Good Meditation to Lead?

[Komako]

Hola,

 

For my Methodology of Yoga Instruction course I'm leading a guided meditation in shivasana at the end of the class this Thursday (4/10). It will be 10-15 minutes in a darkened room.

 

I was hoping to share some sort of Taoist meditation with my fellow instructors-in-training.

 

Do you have any recommendations/links Taobums?

 

-Koma

[Dainin]

Hi Komako,

 

It's not Taoist, but most mornings after pranayama and seated meditation, I do a 15 minute Yoga Nidra routine.

 

In case you're not familiar with this practice, it is done in savasana and includes paying attention to the sounds inside and outside the room, the body's point of contact on the floor (or mat), drawing of attention to the various parts of the body in a systematic order, then grouping them together in increasing larger groups, until you have attention through the entire body at once, then paying attention to the breath, counting breaths backwards from 27 down to 1, etc.

 

I use an audio CD from the Atma Center in Cleveland (N. American HQ for the Bihar School of Yoga) called Foundation Class A, which is available through the store on their web site:

 

Atma Center

 

I find that this practice leaves me in a very refreshed and often blissful state. I can't recommend it enough.

 

Good luck with your class project no matter which practice you choose,

 

Dainin

[thelerner]

Shivasana is corpse pose, right? Lately when I lay down I'll visualize pieces of paper slowly covering my '5' points. Hand, head, hand, foot, foot; repeated around in circles, with the layers getting heavier with each layer.

 

It tends to deepen my state of relaxation. Sometimes I'll end it by 'laying' longer pieces along my center line a few times.

 

Don't know if that's the kind of thing you're looking for, but its something I do laying in the corpse pose.

 

That's more deep relaxation then particularly Taoist.

 

 

Taoist guided meditation might be working on the micro cosmic orbit, bone breathing (where you slowly light up each bone) or a fusion style where you see the different organs as seasons/colors and have them circle around your chest as if they were the seasons.

 

Minke DeVos has very well done collection of Taoist guided meditations at her web site called silent grounds called Tao Basics.

[Jetsun]

I find the White Skeleton meditation really powerful, but it is probably more Chan than strictly Taoist, but it will lead to good results and is easy to instruct for a group.

 

There are better instructions online but basically you sit and imagine all your flesh and outer coating is coming off your body and you willingly compassionately give it away to those that want or need it, then you start to feel your bones one by one starting with the big toe on the left foot and imagine the bones you feel are lit up with a bright white light, so you work through left foot then right foot, left leg then right leg, all the way up to your skull until you are a complete bright white skeleton, aquainting yourself with a picture of a skeleton can help locate all the bones. Then the important part you now imagine all your bones turning to dust and being carried away on the wind, I start with the feet upwards turning to dust, then you rest in emptiness for as long as you can not attaching to any thought or sensation. Then at the end dedicate your benefits to others.

 

I find this meditation has many aspects rolled into one and allows letting go and finding a calm detached state of mind very quickly and easily, its also a very old legit meditation not a new age one.

[Komako]

Thank you very much for your suggestions I will check them out before class.