Covert Meditation - Become a Mindfulness Ninja
Revealing My Secret
For the past 15 years, I’ve been playing a trick on every single student in my Yin Yoga classes.
Most are completely unaware of this, and yet they fall for it every single time.
The students think they are just signing up for a Yoga class, but that’s not actually what I teach them.
They think they are coming to relax their bodies and de-stress their minds — and they do, but that’s not my primary intention.
What I’m really up to is something more profound than that.
You see, what I’m really doing is leading them through a session of covert meditation.
Whether they realize it or not, 90% of my instructions in Yin Yoga classes relate to mindfulness.
And by learning these skills in the lower friction setting of a Yoga class, they are setting themselves up for a deeper awakening down the line.
It’s my favorite trick and the secret sauce to my teaching method.
But first, let’s unpack some myths about meditation…
Unfortunate Stereotypes
Meditation is often misunderstood, and pop culture has done a great job of reinforcing many of these misconceptions.
We have all seen images of the lone monk perched high on the hill, spending countless motionless hours in deep contemplation.
Because of this, we think that in order to meditate, we need to find a hut in the middle of the woods. Or maybe we need to find some cave and seclude ourselves for a few days.
Whatever stereotype we have in our minds, we don’t think we have the right conditions to start the practice.
I’m a keen believer that mindfulness can ultimately happen anywhere, including in many areas outside of formal meditation.
One of the greatest skills we can develop is the ability to tap into our mindfulness at any point throughout our day.
It is often also thought that meditation has to be boring and uncomfortable.
We think it has to involve long periods of sitting still completely still, regardless of what we are feeling in our bodies.
You may have even heard stories about mean Zen masters whacking their students with sticks if they slip in their posture.
Ouch!
While all of these stereotypes have some basis in reality, the truth is that mindfulness is meant to be an all-terrain practice.
We don’t need to limit ourselves to a rigid definition of what meditation should or should not be.
And as I’ll discuss in the next section, Yin Yoga provides the ideal training ground for learning mindfulness without some of these confines.
Covert Meditation Gives You A Unique Edge
Meditation and mindfulness can happen in literally any place and in any posture.
While the traditional forms are seated, standing, walking, and lying down, there is no reason to limit ourselves to this.
Each of the diverse cavalcade of Yin Yoga postures is a good place to develop our attention skills.
In many ways, Yin Yoga can actually be a superior place to develop mindfulness.
The dynamic feedback of the poses gives us a rich and evolving experience to explore, rather than the more static nature of a seated posture.
Since we change postures every few minutes, there is always something new to experience. This breaks the monotony that can make seated meditation challenging at first.
Yin Yoga also provides just the right amount of discomfort—not too much, not too little—to teach us how to be equanimous with whatever arises.
(Learning to master comfort with discomfort is one of the hallmarks of my 8-week immersion: Embodied Mindfulness.)
But while we can experience some discomfort while working within the poses in our Yin Yoga practice, the poses themselves are actually preparing us to be more comfortable in traditional seated meditation.
Because of the long, slow holds of Yin Yoga, we can release deeply-held tension - especially in the hips and hamstrings.
If you’ve found seated meditation uncomfortable in the past, you might be surprised at how much more accessible it can be after a few weeks of Yin Yoga practice.
Given the substantial advantages, diving into Covert Meditation practice is a no-brainer.
Become A Mindfulness Ninja
If you’d like to work through this in a more coordinated way, I’ve set up an easy two-week immersion that will help you to more deeply understand the connection between mindfulness and Yin Yoga; please follow these steps:
Step 1 - Sign Up For The Free Preview of Embodied Mindfulness:
Within the course, watch/read the lesson titled “Anapanasati - Mindfulness of the Breath,” and then do the 1st Yin Yoga practice.
This will set you up for success in seeing the relationship between Yin Yoga and traditional meditation.
Step 2 - Within 2 Weeks, Take These 3 Yin Yoga Classes From My YouTube:
You can take them whenever you have time and in any order, but make sure it is within a two-week timespan so that you have a sense of momentum.
Step 3 - Return Back To The Free Preview and Practice The Guided Meditation:
Notice how the physical practices of Yin Yoga have prepared you for your seated meditation.
Does it feel easier than your earlier attempts? How has the physical practice prepared you to be more attuned in seated meditation?
This is the power of Covert Meditation.
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After you’ve completed the challenge, please drop me a line and let me know how It went!
Like and comment on the YouTube videos to help give me a boost in the algorithm, and share the challenge on social media!
I am also beyond happy to answer any questions and give you feedback on your practice. You can even schedule a FREE 15-minute call with me if you ever want to discuss your practice. Schedule your call down below:
Video - Don’t Overcomplicate Your Yoga and Meditation Practice
Today, we will dive into simplicity. Ensuring that you don't overcomplicate your yoga and meditation practice. It's easy to get overcomplicate things. We can get lost in vast texts like the Pali canon, but this video emphasizes the essence of being present without resistance. It's all about the core skill of noticing and reconnecting with the moment, whether you're on the mat or navigating daily life. Let's strip back to basics, demonstrating that simplicity is all about focusing on what truly matters. Don't forget to subscribe for more insights into yoga, meditation, and living mindfully.
