daily practice of meditation, allows one to move towards conscious choice making, supporting nurturing behaviours, and the experience of greater peace, love, creativity and success.