Emma Silverman - 30-Day Meditation Challenge: Exercises, Resources, and Journaling Prompts for a Better Life

Note: this title was originally intended as a print edition. Journal entries should be created and chronicled in a journal or on separate paper.

Copyright 2018 by Emma Silverman and Nicole Stumpf

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Helios Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Jane Sheppard

Cover photo credit: iStock

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3147-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3148-6

Printed in China

Dedication

To Ilana Claire Berman. ES

To my parents, who laid the foundation upon which
Ive been able to live out my dreams, and to my unwaveringly
supportive and loving husband, Peter. NS

Youve probably heard that a regular meditation practice has the potential to make you feel amazingphysically, emotionally, and mentally. The trick is actually doing it. This is why we invite you to join us for a 30-day Meditation Challenge.

In this book, we have included thirty of our favorite meditation practices, a diverse range of techniques we have discovered and developed over the years. We will also share a few words of encouragement or inspiration to help keep you... well, encouraged and inspired! These meditations are placed in order from what we consider least to most challenging, to ease you into daily practice. We have some experience in these matters, but ultimately, this is subjectiveif you want to go out of order, feel free!

We introduce each meditation with a little information on its history, purpose, and benefits. From there, we explain how to perform each technique. Finally, we offer inspirations for reflection and space for reflective journaling after each meditation. We strongly suggest reading the journaling prompts only after you have already meditated; we dont want them to create expectations for your experience.

You might be wondering: Im a total beginner, can I participate? Simply put, yes! We all have an instinct to turn inward and allow for rejuvenation, but it is often overridden by distractions in our lives. This practice is about reconnecting to the parts of our body, mind, and spirit that are already primed for meditation. A beginners mind is often the greatest asset you can bring to the table.

To prepare, we suggest getting the following items together:

A pen or pencil: To log your practice in the journaling pages, note observations, document your emotions, and reflect. Well give you some prompts to help with this part, but you are free to reflect as you choose. You might decide to draw a picture or write a poem. Totally up to you.

A timer: If youll be using your phone, just make sure it can in no way distract you from yourself. Do Not Disturb mode is key.

Support from those you live or work with: Give people a heads-up that this is something you are trying to do for yourself and let them know their support and encouragement (especially as life gets busy) will be deeply appreciated.

Uninterrupted time in your schedule: Carve out at least fifteen minutes in your day, every day, for undisturbed meditation. Maybe even mark it in your planner. Having a routine can be helpful (such as meditating every day at 7:307:45 a.m.), but being flexible with your schedule is a valuable skill too. Just do your best to plan ahead.

You can meditate anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. At the end of the challenge, you will have spent at least seven and a half hours in meditation!

Give the practice timesome meditation styles work their magic slowly and only with patience. Who knows? One of these meditations may just change your life.

Nicole and Emma

Counting backward isnt just limited to beers on the wall. The Visuddhimagga, a Theraveda Buddhist text written in fifth century Sri Lanka, describes counting meditation as a way to draw the attention back to the breath when the mind wanders. Seon Buddhists have claimed that if you can count down from one hundred to one and then back up again without breaking focus you will attain supernormal abilities. More generally, this introductory meditation technique pops up in many different lineages with small variations on the execution.

Find a comfortable position to practice in and set your timer for fifteen minutes.

Begin by breathing gently, fully. As you exhale, mentally say fifty. As you inhale, mentally say forty-nine. Exhale, forty-eight. Inhale, forty-seven, and so on.

Count backward on both the in-breath and the out-breath until you reach twentythen count only the exhales. Silently count twenty as you exhale. Then, instead of counting nineteen on the in-breath, do nothing, just inhale. With the next exhalation count nineteen and continue until you reach zero. When you reach zero, stop counting, but stay aware of the natural flow of breath in and out.

This exercise usually takes seven to ten minutes. When you are done, you may wish to repeat it or count forward until fifteen minutes has passed. If not, simply sit and observe how you feel after a single round. The choice is yours.

Take some time to reflect on your experience with this meditation. Was it challenging, effortless, or some place in between? How did you feel at the end of the fifteen minutes? Theres not a right or wrong way to feel. Theres benefit to simply paying attention, regardless of the observations you make.

This is the first breathing technique Nicole and Emma learned, so it holds a special place in our hearts. We were both introduced to Dirgha (deer-gah) Pranayama in yoga classes, where this breathing style creates unity between the mind and the body. The word yoga itself is sometimes translated as yoke; in our yoga practice we are yoking the physical (the breath and body) to the mind. Dirgha Pranayama promotes optimal diaphragmatic breathing (deep belly breaths), relaxes the mind and body, oxygenates the blood, and encourages the release of residual carbon dioxide from the lungs.

Lie on your back and make yourself comfortable. Practice each stage of this meditation technique for approximately five inhales and exhales. First, watch your breath for several rounds, without controlling it. Observe the lengths of the breath and where you feel the body expanding and softening with each inhale and exhale. Then, place your hands on the abdomen and begin belly breaths; feel the breath rise in the belly toward your hands on the inhale, and move away from the hands on the exhale.