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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners

10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation

What is Meditation?

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Become a Better Listener

Cory Muscara

00:00

00:00

Meditation

4.5

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Become a Better Listener

In this meditation, we'll practice listening to understand, rather than listening to respond.

Let's start by finding

a comfortable posture.

This could be sitting,

lying down or standing.

Check in with your body and see

what would feel best for it today.

Once you have that posture, if it feels

comfortable, you can close your eyes.

And we'll take a deep breath

together to further settle in.

Breathing in through the nose.

And out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to relax.

And all the muscles in the face.

Invite the shoulders to be at ease.

As well as the hands and the belly.

As the body settles in, the breath can

also settle into its natural rhythm.

It's okay if the breath is longer

and deeper, but you don't need

to force it to be that way.

Let's take a few moments to collect

our attention on the breath.

As the mind wanders, redirecting

back to this breath and this moment.

So in this meditation, we're practicing,

becoming a better listener and this

doesn't just mean listening to other

people, but also listening to ourselves.

And what would it mean, what

would it look like to really

connect to ourselves and listen?

Listening to understand, not to

respond, not to fix, but just to hear.

What is it like to be you and what is the

soft yearning of your heart, of your mind?

So over the next couple of minutes,

I'm going to give you that space

in silence to really listen.

Whatever arises, the thoughts,

emotions, sensations, listen to

all of it, to understand, not to

respond and see what that's like.

You can focus on the breath

or you could just sit and be.

Try it out.

If the mind wanders off or gets caught in

an emotion or a sensation, that's okay.

Just watch all of it unfold and

listen to what's unfolding, not

so much with your ears, but with

your heart, with your entire being.

Receiving whatever is

arising with a curious mind.

So let's take one more

deep breath together.

In through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth.

You can start to reorient

yourself back into this space.

Wiggling the fingers and the toes.

And inviting the eyes to

open, when you feel ready.

So great job.

In this meditation, we got to practice

listening to understand, rather

than listening to respond or to fix.

This is something you can take into

conversations and interactions with

other people, and you can continue

to cultivate it within yourself.

Both seem to inform the

other, so you can't go wrong.

Good job today.

Thank you for your practice.

Take care.

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