Calming our new dog with meditation!

It began with a soft whimper, then a bit of whining and then heart-wrenching howls — loud, long howls — mixed with barks. Leia scampered to the door and back, as if going there would bring her foster mom back. She was clearly panicked and grieving inconsolably all at once. All we could do was offer soft reassurances. We didn’t try to stop her or quiet her. We understood. We bore witness to her pain.

After about an hour of this, we remembered people telling us their dogs calmed and relaxed when our guided meditations and music were playing. We started to play our Meditation Oasis podcast. She ran over to the iPad when she first heard it. Then back to her howling, and then gradually, very gradually she calmed. Her cries got softer with more and longer times of silence. Gradually, gradually she calmed.

Much to our surprise and delight, she’s become more and more relaxed ever since. There was even some tail wagging, turning belly up for belly rubs and snuggling as the evening went on. We made it through a quiet night of sleep. Maybe she would have calmed anyway, but we suspect the doggy meditation sessions helped. In any case, we love sharing this photo of our darling new relaxed doggy with you.

Have you had any experience with dogs listening to guided meditations or meditation music?

Guided Walking Meditation - Being Fully Present

Do you have a hard time sitting to meditate? Would you like to explore moving meditation? If so, we invite you to try the Guided Walking Meditation from our Walking Meditations app. You can find it on our latest podcast episode.

Walking meditation can be just as profound as sitting, and has the advantage of bringing the meditative state into our daily activity. Perfect for those who find it difficult to sit and meditate, it also brings a new dimension to meditation for those who do enjoy sitting meditations. 

Our approach to walking meditation is easy and informal. The Guided Walking Meditation gently encourages you to experience your body and your surroundings fully as you walk. You will be guided to let go of the mind’s preoccupation with naming, evaluating and analyzing what is going on. Letting go of thoughts about the past and future allow you to experience the present moment more fully.

The meditation is created for walking outdoors. To help you get the most out of the meditation, we have included part of the introduction to walking meditation from the Walking Meditations app. After the brief introduction finishes, the meditation will begin. Hope you enjoy it!

-- Read more about walking meditation

SOS Meditation for Anxiety

Do your thoughts start to run wild after a stressful situation has triggered fear and anxiety? Do you feel like you're on a runaway train, thoughts running in all directions making you more and more anxious? What can you do to apply the brakes to this "anxiety-worry spiral"? 

The key ingredients to dealing with anxiety are allowing it to be present, letting go of the worry thoughts that fuel it, and re-directing your attention. All of these elements play a part in this latest podcast meditation, SOS Meditation for Anxiety. It gently encourages you to let go of the thoughts that are fanning the flames of anxiety, and use the breath to guide the mind and body to a relaxed, calm place.

Allowing -- What we resist persists, when it comes to anxiety or any other emotion. You can think of emotions as a movement of energy, or even a chain of chemical reactions, in the body. Trying to push anxiety out or run away from it is like putting a dam in a river. It stops the flow. The water can't go anywhere. By allowing the anxiety to be there, it is allowed to run its course. 

Letting go of worry thoughts -- Fear is a signal that there is danger. When we feel anxious, even when there isn't a true threat present, the mind gets busy trying to understand what is happening and what to do. Without any obvious basis for the fear, the mind can go wild with worry thoughts and these thoughts make the fear even stronger. Letting go of these thoughts is essential to allowing the anxiety to pass.

Re-directing attention -- At the same time that anxiety is allowed to be present, we can direct our attention elsewhere. This is a subtle point: we are not resisting anxiety but rather "favoring" something else. In the case of this meditation, that something else is the breath. The meditation encourages you to pay attention to the breath. The pleasant, soothing rhythm of the breath and awareness of how the body feels as you breathe provides a calming focus for the mind.

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Although this meditation can be used anytime you are anxious, it was especially designed for our new Meditation Rx Relief for Patients & Families app. Although the app has guided meditations specifically for use with medical situations and settings, most of the meditations can be used in other situations as well. 

Equinox Guided Meditation

As a lover of light and warmth, I had always felt a bit of sadness with the coming of the Autumn Equinox. It seemed to signal the descent into winter -- short days, long nights, colder weather. More recently, thanks to meditation and perhaps also aging, which has brought me through so many seasonal cycles and ups and downs of life, my perspective has broadened. I have at long last given up the illusion that I can find a "sweet spot" in life and stay there forever. Perhaps more important is the recognition that you can't have sweet without sour, and whatever my current situation may be, "good" or "bad", it will change.

I am grateful to meditation for helping me to experience that which doesn't change and find a place of balance to carry me through the good times and the bad. As I sat with my guided meditation group, these recognitions and musings lead to this new podcast episode -- Equinox Guided Meditation.

These days when I create a meditation for the podcast, I know there are people on the other side of the world who will listen. Whether you are in the northern hemisphere transitioning from summer to autumn as we are, or in the southern hemisphere going from winter to spring, this equinox meditation will speak to you. We are all experiencing a turning point in the seasons. Actually, we are experiencing a turning point in every moment. I invite you to explore the nature of this change with us in this meditation, and would love to hear what you discover.

Our newest app! Enjoy the best of our music for meditation, relaxation, yoga.

Music Oasis for Meditation, Relaxation, Yoga

At last -- we have compiled the best of Richard's music in our latest app -- Music Oasis for Meditation, Relaxation, Yoga. If you enjoy the music in the background of our guided meditations, then you will love this app. It gives you the ability to listen to a piece for any length of time with a Timer feature. A Playlist feature allows you to create your own playlist, as well as including some preset playlists. You can also choose from 5 nature sounds to mix with the music if you like. Enjoy this uplifting instrumental music whenever you need calming, relaxation or soothing.

Needless to say, I am a great fan of Richard's music. As a long time practitioner and teacher of meditation, his music is imbued the very essence of the meditative experience and helps others to experience it. We have already received some inspiring feedback: "This is a beautiful app with wonderful music!" 

The app is available in the Apple app store.