cleaning as a meditation practice

I clean house the way I’d kill a rattlesnake — fast and furious, like the dirt’s about to bite back. My white towels are in shreds because I just hurl the bleach on top, and I’ve lost many glasses in senseless dishwashing incidents. One day, enraged by the calcified dill clinging to my refrigerator’s crisper, I jerked the thing out and it cracked right down the middle. In the rush to take care of all my worldly goods, I was destroying them.

Cleanliness is a worthwhile goal, one that I will do as a stillness practice more often…

adapted from Wholeliving.com

meditation timers and tools

Now & Zen Headquarter Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Choose a Soothing Sounds Alarm Clock - Elegant Women. Courtesy of the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum

Ask yourself: What health-related effects of stress have you already noticed in your life?

If you haven’t considered (or you’ve chosen to ignore) the harmful effects that stress can have on your mind and body, you’re overlooking a major threat to your well-being.

Taking a long, hard look at the potential consequences of unrelenting, unaddressed anxiety can help us realize that we need to make a change, before it’s too late.

Soothing Sounds Alarm Clocks and Timers with Acoustic Chimes

Start a Meditation Practice:

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.

Soothing Sounds Timers and Alarm Clocks with Chime

Now & Zen – The Soothing Sounds Alarm Clock Headquarter Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Soothing Sounds Timer and Alarm Clock with Gentle Acoustic Chime

Breathing Exercise to Calm Down:

Of course, breathwork alone won’t magically resolve your issues. But it can bring you into greater awareness of your emotions before they sabotage your mood or behavior. And that alone may be worth it.

Calm Down: Slow Breath (three minutes)

What You’ll Need
A Zen Chime Timer; a folded blanket or firm cushion.

What It Does
This practice calms the mind and the central nervous system, helping put the brakes on a frenzied pace. “When you slow your breathing down, you slow your life down,” says Strom. Plus, it can spark your creativity. “I’ve had students stop in the middle of class and grab a pen. When the mind chatter stops, the ideas fly in.”

How To Do It
Set your Zen Timer & Clock for three minutes so you don’t have to keep track. Be sure to keep your spine erect. (Slouching can inhibit deep breathing.)

-Begin to lengthen the inhalation and exhalation (breathing slowly through your nose). First try inhaling for a count of four and exhaling for a count of four, then lengthen (aim for a count of seven on the in breath and seven on the out breath).
-Be careful not to hold your breath. You want to slow it down, not stop it.
-When the timer goes off, return to a normal breathing pace.

Soothing Sounds Time with Gentle Chime

Soothing Sounds Timer & Alarm Clock by Now & Zen

Now & Zen – The Soothing Sounds Alarm Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Eisen Keisai, Woman Getting out of a Mosquito Net - Soothing Sounds Alarm Clocks by Now & Zen

Power Hara Breathing Exercise:

The yogis understood the connection between breath and power. This energizing breath combines a spinal twist and vocal sounds to release tension and build energy. For an even more invigorating experience, try this breathing exercise outside first thing in the morning.

1. Bring your hands to your shoulders with your elbows pointed out. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width.

2. Twist to the left as you inhale, filling your lungs halfway, and then twist to the right as you complete the inhalation.

3. Twist left as you exhale, making a powerful “ha” sound as you extend your right arm forcefully to the left, like a punch.

4. Twist right to finish exhaling, again with a “ha,” punching your left arm out to the right. Make the vocal sound from deep in your gut, not just from your throat.

5. Practice 10 full rounds, then relax, arms by your sides. Close your eyes; feel your awakened energy. Breathe normally.

Body and soul in balance - Choose a Soothing Sounds Alarm Clock by Now & Zen

Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga & Meditation 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.

Soothing Sounds Alarm Clock with Chime

Now & Zen’s Soothing Sounds Alarm Clock Headquarter Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Inner Stillness - stone path of a labyrinth

The Philokalia (“love of the beautiful”) is a collection of texts written between the fourth and fifteenth centuries by spiritual masters of the Christian contemplative, ascetic and hesychast tradition.

Prayer as a form of meditation of the heart is described in the Philokalia—a practice that leads towards Theosis which ignores the senses and results in inner stillness.

Inner Stillness, a Mindfulness Practice adapted from wikipedia.org

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.

Singing Bowl Meditation Timer and Clock

Meditation clock timer- Digital Zen Alarm Clocks and Timers

Now & Zen’s Singing Bowl Meditation Timer & Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

chime alarm clocks with real acoustic sounds

The company’s premier product, the Zen Alarm Clock, was originally launched in 1996 and has continued to sell well all over the world since then.  The Zen Alarm Clock wakes users with a series of acoustic chimes providing what the company describes as a “progressive awakening.” The Zen Clock’s natural hardwood materials and natural acoustic sounds (as opposed to artificial speaker-driven sounds) satisfy the growing demand for things “natural”.  According to company founder McIntosh, “as a result of cultural evolution, people are becoming more discerning about the real nature of quality, and this has resulted in a growing preference for natural foods and natural fibers. Our business strategy has been to create ‘natural’ versions of electronic consumer products that feature acoustic sounds and hardwood materials. We also reflect the sensibilities of progressive culture in the aesthetic designs and unique functions of our products.” The company’s philosophy is expressed by its tag line: ‘quality of thought, stillness of being.’

