choose a meditation practice, it helps calm oneself

Meditation will give you a tranquil mind. Meditation will make you aware of the reality deep within. Meditation will make you fearless; meditation will make you calm; meditation will make you gentle; meditation will make you loving; meditation will give you freedom from fear; meditation will lead you to the state of inner joy. If you understand these goals and want to meditate, then it will help you, but if you are expecting to become rich through meditation, then don’t do it.

adapted from Yoga International by Swami Rama

brass bowl timer and clock for meditation

Now & Zen – Zen Meditation Timers & Clocks

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

meditation

Meditation is often something thought of as a practice reserved for monks or the spiritual elite. Happily, this is far from the truth. It’s been said that there are many paths up the mountain of meditation. We are living in a time where the mountain is closer and more accessible than it’s ever been. With the presence of the Internet and the ever-expanding global village, we have access to many paths that were far beyond reach only years ago. The seeker today has access to an unlimited wealth of information. With the click of the mouse you can access meditation techniques that are commonplace in remote parts of the world.
A really cool thing about living in our time is science and spirituality finding common ground. Today we have the science to quantify the benefits of meditation that the practitioner previously had to take on faith alone. Western medicine has traditionally shied away from mediation as a “prescription,” but now that there is concrete, scientific evidence proving the benefits of meditation, we are seeing the mainstream medical community look to mediation as a viable treatment option for a number of conditions and illnesses.
Let’s take a quick look at what science has shown us about our brainwaves: Every day, your brain is constantly operating on various wavelengths. While you are awake and interacting with others, you are in the Beta wavelength, at about 14 to 30 cycles per second (or hertz). When you get into the Alpha waves, you are still alert and paying attention, but get into a relaxed and calm state while your brain is at 9 to 13 hertz. When you get even more relaxed—and sometimes zoned out—you are in the Theta waves at about 4 to 8 hertz; we call this the meditative state. When you go further into a deep sleep, you are in the Delta waves at 1 to 3 hertz.
When it comes to dealing with stress, in many ways our brain is operating on the same basic circuitry as our ancient ancestors the cavemen, with a primal “fight, flight, or freeze” reaction to stress/danger. Our caveman brain can be triggered by stress—even perceived stress that may or may not be real—with a primal: “Oh my God! I’m being chased by a saber-toothed tiger!” Cortisol and adrenaline are then pumped into our systems, we experience a rise in glucose levels, and we are able to flee or fight the danger. If we take flight or fight, our bodies break down those chemicals— this is the original design of the flight response. When we are stuck in this position, all of our rest, digest, repair, and reproductive systems take a back seat to the emergency.
Unfortunately, the reality of our modern lifestyle is that most of us are sitting at a desk being chased by something like a deadline or the perceived danger of job loss (not by an actual saber-toothed tiger), but our brains react much the sameway and those chemicals in our bodies turn into figurative shards of glass when they’re not being burned off by exercise.
So, how do we dissolve those shards and deal with the stress? There are many ways to do this, while exercise is one of the best ways to burn off the chemicals once they are unleashed, meditation is one of best preemptive methods for staying centered and being able to ask ourselves “Is this really a saber-tooth tiger chasing me?” We’ll talk later about slowing down our thoughts, but first, let’s look at how that meditative state in the Alpha/Theta brainwave pattern brings our bodies and some of those chemicals back into balance.

Meditation: Access Deep Peace - Kitagawa Utamaro, Komuraski of the Tamaya, House After a Bath, 1795

When you meditate, you body releases DHEA (a chemical that promotes relaxation, memory, and reduces cardiovascular disease risk), serotonin levels rise and your blood pressure starts todrop. In meditation you are completely awake and alert, but at the same time still and quiet, coming into full consciousness of the present moment. Meditation brings us to a depth within ourselves where we can access our inner compass and our deep, inner calm: that place of peace and awareness we already have.
Take this metaphor by David Fontana, PhD: The sky itself is our true nature and true self, but there are clouds in the sky obscuring our view. The clouds represent our “monkey mind” or our constant mental chatter. In our normal Beta state, the clouds of our thoughts, worries, hopes, and fears are continually obscuring our view, and it is all but impossible to see the sky for what it is. Meditation is our tool to clear away the clouds and experience the vastness of the sky, and the vastness of our true being.

adapted from Natural Solutions Magazine, by Jill Englund, April 2011

Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga Timer.  It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.

timers for finding balance in your life

Now & Zen – The Zen Clock & Timer Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Meditation