Check the link for a special preview and my Embodied Mindfulness course - https://www.robphillipsyoga.com/embodied-mindfulness-preview
Video - 3 Things A Consistent Yin Yoga Practice Will Teach You
Yin Yoga's challenging start transforms lives. This week, you'll learn '3 Things A Consistent Yin Yoga Practice Will Teach You.'
In this video, we'll explore the transformative aspects of Yin Yoga. It's not just about physical flexibility but also about stepping out of your comfort zone, finding inner balance, and nurturing deep mindfulness. You'll learn how to gain clarity through calm, and I'll share insights gained from 20 years of practice and teaching. Discover play at your edge, practice covert meditation, and find true balance.
Check the link for a special preview and my Embodied Mindfulness course - https://www.robphillipsyoga.com/embodied-mindfulness-preview
Sign up for my mailing list to get weekly insights on Yoga, Meditation, and Life: https://www.robphillipsyoga.com/newsletter
5 Lessons in Mindfulness From Over 500 Cold Showers
The Awakening Plunge
It’s the hardest 30 seconds of my morning.
After spending the last five minutes awash in the warm, pleasant bliss of hot water, I am ready to make a drastic change.
As I stare at the shiny silver shower knob, I try to talk myself out of it.
“Just skip it today.”
“You can just go without it.”
But with a flash of courage, I take the plunge.
I quickly turn the knob as far down as I can and turn my back to the water. After a brief delay, the change is complete. The once pleasant warmth of the water has transitioned into a sharp, stinging bite.
At first, my body tenses in response, but then I remind myself of my practice.
I take a few deep, calming breaths. I consciously relax my body and tune into the sensations.
After 30 seconds or so, a profound shift has happened.
The water is still unpleasant, to be sure - but I am no longer resisting it.
Instead, I turn my mind towards noticing the sensations — towards noticing my reactions.
What at first felt like an act of torture has turned into a moment of contemplation. I envision myself as a Zen monk under a waterfall in Japan. I allow myself to rest within the experience rather than fighting it.
My once restless mind has become more clear and focused.
Instead of resistance, I now feel a sense of calm equanimity.
And after a couple of minutes, even my physiology has changed.
My body has adapted, bringing more warm blood to my skin. My heart rate has slightly increased, and I am now wide awake. My brain has even received a rush of dopamine, that will help to power my day.
After several minutes, and making sure to rotate and cover all parts of my body with the icy streams, I turn off the faucet and dry off.
My morning cold shower ritual is now complete, and I am ready to face my day with a renewed sense of presence and vigor.
Such has been my routine for most days over the last two years.
Today, I’m going to tell you how you, too, can take the plunge into the mindful benefits of cold showers.
Beyond the Physical: A Spiritual Journey
While cold immersion has grown somewhat of a cult over the last few years, most people (especially my wife) think I’m crazy.
This deliberate embrace of something most people dread is certainly not a popular option.
And even amongst cold immersion enthusiasts, many are mostly just suffering through it to get the physiological benefits.
(For those who don’t know, these include improved circulation, muscle recovery, dopamine production, and increased metabolism, to name a few.)
But the physical benefits are only part of why I put myself through this masochistic morning maintenance routine.
The thing is, for most of us, our 21st-century lifestyle has become a neverending stream of comfort.
We live in climate-conditioned homes, wear plenty of clothes to keep us warm outside, and often don’t even have to walk up stairs anymore!
How many times have you found yourself lying in bed on a Saturday morning, just lounging under the covers instead of getting up to conquer the day?
Or how many times have you gotten sucked into the rabbit hole of Instagram when you know you could be doing something more productive?
We’ve all had the experience of reaching for the chips when we know it will make us feel like crap afterward.
So, while it’s nice to be cozy sometimes, if it’s all we ever experience, it can become suffocating and limit our potential.
When we never face adversity, it becomes harder and harder to break out and do challenging things.
And a complete lack of discomfort can even cause us to become stagnant.
As a Yin Yoga and meditation teacher, I know all too well that learning how to safely work with discomfort is one of the most valuable skills we can learn.
Mindfulness is the secret that allows you to work with these challenges without getting stuck in them.
It’s also the skill that will help you to take the more challenging path in the moment of resistance.
And so, for me, my morning cold shower ritual has taken on an almost spiritual element.
It has become my morning practice of embracing discomfort, and you could even say it’s become my favorite life hack.
Lessons from the Cold
Having taken over 500 cold showers over the last 2 years, here are 5 lessons in mindfulness that I’ve learned:
1) How to Maintain Awareness Through Unpleasant Sensations.
When I’m first shocked by the cold blast, it is so tempting to try to distract myself.
I can start daydreaming or spacing out.
My mind wants to be anywhere other than within the bitter cold.
And yet, I can practice coming back. Noticing the sensations - noticing my breath.
Each time I come back, it becomes a little easier, and I stop fighting what is actually here.
This is a huge win when it comes time to go to the dentist or when I’ve fallen ill.
