In This Issue...

• Spot Meditation
• Meditation Podcast with James Austin MD
• Course Schedule
• Events
• Get fit meditating?

Spot Meditation — The sacred cigarette

Have you ever seen someone get up from their desk, casually wander outside, pull out a cigarette, light it — and then, with a kind of indulgence rarely seen anywhere in our culture — draw in a long, slow, deep breath full of smoke? Then they'll pause for a moment — almost as if time is standing still — as they savour the feeling of smoke swirling about their lungs (as though it's some kind of secret, illicit pleasure). Finally, they expel that held breath, in a long, languorous, sighing motion, tension dropping from the whole body as curls of grey smoke filter through the air.

Sounds kind of luxurious, even healthy, doesn't it?

If you're a smoker, every hour or so you get to let go of work for a few minutes, get a change of scenery as you lean back and enjoy some deep, refreshing breaths.

Or maybe you stand in an alleyway with other smokers and get to let off some steam as you gossip about work, or the weekends footy.

In any case, the cigarette itself is a handy timer; you don't have to time-watch because you know the cigarette will eventually burn up, signalling the end of your mini-break.

Countless studies have shown that people are more productive if they take a short break every hour. If you take the cigarette away and do the rest of this delightful ritual, it becomes a breathing break.

Why not take up the habit. My only recommendation? Use a pen, or just your imagination, in lieu of the cigarette.

P.S. Click on the image for a 60 second demonstration of just how healthy a cigarette break can be.

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.

This is Your Brain on Meditation

James Austin MD has spent most of his years as an academic neurologist, first at the University of Oregon Medical School, and later at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He began Zen meditative training in 1974 with Kobori-Roshi, a Rinzai Zen master. His early research was in areas of clinical neurology, neuropathology, neurochemistry and neuropharmacology. He has since developed a keen interest in the experimental designs and findings of investigators who are studying meditation and related states of consciousness.

In this podcast he explains some of the physical mechanisms underlying both attention and the way we process reality. He also shares the ways in which these two are related to the different forms of meditation that are commonly seen in the Buddhist tradition. Although sometimes technical, his descriptions are extremely interesting for those who have an interest on the intersection between meditation and the brain.

Also, there's a brand new podcast in which Jason Siff is interviewed discussing his new book Unlearning Meditation. Also well worth a listen.

Course Schedule

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

Term 4, September/October 2010

Meditation Events

How to Meditate Workshop

Sunday September 26, 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.

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

• September 12 - Sarah Fletcher
• September 27 - Matthew Young
• October 11 - TBA
• October 25 - Kate James

Northcote Schedule

• September 2 - Dean Das
• September 16 - Elaine Doyle
• October 7 - Paul Majewski
• October 21 - Rita Cattivera
• November 4 - Ajay Ramdas
• November 18 - Daniel Banfai
• December 2 - Paul Majewski
• December 16 - Dave Hall

Get fit meditating?

It may sound strange, but meditation can be one of the most useful exercises for all round fitness.

Think about it. In typical forms of exercise the lungs and heart often become overburdened well before the body is truly fatigued. We stop to catch our breath, or to let the lactic acid fade from the muscles. The exercise itself is an exercise in willpower, often done without much awareness. Under such circumstances, we may not learn much about our bodies; how we move and use them, and the likelihood of injury is relatively high.

What's the alternative? A somewhat counter-intuitive and paradoxical exercise regime — standing meditation. This is exercise of the muscular and vascular systems, exercise for the whole body. The principle is to stimulate every organ, indeed, every cell, simultaneously. In standing meditation, even if your muscles become tired, your pulse stays in the normal range, and breathing remains natural. It may even become more even, more rhythmic, and more relaxed.

Because there are no complex sets of movements, and no times or records to beat, the nervous system is not greatly stressed; you eliminate internal tension, and achieve mental calm.

Practiced most often in the context of Tai Chi, Qi Gong and the martial arts, standing meditation is a very worthwhile but relatively underutilised means of meditation.

Considering its proven value, surprisingly few people undertake the practice today. However, suspend your disbelief for a few hours of introductory practice, and you'll likely encounter and resolve these paradoxes:

Standing still is good exercise. Standing meditation doesn't mean just leaning up against the wall and chilling out. It means adopting a specific meditation posture. It looks easy, but can be a surprisingly tiring and demanding exercise, both mentally and physically.

Holding your arms up is relaxing. Many variations of standing meditation require that the arms be held up, as if holding a ball, for fifteen minutes or more. At first, such postures are unpleasant, and cause tension and soreness in the shoulders. However, the posture itself is not the problem, it only exposes the problem, and after a few weeks of regular practice, the soreness will give way to more pleasant sensations.

Static posture training promotes fluid and coordinated movement. Although everyone can stand still, few people do it well. Through standing meditation will you likely discover how deeply physical tension affects your performance. Over time your balance will improve, and you may be surprised to find that standing meditation also increases your sensitivity, explosive speed and power.

Want to see how it's done. Here's a quick video on how to do standing meditation.

Know someone who could chill out?

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