Meditation

Why I Teach Meditation

Coming Home
I have practiced meditation for well over a decade… and for many years, I struggled with it. I struggled to practice and I struggled with practice. I did it anyhow, day in and day out, year in and year out, and I learned a lot from it. I learned about how often we resist doing what’s good for us, and I learned about incessant mind chatter and how to quiet it, and I learned a lot, too, about intuition, the integrity of body and mind and how essential it is to “drop anchor” every day, touch into the quiet, the stillness that resides within us, no matter what the chaos outside. And still, I took it like a necessary medicine, rather than a delicious elixir.

Then, in 2007, my yoga teacher introduced me to the Lovingkindness Meditation, also know as Metta or Maitri Practice. Instantly, meditation was transformed for me into something I loved and longed to do.

It was like coming home.

If you come to my meditation class, you will always experience Lovingkindess Meditation, but I also offer other practices each time, as well, because I want you, too, to have the experience of finding the one that is, for you, like coming home.

The Power of Practice
There is something so powerful about making a commitment and following through with it. I know from over 20 years of working with people one on one that this is one of the most difficult issues most people face. And yet, it is exactly what we need. It helps us develop the “muscle of perseverance.” It gives us grounding in our lives. It helps us know that we are trustworthy. We need it in all of our relationships: not only with ourselves, and with other people, but with food and exercise and all the other “lifestyle” issues we struggle with. Learning to “show up” daily for practice, even if it’s only a few minutes a day, sets an important blueprint for being able to show up for ourselves in every area of our lives.

Dealing with Stress
The more stress we live with, the more essential it is to take time to heal our systems from that stress. There is an abundance of research on how meditation can stop the perpetuation of the stress cycle, and lower the stress response, plus all its benefits physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. But nothing speaks like experience. So please check the Events Calendar for the monthly schedule.

Can’t come to my classes? I’d be glad to work with you individually, by phone or in person. And you can also listen to two the following meditation mp3s I have recorded:

A short (7 minutes) Guided Relaxation to help you slow down and find some inner calm.
Download Guided Relaxation

Fran leads a group in the LovingKindness meditation practice. (16 minutes)
Download LovingKindness Meditation