I am able to stay present, even when the going gets tough.
2) How to Stick With a Routine, Even When I Really Don’t Like It.
As I said in my introduction, making the shift to cold is one of the most challenging moments of my day.
Almost every morning, I try to talk myself out of it.
And yet, I always make that burst and take the plunge.
This dedication has reminded me that I can always stick with my habits, no matter how difficult they may seem at first.
By starting my day by doing something hard, the other little challenges throughout my day seem like far smaller obstacles.
This has countless downstream effects throughout my day. It becomes exponentially easier to do the more challenging option when I know it’s the right thing to do.
3) Equanimity With Discomfort.
This is where we start to get deeper into the mindfulness part of this practice.
The fact is, the cold water will always be unpleasant.
Even as I get a rush of endorphins, the discomfort is still there underneath.
So, I’ve made a practice out of just noticing what I am feeling.
I’ve learned to be there with the discomfort rather than trying to fight it.
I’ve learned how to see the changing flow of sensations for just what they are - momentary discomfort.
This is invaluable in my daily meditation and yin yoga practice and even throughout my day.
There will always be moments of unpleasantness, but now I am able to relax through them.
4) How to Clear My Mind of Negative Reactivity
As a compliment to the last step, I also practice noticing the reactivity in my mind.
The conditioned response to discomfort is resistance and the flight response.
Most of the time, this reaction is a valuable instinct to keep us from harm!
But within this controlled setting, I know that the shower will not actually harm me. So I can practice letting go of these reactions. I can practice relaxing and softening the tension in my body.
These skills are identical to those I teach in my Yin Yoga classes—the ability to work safely with discomfort and to lesson reactivity.
(If you’d like to explore this idea in more depth, please check out my 8-Week Course Embodied Mindfulness.)
5) Greater Appreciation For Life’s Comforts
But this practice isn’t purely masochistic.
By working with controlled doses of negativity, I have found a new appreciation for the more pleasant parts of life as well.
Even when first drying off after the cold shower, I can feel the pleasant sensations of the towel on my skin, and the shift back to warmth.
As I go into my day, the normal twists and turns don’t disrupt me so much, and I’m better able to enjoy to splendor of the world around me.
It’s all about the contrasts.
That is why inviting periodic doses of deliberate discomfort into your day can actually make it even more enjoyable!
Embracing the Chill: Your Own Personal Guide to Cold Shower Practice
Are you ready to take the plunge and give it a try for yourself?!
Here is a simple process to help you get started:
1) Commit to just 1 minute of cold
Start with warm water. Wash your hair, body, etc., as you normally would.
But then, for your final minute, turn the knob all the way to cold!
These are called “Scottish Showers,” and I’ve found them to be the most sustainable way to begin the habit. Trying to go fully cold is often too challenging at first, and you might end up rushing at the expense of your hygiene. (Nobody wants that…)
Be sure to face your back to the shower first, and then slowly move around to expose the rest of your body—even your head and face—to the cold.
At first try to go for one minute. As you get more attuned to the process, you can consider adding more time, but start small. In the beginning, the important thing is just to get started!
2) Work with the experience with mindful awareness.
As I said above, it’s not going to be pleasant at first!
There will be a lot of reactivity, and you will try to rush out. Try your best to resist these temptations.
Take slow, deep, steady breaths. Try to relax any tightness that shows up. Know that this is temporary and that you are doing this intentionally.
Try to feel into the experience on a sensory level and let go of reactivities.
Remember, it’s all just sensations, and we are practicing working with them with a sense of equanimity.
It may take several sessions to reach that point, but with practice, you will be able to make the shift.
3) Commit to the practice for at least one week.
Like so many habits, it will take time to really see the benefits. Try to give it at least one week to see how things unfold for you.
4) Notice how you feel throughout the rest of the day.
As we often say of Yin Yoga, this is a bitter practice with sweet results.
Notice how the cold showers affect your energy levels and how they may affect your interaction with the rest of the day.
It may take some time, but as I said earlier, they can start to feel like a superpower!
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Once you’ve completed your 1-week cold shower challenge, please drop me a line to let me know how it goes!
And if you enjoyed this post, please be sure to share it on social media.
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Mastering comfort with discomfort is the ultimate skill to master, and a deeper practice of Yin Yoga and Mindfulness is the perfect place to do it.
Are you ready to fully immerse yourself in these practices?
Please join me for my new 8-week course, Embodied Mindfulness.
You can sign up here for a free preview with almost 2 hours of content.
How to Conquer Your Insomnia using Brain Science, Mindfulness, and Yoga
The Endless Toss
It’s the worst feeling in the world.
You spent another restless night tossing and turning in your bed, barely scoring two hours of actual sleep. And yet, here you are, staring at your computer like a zombie, just trying to get through your day. But you can’t shake that dragging, foggy feeling.
It’s draped over you like a cold, wet blanket.
Even the two cups of coffee you pounded aren’t enough to break the spell.
And still, you continue to plow through your day, just trying to make it through to the other side.
The Real Impact of Sleep Deprivation
If you’ve ever felt like this, you’re not alone.
