Dear Meditator,

Good new for people in the west. We're starting courses in Yarraville from May. Courses will be run at the Avatar Wellness Centre, 128A Roberts St, Yarraville, on Tuesday nights from 7.00 – 8.30pm. Courses run for 6 consecutive weeks and will commence on the following dates in 2010: May 4, June 22, September 21, November 9

Meanwhile, courses in Port Melbourne will be run just twice a year.

This month our newsletter includes a new spot meditation, an article on how meditation can help to reduce pain and a link to 602 guided meditations.

Note also, that the full program for the 2010 Australian Meditation Conference has been announced and early-bird tickets are currently available.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter. Feel free to email comments, questions or suggestions to: matt@melbournemeditationcentre.com.au

In This Issue...

• Spot Meditation
• Meditation Article: How Meditation Reduces Pain
• Course Schedule
• Events
• Website of the Month: 602 Guided Meditations

Spot Meditation — Stand Up & Breathe

It's very easy to get caught up in the momentum of the working day and to forget entirely to relax. Naturally enough, this leads to escalating stress levels and a loss of balance.

To counter this tendency to let stress escalate unchecked it pays to develop habitual moments in which you check in with the body and breath.

One such way is to take one full, deep, conscious breath when you stand. This could be when you get up from your desk, when you hop out of your car, when you alight from the train or tram, or even when you get out of bed.

Instructions: Upon standing, pause and draw in a full breath, filling the lungs. Hold for a moment and then exhale gently through the mouth. Feel the breath fall through the body, from head to feet. Wait until the very end of the breath, watching it fade. Wait for the brief moment when you feel totally still, both physically and mentally, then continue your day.

How and where do you meditate when you've only got a minute? Send your own spot meditations to matt@melbournemeditationcentre.com.au

The best suggestion each month will be published here.

Meditation Article: How Meditation Reduces Pain

Meditation increases pain tolerance, but you don't have to devote your life to the practice to derive benefits, new research shows.

Even very brief training in mindfulness meditation had a positive impact on pain perception in the study, conducted by researchers from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

They recruited college students who had never meditated before and gave them a single hour of meditation training, spread out over three consecutive days.

Over the course of three experiments, all the study participants were subjected to harmless, but somewhat painful, electric shocks of varied intensity as the session progressed. Read more...

Course Schedule

Our next term of meditation courses for 2010 commences in May. You can register online for any of the following.

Term 2, May/June 2010

Meditation Events

How to Meditate Workshop

Sunday May 16, 2.00 - 5.00pm, Elwood

A condensed form of our Basic Meditation Course, this workshop is designed as an introduction to meditation and will help you get started with a range of simple techniques.

Australian Meditation Conference

The Australian Meditation Conference this year will be held at RMIT Story Hall on Saturday July 30th.

Presenters will include David Michie, author of Hurry up and Meditate, as well as Pauline McKinnon, Marc Cohen and Arian Young. More information...

Simply Silence

Get your regular dose of relaxation and calm at one of our Simply Silence sessions in Northcote or Elwood. It's a great way to discover and explore meditation in a friendly group environment.

Elwood Schedule

• April 12 - Cilla Brady
• April 26 - Public Holiday — No Session
• May 10 - Adam Nicoll

Northcote Schedule

• April 15 - Paul Majewski with Elise McColl
• May 6 - Ajay Ramdas
• May 20 - Rita Cattivera
• June 3 - Sabina Vitacca

Website of the Month: 602 Guided Meditations

As is my habit, I occasionally do a google search on meditation — hoping that I might find something of interest or use to me, or you. Just now I stumbled upon the website D.I.Y. Dharma, who describe themselves as a peer-led community of freaks, geeks, queers, rebels, outcasts, stream-enterers and their friends, who meditate together in the Buddhist tradition.

The site contains hundreds of guided meditations, lectures, talks and interviews by a huge range of teachers. A great resource for those wishing to explore meditation further. Don't be put off by the Buddhist focus, there's stuff hidden here for all sorts. [http://diydharma.org/]

Know someone who could chill out?

Do you have friends who are perpetually stressed or anxious, have trouble sleeping or could just do with learning how to relax? Do them a favour and forward this email to them. (Or if this is you, subscribe here.)