Bamboo Clock Dial Face

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl St.

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Mediative Snorkeling

I am, for lack of a better term, a meditation dropout. Oh, I’ve tried it all: the standard legs-crossed, deep-breathing variety (which made me stir-crazy after a few endless minutes); Pilates classes (where I managed to pull a muscle just learning to breathe properly); and t’ai chi instruction (which ended with gentle reprimands by my instructor that walking meditation was not a form of aerobic exercise). They all left me anxious and restless. I couldn’t let go and simply be present in the moment—a hallmark of my type-A personality. That all changed on a Caribbean vacation. There, I inadvertently learned even action-obsessed people like me can achieve satori.

Now, you may think that just being on a serene beach relaxing should help instill a meditative state. Not so for someone who every day had proudly recited the mantra “Go, go, go, faster, faster, faster.” But the morning I donned a snorkeling mask and submerged into the quiet, mystical world beneath the sea, my life began to change. I can still feel the magic of that first glimpse: a bright red starfish, a giant spotted ray gliding by like a bird in flight, and hundreds of silversides swimming in synchronized motion. It transported me to another realm.

Immersed in beauty, color, and silence, I was forced not to move too much or too suddenly, or the creatures around me would scatter. For the first time ever, I could be still. Minutes slipped away unnoticed, as the simple cadence of breathing in and breathing out became stronger and stronger. Lost in a dreamy world where parrot fish, barracuda, and even sea turtles swam by me as if I were invisible, I learned that submitting completely to silence brings an exhilarating, nerve-tingling rush.

Now, back in Pennsylvania, whenever I feel stressed, I lie down, set my Meditative Chime Timer by Now & Zen,  and visualize that moment when I place my face in the water and hear only the gentle waves breaking on the shore as I breathe deeply and glide ever so smoothly through warm, clear water filled with beauty. Breathing in and breathing out, I float and meditate while angelfish lead the way.

adapted from Natural Solutions, March 2007 by Vickit McIntyre

Meditation timers with chimes for a natural sounding end to your meditation

Now & Zen’s Chime Timer Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

mind-body therapies help your heart

Research shows that the stress-inflammation cycle is as detrimental to your heart as a plate full of the cheesiest fettuccine Alfredo. “Stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, cause the arteries to constrict, which results in a rise in blood pressure and decrease in blood flow,” Moyad explains. Less blood flow means less oxygen circulating through the body to combat free radicals—unstable cells that can damage healthy tissues. “We know now that bad LDL cholesterol only becomes threatening when levels get so high that it binds with free radicals,” Moyad says. When this happens, LDL changes structure and gets absorbed by the arterial walls’ lining, resulting in plaque buildup, or atherosclerosis. Such tissue damage causes the immune system to go into overdrive, triggering inflammation. Reduce your risk with effective mind-body therapies like meditation, yoga, exercise or massage.

The Digital Zen Clock & Meditation Timer serves as a countdown and interval timer for yoga, meditation, bodywork, etc.; and it can also be set to chime on the hour as a tool for “mindfulness.”

adapted from Natural Solutions Magazine, January 2010 by Kate Hanley

bamboo meditation timer and natural alarm clock with gentle chime

Now & Zen’s Clock and Meditation Timer Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Zen Timepiece with brass singing bowl

Singing bowls are unique because they are multiphonic instruments, producing multiple harmonic overtones at the same time.  The overtones are a result of using an alloy consisting of multiple metals, each producing its own overtone.

New bowls can also produce multiple harmonic overtones if they are high quality bronze, but many are made from a simpler alloy and produce only a principal tone and one harmonic overtone.

adapted from wikipedia.org

Zen Timepiece, a brass singing bowl clock and timer

Singing Bowl Alarm Clock

Now & Zen’s Singing Bowl Alarm Clock Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Ukiyo-e Madame Print

Being startled awake by a buzzer alarm, or awakened by the unpredictable noise of a clock radio, is certainly less than ideal.  We fall asleep gradually and it is only natural to wake up gradually.  The Zen Alarm Clock’s gradually increasing 10 minute sequence of gentle acoustic chimes or gongs makes waking up a graceful and soothing experience.

Zen Clocks “gently summon your consciousness into a waking state” in a way that helps preserve dream memories and is easy on your psyche.  It also helps you replicate the gradual process of waking up naturally when your body is ready, even while adding the assurance of an alarm clock to get you up on time.

When you have a Zen Alarm Clock, you actually look forward to the morning “alarm.”  Moreover, the visual and sonic beauty of the Zen Clock adds to the aesthetic beauty of your bedroom, which is another important aspect of a holistic sleep environment.  Every Zen Alarm Clock comes with a 40 page booklet that describes how it can be used for dreamwork, affirmations, and meditation.

Black Lacquer Zen Alarm Clock

Now & Zen’s Chime Alarm Clock Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302