According to the CDC, over 35% of adults get less than 7 hours of sleep each night. And all of this sleep deprivation comes with a price. Poor sleep can lead to impaired cognitive function, high blood pressure, and even obesity!
As if you didn’t have enough keeping you up at night already…
Easing Into Restful Nights
But it doesn’t have to be like this. And this is where a proper Yin Yoga and Mindfulness practice will get you back on track.
In many ways, they’re the perfect antipode for restless nights.
If you haven’t tried it yet, Yin Yoga involves long, relaxed holds lasting several minutes each. During your time in each pose, you practice relaxing the body and letting go of deeply held tension. As you settle into stillness, the mind gradually becomes more open as well.
This deep physical release naturally activates the relaxation response in the body, allowing you to doze off easily.
Similarly, mindfulness meditation shows you how to let go of deeply held mental resistance and agitation.
As you work through your meditation session, you will notice what thoughts and other resistances arise. But rather than just suffering through them, you will actually practice letting them go again and again. The profound letting go is the core of how meditation relieves suffering in the mind.
Just as Yin Yoga provides the perfect release for the physical body, meditation creates a sense of deep calm in the mind.
Three Steps For Better Sleep
If you’re ready to start exploring the practices and getting the restful nights of sleep you deserve, try this simple three-step action plan:
Step 1: Track Your Sleep
You have to know where you currently stand if you want to improve. Start by keeping a log of your current sleep patterns. Take note of what time you go try to go to bed. In the morning, note approximately how long it took you to fall asleep. If you want bonus details, note what you did in the hours leading up to bedtime. This can provide powerful clues for what’s working or not in your overall lifestyle.
Step 2: Try one Yin Yoga Pose each night before bed.
Find several Yin Yoga poses you like, and practice a different one for at least two minutes before bed. (1 minute per side for one-sided poses.) Notice which ones help you relax the most, and feel free to keep coming back to those if they work well for you.
Step 3: Add some meditation to your routine.
I’d recommend starting with just 5 minutes. Sit in a relaxed posture and notice your breath. Relax the entire body and let everything calm down. If you’d like a guided practice, check out one of the ones on my YouTube.
Notice how you respond to the simple routine.
If you follow it regularly, I can all but guarantee that your sleep patterns will improve in just a few weeks.
Rewiring Rest
However, these surface-level summaries of the practices hide the immense depth within them.
If practiced regularly, intentional Yin Yoga and meditation practice will completely rewire how your body and mind operate.
Because while relaxation is great, it is temporary. You can relax as much as you want, but if the tension keeps coming back, something more deep-seated is going on. You need to get to the source of the problem.
And for most of us, the source comes from our automatic and unconsciously conditioned patterns.
So many of us are stuck in reaction. So many of us hold tension within our bodies that we’re unsure how to shake off. And this is where the introspective nature of this work sets it apart from simple relaxation exercises.
Yin Yoga and Mindfulness practice bring our deeply held patterns to the surface.
They allow us to see where we are stuck but then allow us to move on from that place.
And this is the most restful feeling of all.
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If you’d like a chance to go deep into these practices, my 8-week immersion course, Embodied Mindfulness, will take you there.
If you follow the link, you can sign up to get access to a free preview, which includes almost 2 hours of content. It’s everything you’ll need to begin your journey through Yin and Meditation.
Break Out from Burnout: the Art of Doing Nothing
It happened again…
Somehow, it’s the end of the day, and yet again, there you are, feeling fried and burnt out.
Even though you gave yourself plenty of time to ‘unplug,’ your mind still feels like it’s gotten no rest at all.
Between the hours you spent on social media throughout the day and the two hours you spent watching Netflix after work, there was never really any pause at all.
It’s the same thing, day in and day out, and it seems like there’s no getting off the hamster wheel.
Does this sound at all familiar?
I’m sure it does for many of us.
Even for me, as a Yin Yoga and Meditation teacher, the web of distractions is seductive and omnipresent.
We like to tell ourselves that we’re unplugging, but really, we’re just stirring up our mental pot with more and more stimulation.
And how could we help ourselves?
Tech and media companies spend billions of dollars each year to capture and imprison our attention.
Our attention is their commodity, and they’re in a constant search for the best and greatest methods to extract it.
This has all sorts of consequences:
We have shorter attention spans.
We sleep less.
We have fewer deep connections with our friends and families.
We are left feeling depleted, even though when it seems like we’re resting.
It truly is the crisis of our current time.
But fortunately, there is a solution. One that’s free and always available.
Doing Nothing.
The secret is to develop the skill of doing nothing.
Not just doing nothing like vegging out on your couch watching TV.
Not just doing nothing like laying in bed on a Saturday morning.
But instead, we should practice the art of deliberately and intentionally doing nothing.
This is the most valuable skill you can master if you want to unhook yourself from the trap of digital diversions.
By deeply practicing the ability to unplug and reset, you will be able to navigate the modern landscape without getting sucked into the maelstrom of diversions.
There are infinite advantages to this, but here are just a few:
You’ll be able to do your work from a place of clarity and focus.
Your thinking will be more sharp, and ideas will pop up more easily.
