I teach meditation as a non-sectarian practice designed to assist the body-mind system to increase awareness and acceptance.  It is not about adopting beliefs or magical rituals.  A meditator can adhere to any set of religious beliefs and develop mindfulness.  A colleague once said that prayer was her talking to God while her meditation was [...]

Hah.  Empty your mind, grasshopper?  It is the nature of the mind to think. The problem is that our minds have become too busy.  Attempts to force the mind to be quiet go against the nature of our existence. The mind naturally quiets when it has stability, and stability of mind arises from focused attention. [...]

Most people have started long before they arrive here.  You’ve probably tried meditating, read a book or two and wondered if you were doing it right. Right?  The next step is to take a class and develop a relationship with a teacher. Trying to learn on your own makes it harder than necessary, especially in [...]

Meditators with consistent, longstanding practices tend to become calmer and less reactive.  Recent neuroscience studies using functional MRIs (FMRI) have shown that meditation changes the structure of the brain, increasing the capacity to process feelings and thus reducing the likelihood of feeling overwhelmed.  Initially documented in the social sciences, neuroscientists have recently documented positive effects [...]

The Buddha taught that there are Four Foundations of Mindfulness.  By training the mind, mindfulness will arise from the activities of the body, the sensations of the body, the activities of the mind and the awareness of the body-mind system.  These are not separate or independent dimensions.

We use guided meditation to teach lovingkindness (metta) practice, traditional Burmese body scanning as taught by Saya Gyi U Ba Khin and Sunlun meditation.  Once students can practice independently, we stop guiding their practice.  This fosters skill development and independence.  Relying on external resources such as a recording or teacher leading a guided meditation may [...]

The intentions are different. Meditation at the end of a yoga session intends to assist the body to relax. During a yoga session, the breath is used with the intention to change holding patterns for further release. In mindfulness practice the intention is to directly experience or observe the way things are without holding any [...]

Yes.  Mindfulness meditation observes the natural rhythm of the breath as a method for transforming the body-mind system.  Most breathing techniques manage the breath for temporary relief and sometimes rely on guided instructions.

Meditation is one of a number of intentional practices in which practitioners train their minds or cultivate an experience they define as spiritually beneficial.  At the Insight Center our practice is based on the Buddha’s discourse on the “Four Foundations of Mindfulness” (Satipatthana Sutta) from which we emphasize the non-sectarian practice of training the mind [...]