After meditating for a while, you start to respond instead of reacting to life. The term “react” is a monkey-mind or knee-jerk reaction. To “respond” is to actually think about acting consciously. Practicing meditation puts you in a position where you can take a breath, and actually respond to people and situations, especially those that are stressful or challenging.

adapted from Natural Solutions Magazine, by Jill Englund, April 2011

Although meditation can be done in almost any context, practitioners usually employ a quiet, tranquil space, a meditation cushion or bench, and some kind of timing device to time the meditation session.  Ideally, the more these accoutrements can be integrated the better.  Thus, it is conducive to a satisfying meditation practice to have a timer or clock that is tranquil and beautiful.  Using a kitchen timer or beeper watch is less than ideal.  And it was with these considerations in mind that we designed our digital Zen Alarm Clock and practice timer.  This unique “Zen Clock” features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings the meditation session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal.

meditation tools and timers with chimes

Now & Zen – The Zen Meditation Timer Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Yoga Tools, Yoga Timer with Chime

What You’ll Need
A pillow or rolled blanket to place under your knees.

What It Does
This technique focuses on expanding the diaphragm and solar plexus, where you tend to grip and tighten when you’re mad. Once you’ve become familiar with the practice, you won’t need to lie down to experience its benefits. “The next time you get angry, remember to relax the belly and breathe deeply into it,” Strom advises. “This will help you to respond with wisdom instead of an emotional outburst.”

How to Do It
Lie on the floor with the pillow under your knees, resting one hand on your lower belly and one hand on your chest.

-Inhale through your nose and send your breath into your abdomen, feeling your stomach expand like a beach ball.
-As you exhale through the mouth, breathe loudly while partially constricting the passage of air (ujjayi breathing).
-Close the mouth and continue breathing this way — feeling your belly gently rise and fall — for at least five minutes, or until you feel calm and relaxed.

adapted from Body + Soul, December 2006

“The Zen Alarm Clock & Chime Timer’,  uses soothing acoustic chimes that signal it’s time –  gently and gradually.

Rather than an artificial recorded sound played through a speaker, the Zen Clock features an alloy chime bar similar to a wind chime.  When the clock’s alarm is triggered, its chime produces a long-resonating, ba temple gong.

Now & Zen — The Yoga Timer Store

1638 Pearl St.

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Yoga Tools -- Timers and Singing Bowl Alarm Clocks

Whether it’s yoga to reduce muscle tension, breathing to slow the heart rate, or an herbal massage to calm a racing mind, a simple routine can be the most effective and safest road to a better night’s sleep. There is growing evidence that small behavioral changes can make a big difference in getting some good shuteye. A 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that participants who made modifications like reducing stimuli in the bedroom and learning relaxation techniques improved their sleep more than those who took drugs.

adapted from Yoga Journal

To find out which rituals will work best for you, it helps to understand insomnia from an Ayurvedic perspective. Yoga’s sister science and India’s oldest known system of medicine, Ayurveda is based on the idea that the life force that exists in all of us manifests as three different energies, or doshas, known as vata, pitta, and kapha. Though everyone has some of each dosha, most people tend to have an abundance of one or two.

Vata, ruled by air and ether, governs movement in the body. Pitta, ruled by fire, governs digestion and the metabolism. And kapha, ruled by earth and water, governs your physical structure and fluid balance. Ayurveda categorizes insomnia as a vata imbalance, because vata is controlled by air—and air controls the nervous system. Calming yoga and Ayurvedic rituals reduce vata in the body.

adapted from Yoga Journal, by Kelly McGonigal

Boulder, Colorado—an innovative company has taken one of life’s most unpleasant experiences (being startled awake by your alarm clock early Monday morning), and transformed it into something to actually look forward to. “The Zen Alarm Clock,” uses soothing acoustic chimes that awaken users gently and gradually, making waking up a real pleasure.  Rather than an artificial recorded sound played through a speaker, the Zen Clock features an alloy chime bar similar to a wind chime.  When the clock’s alarm is triggered, its chime produces a long-resonating, beautiful acoustic tone reminiscent of a temple gong.  Then, as the ring tone gradually fades away, the clock remains silent until it automatically strikes again three minutes later.  The frequency of the chime strikes gradually increase over ten-minutes, eventually striking every five seconds, so they are guaranteed to wake up even the heaviest sleeper.  This gentle, ten-minute “progressive awakening” leaves users feeling less groggy, and even helps with dream recall.

Meditation Timers and Alarm Clocks, tools for relaxation

Now & Zen – The Peaceful Alarm Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383