You’ll be more present with family and friends, and be able to deepen your time spent with them.
You’ll feel less stressed, and burnout will become a thing of the past.
Below, I’ll give you a simple framework so that you can find some time to Do Nothing as skillfully as possible.
How to Skillfully Do Nothing:
1) Track How You Spend Your Time
Keep a log of what you do during your day, and log EVERYTHING.
Do this for at least a week.
Pay particular attention to things like checking social media, which can easily suck away big blocks if you’re not careful.
This should include not just your time at work but also your leisure time.
2) Analyse What Activities Deplete and Distract You
From your time log, notice which activities take the most out of you or seem the least valuable.
Which activities leave you feeling scattered rather than integrated?
I’ve already very strongly hinted at this, but pay particular attention to how much time you spend on things like doom-scrolling and binging TV.
3) Create ‘Time Outs’ From The Most Distracting Activities
You don’t have to eliminate ALL of the most distracting things completely, but try to give yourself clear “Time Outs” from them every day.
A simple expression of this would be to have a distraction-free time before you go to bed. For example, any time after 8 pm or 9 pm.
A more extreme expression of this would be taking a Distraction Sabbath. That is a whole day of the week where you don’t engage in any of your most distracting activities.
This is highly personal; if you’re new to this, take it slowly when you are first beginning.
4) Replace Distractions With Deliberate Time To Truly Do Nothing
It’s not enough to eliminate distractions; you need to give your brain a specific replacement for the stimulation.
Here are a few ideas you can try:
Going for a walk outside.
Sitting in a park, your yard, or other pleasant environment.
Yin of other Yoga Practices.
Meditation.
Yoga Nidra.
You’ll notice that there is a spectrum here. You are not always “Doing Nothing” in the literal sense. But the idea is that you are removing most or all of the outside input for some significant amount of time. Over time, this can build into truly “Doing Nothing” in practices like meditation.
(If you want to work with me through an 8-week immersion that focuses on Meditation and Yin Yoga, join me for my new course, Embodied Mindfulness.)
5) Practice This New Routine For At Least 30 Days
It takes time to see the full benefits of this work. I would challenge you to try this new routine for at least 30 days.
Please take a look at how you respond to this.
Notice how the overall quality of your lifestyle and even your emotions will change.
Imagine how much could change by making this commitment for just 30 days.
Drop me a line and let me know how it goes!
And if you want one-on-one support and a tried and tested framework for truly finding space in your life, join me for my 8-week immersion: Embodied Mindfulness.
Mental Fitness Is Physical Fitness
Back over the holidays, I had a chance to gather with some family for your typical Christmas gathering.
There was the usual spread of snacks and treats, some Christmas music in the background, and a Secret Santa gift exchange - you know, classic holiday stuff.
While I was there, I had an interesting conversation with one of my family members. (I’ve changed some minor details here for privacy’s sake.)
Since I’m a yoga teacher, the topics of fitness and well-being come up frequently when I’m around.
People often ask me for advice or recommendations or want to share some of their experiences.
This family member told me that they really wanted to get in shape but that they were having a hard time doing it.
They told me about how they had tried exercise a bunch of times but that it never really worked well for them.
Despite doing a bunch of sessions, they never got any stronger, and they didn’t feel any better in their body after all the work they had done.
They were frustrated and decided that exercise wasn’t effective, so they had stopped doing it altogether.
Curious about this, I asked them what their exercise routine was like.
Well, they told me they tried exercising almost every day for a while. They would do a five-minute walk in the morning, lift weights for a few minutes sometimes, and things like that.
Despite their best efforts and countless attempts, they haven’t seen any results.
So, I asked them, “Have you considered that maybe you’re not putting in enough time to actually see the results you want?”
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I’m going to pause right here and clarify things a bit.
The ‘minor’ detail that I’ve changed here is that the family member in the story wasn’t talking about exercise; they were talking about meditation.
I’ve actually had this conversation dozens of times over the years with many different friends and family members.
I hear all the time from people who have tried meditation but say it never worked for them. Or that they tried it and they didn’t feel like they could even do the practices in the first place.
The common denominator in almost every single one of these cases is that they were only putting in the bare minimum amount of time.
When we change the framework from meditation to exercise, the absurdity of the argument becomes much more obvious.
Of course, doing five-minute bursts of light exercise is not going to be enough to see significant results in your fitness. It’s common sense. Most people know that it takes more than just that to make major changes in the body.
And yet, when people talk about meditation, they only try these tiny doses of practice and then are surprised when it doesn’t seem to work for them.
The mind is a part of the body. As with any part of the body, it takes significant time to change our mental patterns.
Now, to be clear, I’m not trying to shame people who are genuinely trying out these practices.
Of course, 5 minutes or 10 minutes of practice is infinitely better than no minutes of practice!
I’m genuinely thrilled that so many people are getting interested in mindfulness and meditation.
I’m also a big believer in starting small. We can begin with these small units of practice while we are still learning, and we can see how to fit them into our schedules and lifestyles.
But, as with exercise, it’s important to quickly graduate and build up the volume so that we can see progress.
