AWAKEN

To awaken is to be. Be still to awaken. Awaken and be.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Unconditional love envelops you like the warmth of the sun. It manifests in acts of loving-kindness to yourself or to another. Unconditional love occurs between the space where one person truly sees another. Includes loving-kindness meditation

Yoga & Meditation, Self ImprovementAmanda StokerSeptember 17, 2020unconditional love, love, kindness, loving kindness, meditation, guided meditation, healing, painComment

Guided Meditations, Explorations &Healings

Guided Meditation, Explorations and Healings. Loving kindness meditation focuses on the level of the mind that has numbed the heart. Use these readings and guided meditations for your healing and growth.

Yoga & MeditationAmanda StokerMay 11, 2020meditation, breathe, yoga, loving kindness, stress relief, relax, antianxietyComment

SELF-COMPASSION

A practice of self-compassion is how to find completion within yourself instead of looking for it outside of yourself. It enables one to kill the critic in the mind of negative self-talk and look upon ourselves with a mother’s love. It is how to love and accept ourselves exactly as we are. It is a heart-healing process to equanimity of mind. Includes Mother of Mercy Meditation

THE HEART AND MIND CONNECTION

Our everyday grief presents us with an opportunity for growth. We train our mind by finding what is within our control. We heal our heart by acknowledging grief. In doing this, we can align with our highest potential and see clearly the next step for our soul’s evolution. Contains Grief Meditation

Yoga & Meditation, Self ImprovementAmanda StokerMay 9, 2020meditation, guided meditation, healing, grief, loss, mindComment

GRIEF

Most people think of grief as a deep sadness one feels after loss. It is this and so much more. It is the little losses and the big losses; it is the time we cannot get back. Life is a perpetual motion of grief one moment to the next. Getting into our everyday grief allows for a letting go that calms the mind and heals the heart. Includes Grief Meditation.

Yoga & Meditation, Self ImprovementAmanda StokerMay 8, 2020meditation, guided meditation, grief, healing, love, self healing, abuseComment

LISTEN

Meditation is a means of exploring the mind/body. Like driving through a snowstorm, we tightly grip the wheel, squinting through the blinding hail of thoughts. At times, it feels as though we will drive right off the road. Slow down and line yourself up with what you know will never change or lead you astray.

HOLDING SPACE FOR PAIN

Sitting with our own pain and softening to the sensations arising is a teacher. It educates us on how to be with the unpleasant. What do we do when the unpleasant arises and we cannot run from it? There is nothing to do but sit with it, soften to it, and listen. This is giving space to our pain and trusting the process.

RESPONDING TO ILLNESS AND INJURY

The urge to succumb to self-defeating thoughts is strong and creates resistance to what is happening. In learning to soften and accept the unexpected trials that come our way is to trust that there is a reason to the life-altering events that are happening. Trusting the process and finding gratitude were pivotal in moving through an otherwise challenge filled year.

SOFTENING TO PAIN

However unwanted, pain is certain to happen in life. When we acknowledge this, we can plan for what to do when pain’s unwelcome knock comes to our door. When unprepared, we panic and respond with rejection. When we know what to do with pain, we can become better equip to handling the undesired with equanimity.

ENOUGH

There will always be someone you can perceive as better than you. If we hold ourselves to this arbitrary standard, nothing is ever enough. We become a victim to our own judging mind. Believing the story of not being enough defeated me and kept me small for so many years. I turned the emotional pain of this story into suffering until I let go of trying to meet an impossible standard.

CHOOSE LIFE

How often are we running through life with the added weight of resistance? Is there resistance when the alarm goes off waking you for another day? Is there resistance when you get into your car to go to work? Is there resistance at the thoughts of all there is to do? You are carrying extra weight. (Experiences recounted may be triggering for some readers.)

Yoga & Meditation, Self ImprovementAmanda StokerMay 1, 2020meditate, meditation, guided meditation, resistance, liveComment

RESISTANCE

There becomes a circular stuck-ness that can happen when the mind butts up against the wall of resistance. It is difficult to look at what do not want to see. However, when we are resistant to facing the difficulty, resistance is reinforced. Relinquishing the desire to control the uncontrollable frees the mind and body from the armoring of resistance and liberates the soul.

Yoga & Meditation, Self ImprovementAmanda StokerApril 29, 2020meditate, meditation, guided meditation, resistance, self healingComment

TRUST

Like a ship oscillating in a dark current of confusion, trust your lighthouse. No matter how foggy the course, the inkling of light remains. Where is your lighthouse? Meditation is the foghorn bellowing into the distance. Its blare rises above the haze of the cluttered mind. Sound your horn and look for your lighthouse.

Yoga & Meditation, Self ImprovementAmanda StokerApril 28, 2020meditation, guided meditation, mindfulness, trust, self healing, self, loveComment

REMEMBER

Remember. Spirit awakens. Divine alarm. The cushion calls, To remember. Sit. Breathe. Connect. Flow. Remember to breathe. Breathe to remember.

ONE DAY OF CONSCIOUS EATING

Documentation of what I eat in a day. Ratios of 30% Protein, 30% Fat and 40% Carbs are generally a good guideline to adhere to. Using an app, such as MyPlate, makes it simple to quantify your dietary needs and make adjustments when appropriate. You will gain helpful insights as you embark on the investigative process of eating.

INVESTIGATION IN EATING

Conscious eating begins with increased attention regarding what you are putting into your mouth and why. To raise awareness, our diet becomes an investigation in eating. Not only do we explore what we are eating and why but also the emotions that arise. What emotions trigger food cravings and what emotions are triggered as a result of eating?

WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR?

Phone turned off and put out of sight. No scrolling. Music turned off. No noise. Book on the shelf. No distractions. I sat to eat my first meal.I looked down at the vibrant food on my plate. Each morsel anxiously awaiting entry into my body. My gaze shifted to my fork. The luminescent silver demanded I pick it up and begin. “Hurry!” It said. “You don’t want this to take all day.”

INTRODUCTION TO CONSCIOUS EATING

Food. It fuels our bodies, minds and spirits. It could be argued as one of the most, important things we do each day for optimal performance. What do we eat and why? Have you ever stopped to think about what you put into your body? Exploring what we eat and why can give key insights into the workings of the mind.

POSITIVE MINDSET

If you had asked me 5 months earlier if I thought I would get my first two muscle ups, in the Open, at CrossFit New England with my favorite CrossFit athlete there to congratulate me after, I would have said you were crazy. Only in a dream world does stuff like that happen. But it did happen. It will be a moment forever etched in my mind. It would not have happened without a positive mindset.

Yoga & Meditation, Self ImprovementAmanda StokerApril 22, 2020meditate, guided meditation, mindsetComment