Progressive overload is the key to creating change in our bodies AND in our minds.
Mental fitness is not so different from physical fitness. It takes significant time and consistency to change the way the mind interacts with the world.
We can’t expect to see real results from simply dabbling in things; we need to make a serious commitment if we want to see real changes.
So, how much of a commitment?
In my experience, if you can commit to at least 30 minutes a day of dedicated mindfulness meditation over a month or more, you will start to see some noticeable results.
This is why 30 minutes of daily practice is my minimum expectation for students enrolled in my Embodied Mindfulness program.
Thirty minutes might seem like a lot of time to make for our practice, but I’d like you to consider how much time we waste on low-yield activities each day.
How much time do we spend scrolling social media or watching TV?
Could you borrow a little time from that for your meditation practice?
Like I said earlier, you can start small and build things up. You don’t have to come out the gate for a full 30 minutes.
And, just as with physical fitness, if you are consistent over time, you WILL start to see changes.
You’ll feel more focused and present throughout your day.
Your body will even start to unwind as the mind learns how to really let go.
Even simple things, like the flavor of our food, become more enjoyable. When we train ourselves to truly pay attention, the full spectrum of our experience starts to light up!
But you have to put in the time.
If you’ve struggled to see the progress you’ve wanted from your meditation practice, don’t give up!
It takes time and consistency.
But just like with physical fitness, you need to get past the minimum effective dose to really create a strong change.
Are you ready to deepen your mindfulness practice? Do you want to integrate it with Yin Yoga for a full mind-body transformation?
Join me for my new 8-week course: Embodied Mindfulness.
Find Your Edge - Yin Yoga 30 Minute Class
This 30-minute Yin Yoga class will help you to find your edge in each pose.
By playing at a very light edge, you will do only what is needed to affect change in your body.
Do Less - 30 Minute Full Body Yin Yoga Sequence
This 30-minute Yin Yoga class will let you Do Less.
Enjoy an opportunity to do less than your normal busy days.
10-Minute Guided Meditation For Feeling Grounded
Today's practice is a 10-minute guided meditation for feeling grounded. By bringing our attention back to the connection with the earth, you will feel more grounded in each moment of this short meditation.
Your Thoughts Do Not Create Your Reality - Philosophical Discussion
Your Thoughts Do Not Create Your Reality And our attachment and identification with thoughts is a fundamental source of suffering in our lives. Thoughts can be valuable and useful, but they ARE NOT OUR IDENTITY 2000 years before, and thousands of miles away, the Buddha and his disciples saw through this illusion. They realized that self and identity were something so much bigger than our mere, trivial thoughts. Based on their direct observations of how the mind works, they came to a very different conclusion. You are not your thoughts. Your thoughts do not create your reality.
Each Moment of Connection - Full Body Yin Yoga Practice
Each moment of connection creates an opportunity to experience this moment more fully. If we can come back to each moment again and again, we can deepen and refine this connection over time. This practice will explore this practice in the setting of a Yin Yoga class.
Complete Elemental Cycle Yin Yoga - Water Element - Hamstrings and Back Body
Welcome to our final week of the complete Elemental Cycle of Chinese Medicine through Yin Yoga. This week will focus on the WATER element. Yin Yoga is an ideal way to create an overall tuneup for our energy system. Over the next few weeks, we will hit the complete elemental cycle through each sequence.
Why Your Life Never Feels Balanced - and what you can do about it.
The real reason why your life never feels balanced comes from an imbalance of Yin and Yang elements in your life. When you learn how to remove excess Yang energy and provide complimentary Yin energy, everything falls into place.
Complete Elemental Cycle Yin Yoga - Metal Element - Shoulders and Inner Arms
Welcome to week four of the complete Elemental Cycle of Chinese Medicine through Yin Yoga.
This week will focus on the METAL element. Yin Yoga is an ideal way to create an overall tuneup for our energy system. Over the next few weeks, we will hit the complete elemental cycle through each sequence.
Don't Overcomplicate Your Practice
It’s incredibly easy to overcomplicate things.
This is especially true when dealing with traditions such as meditation, where we draw on thousands of years of history from dozens of major lineages.
The Pali Canon, widely considered the oldest surviving compendium of the Buddha’s teachings, is a whopping 2,708,706 words long!
No wonder we feel the need to complicate things.
This immense volume of information can be overwhelming when we first start on the path. Even after reading dozens of books, things can still seem confusing.
The good news is that beneath this seeming complexity, the fundamentals of practice are incredibly straightforward.
The backbone of all forms of meditation can be boiled down to one simple skill.
This simple skill is the ability to reconnect to this moment again and again.
While it may seem trivial, this is the pathway to ultimate liberation.
At its most basic, the entire path of liberation can be summarized in a few sentences:
Notice each moment just as it is without resistance.
Keep coming back to the moment, again and again, as many times as possible.
Repeat until awakening.
These instructions might seem overly simplistic, but this is the path’s essence. All the other, more esoteric aspects stand on the foundation of this simple practice.
If you focus your intentions on mastering the simple process of noticing this moment, you will reap tremendous benefits.
The most powerful thing about reframing our practice this way is that it becomes something that can indeed be done at any time.
No matter where you are, waking up to this moment is possible.
Let’s try it right here and now.
Just pause reading for a few seconds and notice what shows up for you.
Can you feel your body, your breath? What is going on in the environment around you?
That simple moment was a tiny unit of practice.
The other secret here is that even when we undertake a more extended practice - such as a 30-minute meditation - that practice is ultimately just a collection of many smaller moments.
If you can commit to returning to this repeatedly throughout your day, that alone will transform the quality of your attention.
You’ll spend less time worrying about the future and less time ruminating on the past.
You’ll be able to appreciate what is truly happening right now. Even the simplest things take on a new depth when we genuinely pay attention to them.
This simple, repeated process will cause you to change your relationship to all aspects of your life.
Don’t let overcomplication cause you to miss out on the fundamental liberation of just being here for this moment.
And this moment, too.
The moment of connection is the junction where it all comes together.
If we can learn to be here as we are, without extra expectations, everything else can fall into place.
Please give it a try this week. See how many times you can remember to return and be here now.
I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
Follow the links below for opportunities to practice with me:
If you'd like to practice with me right now, check out one of the dozens of free classes on my YouTube.
For live classes, either in-person or online - see my latest class schedule here.
To make the most optimal progress in your practice, contact me to schedule a one-on-one session.
And if you haven't yet, subscribe to my newsletter for regular insights about practice and life -
Complete Elemental Cycle Yin Yoga - Earth Element - Inner Thighs And Groin
Welcome to week three of the complete Elemental Cycle of Chinese Medicine through Yin Yoga.
This week will focus on the EARTH element. Yin Yoga is an ideal way to create an overall tuneup for our energy system. Over the next few weeks, we will hit the complete elemental cycle through each sequence.
3 Things A Consistent Yin Yoga Practice Will Teach You
Bitter Practice, Sweet Result
Your first Yin Yoga class is going to be challenging. Possibly very challenging.
After a lifetime of distraction, the simple act of slowing down is bound to be a struggle.
This is compounded by the challenge of the physical sensations that you will feel in the poses.
It’s our instinct to want to move or fidget at the first sign of discomfort.
Over the years, in the face of this struggle, I've seen a small handful of students walk right out in the middle of class. In one of the most extreme examples, I even had a student get up and start doing Vinyasa flows by herself in the middle of class!
To each their own.
And yet, despite the challenges, by the end of class, most students will start to get it.
Maybe it’s the calm they feel in a resonance pose. Or maybe how they feel later in the day after class.
When they see the results of simply slowing down and taking their time, it can feel as if an immense weight has been lifted off their shoulders.
As my teacher Josh Summers says of Yin Yoga: "Bitter practice, sweet result."
But even better is what you will see and learn after 10 classes - or 100 classes or more. Like so many things, the fruits of the practice will only blossom with more time and consistency.
Here are just three of the many things that a consistent Yin Yoga practice will teach you:
You'll Learn How To Truly Play Your Edge
The average person is almost entirely unaware of what their body is capable of. They don't know when to stop or when they can push.
The essence of Yin Yoga is learning to become comfortable with discomfort and knowing the difference between discomfort and actual pain.
While many new students tend to overdo it, experienced practitioners know right where their line is. They know just when to back away and just when they can push a little deeper.
This has tremendous crossover benefits. It will help you in other styles of practice, but also in any other activity that you use your body for.
You'll Be Practicing Covert Meditation
Yin Yoga IS a form of meditation. It's just one where we work with our body along the way.
Instead of just sitting, we pay deep attention to what we feel in our bodies in each pose.
So, just as with more traditional meditation, if you practice Yin Yoga regularly, your senses will sharpen. You'll learn to notice the finest details in each pose you practice.
And you'll also learn how to cultivate profound equanimity.
Poses like Dragon or Swan are bound to stir up resistance in the mind. At first, you may try to fight it or distract yourself, but this is a losing battle.
Instead, you will learn the power of letting go. You will learn to rest with challenges instead of pushing back against them.
This will give you a massive edge when facing the ordinary struggles of your daily life.
You'll Learn The Real Meaning of Balance
Most people are stressed, overworked, and unable to relax their bodies and minds.
Yin Yoga provides a powerful antidote for both.
By allowing yourself time to truly slow down and tune in, you'll be better prepared to face the challenges of your daily life.
Your Yin Yoga practice will become an invaluable oasis in the desert of your busy life.
The most exciting thing is that the busier you are, the more you'll benefit from the practice.
You'll start to learn just how important it is to slow down.
Start Now, Repeat Infinitely
I've taught thousands of Yin Yoga classes and done thousands of Yin Yoga practices.
However, after over 15 years, I am still learning from the practice.
It is an irreplaceable skill that you will carry with you for your whole life. The practice becomes even MORE intriguing with more time invested.
So, if you already have a regular Yin Yoga practice, awesome! Keep up the excellent work, and notice how you relate to the main points of this article.
If you are new, start now! While it may be challenging initially, I promise that the rewards are absolutely worth it.
Follow the links below for opportunities to practice with me:
If you'd like to practice with me right now, check out one of the dozens of free classes on my YouTube.
For live classes, either in-person or online - see my latest class schedule here.
To make the most optimal progress in your practice, contact me to schedule a one-on-one session.
And if you haven't yet, subscribe to my newsletter for regular insights about practice and life -
Complete Elemental Cycle Yin Yoga - Fire Element - Shoulders and Outer Arms
Welcome to week two of the complete Elemental Cycle of Chinese Medicine through Yin Yoga. This week will focus on the FIRE element. Yin Yoga is an ideal way to create an overall tuneup for our energy system. Over the next few weeks, we will hit the complete elemental cycle through each sequence.
You Are Not Your Thoughts
In 1637, Rene Descartes made a fundamental statement that shaped the course of Western Philosophy:
"Cogito Ergo Sum."
"I think therefore I am."
This idea was one of the sparks that ignited the Enlightenment in Europe and revolutionized the worldview of the Western World.
It was an important distinction at the time because it separated man from his soul and dependence on a divine creator.
It prioritized logic and rationality as the most fundamental human trait.
But what if Descartes got it completely wrong?
What if this view stopped many generations from seeing something much bigger and more meaningful?
What if it was the cause of undue suffering and frustration?
Sorry my dude…
2000 years earlier, and thousands of miles away, the Buddha and his disciples saw through this illusion. They realized that self and identity were something so much bigger than our mere, trivial thoughts.
As they saw it, thoughts were no different from any of our other senses.
We can experience our thoughts in much the same way as we experience sound, sight, or other senses.
They come and go, and we actually have much less agency over them than you might think.
Based on their direct observations of how the mind works, they came to a very different conclusion.
You are not your thoughts.
Your thoughts do not create your reality.
And so, they set out on a different path. One that I would like to discuss in today's blog.
To see how this works in actual action, I invite you to try a straightforward practice:
Right here where you are, relax and close your eyes.
Tune into the sensations in the body, creating a connection with the physical sensations.
Sit as long as you can with that connection without deliberately thinking.
As soon as you notice that you are having a thought, you can end the practice.
What happened to you just now?
Almost certainly, after some very short time, a thought appeared in your mind despite your intention for it not to.
You likely didn't even intend for the specific subject or content of that thought. It just appeared on its own, as if from nothing.
In this way, we can observe that thoughts come and go on their own, even when we intend for them not to.
If thoughts can occur just like any other sense, then we can see they are something entirely different from the self.
This is where Descartes got it completely wrong.
If we can't truly control our thoughts, and they appear without much direct control, then our thoughts cannot be our identity.
However, I am not saying that thoughts are not necessary, nor that they are meaningless.
Thoughts drive our ability to imagine and create. They are the source of all great art and philosophy. I am even using this ability at this very moment to write this newsletter!
Thoughts also allow us to analyze and make sense of the world. In this way, the ability to think and rationalize is a vital part of what makes us human.
This is the part that Descartes got right.
However, it is crucial to understand the limitations and potential pitfalls of the thinking mind.
When we fixate on our thoughts or give them too much weight, suffering is bound to follow.
By contrast, suffering will automatically lessen when we can let go of our thoughts and rest in the present moment.
You may have noticed this in the brief practice that we just did.
What happened in the moment between sitting down and the first thought arising?
Did you notice the pause?
What remained during that time?
The answer is awareness.
Independent of the thinking mind is our awareness and connection with this moment. It is always there if we make space for it.
Thoughts happen all the time for most people, but there are MANY pauses if we really pay attention.
The problem with excessive identification with our thoughts is that they cause us to miss the simplicity of reality.
Awareness becomes more dominant as we practice letting go of this identification and simply resting in this moment.
As we learn to rest in this connection more and more, we can cultivate a sense of identity beyond mere thoughts and ideas.
This is the secret sauce of meditation.
The ability to decouple from the thinking mind is one of the most liberating aspects of deep meditation practice.
We can start to see that our thoughts do not need to control us.
We can live a life where we can use our thoughts without getting trapped by them. When we are not busy obsessing or daydreaming, we can connect more deeply with the reality of this moment.
It is then we can see that our thoughts are a key source of our suffering.
Stepping back from the thinking mind can be one of the most liberating practices to undertake.
By learning to see awareness itself, we can separate ourselves from the anxiety and confusion that our thoughts often create.
You are not losing your identity. You are allowing it to blossom into something more profound and deep.
I'd like to end this post by spinning the classic quote on its head:
"I realize that I am not only my thoughts; therefore, I am free."
If you'd like to join me in practice, follow the links below:
If you'd like to practice with me right now, check out one of the dozens of free classes on my YouTube.
For live classes, either in-person or online - see my latest class schedule here.
To make the most optimal progress in your practice, contact me to schedule a one-on-one session.
And if you haven't yet, subscribe to my newsletter for regular insights about practice and life -
Hi, I'm Rob! I teach Yoga and Meditation in West LA and Online.
You can learn a bit more about me here, in my bio.
Also, check out my public class schedule and upcoming workshops to practice with me in person, or online!