Tiffany // September 23rd, 2015
The fall can feel like a new year – the freshness in the air, kids returning to school and an overall sense of possibility. Here are three great reasons to take advantage of the season and learn to meditate.
#1: Improved Focus
Picture this: you’re at work on the computer or reading at home and suddenly you notice you’ve become completely distracted. Bingo – these are classic examples of when meditation can help.
Why? Well, like doing anything – sports, music or cooking – skills get better with practice. Meditation teaches you how to direct and redirect your attention on demand. With practice, the mind can overrule tendencies to become distracted, more of the time.
Replicate this in your home or work environment and say hello to a greater focus, potential for increased productivity and ultimately more control over what you think.
#2: More Energy for Life
According to the Journal of Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, mindfulness-based techniques – which can include seated and walking meditations, as well as mindful eating and yoga – correlate with structural changes in the brain known to play a key role in the stress response.
Two separate studies found that after only four months of practice, participants who learned to meditate had lower levels of stress hormones compared to non-meditators.
Similar research from the Centre for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School confirms that learning to meditate improves the ability to cope with stressful situations and leads to increased relaxation, greater energy and more enthusiasm for life.
#3: Personal Time
For many of us, as parents and professionals, we’re often facilitating new experiences for others. But when was the last time you signed up for a class or workshop that’s just for you?
Maybe now’s the time. Taking a meditation class is a great way have quality time for you.
Lightwork is a Vancouver-based meditation centre geared at training western minds to learn to meditate through simple, step-by-step instruction.
Check out our roster of fall Lightwork Level 1 classes – and keep in mind, more classes are added all the time.
Jacqueline // September 9th, 2015
It all began with a meditation workshop on Hornby Island in 1995. And now, 20 years later, Lightwork is a vibrant meditation community. The anniversary was marked this summer during the 9-Day Dharma Healing summer retreat at the Lightwork Ecovillage on Gambier Island. You’ll find a series of photos below from that sacred event.
To everyone in the Lightwork community: YES to the brightness and consciousness you bring to the planet. Way to go, people.
Darci R. // June 9th, 2015
Since I started meditating, I’m much more present in all areas of my life — whether I’m at work, play or rest.
I began to understand the power of presence in nursing school. When I was really present in my interactions with patients, I could see a therapeutic impact. Just the act of of sitting down with them and deeply hearing them assisted their healing.
Sometimes they needed less pain medication. They ate more. They were often more willing to spend time sitting up in a chair, rather than lying in bed.
The impact of being present with patients outweighs the pressure to speed through my task list – even though some days I’m so run off my feet I’m lucky to get a quick break.
I apply the power of presence beyond my work. I am now more awake, aware and present for life’s daily activities. Even the smallest thing — brushing my hair, sweeping the floor or watering my plants — is filled with light and enjoyment when I am present for it.
And when I am in relaxation mode I can truly have that experience. I’m not drifting to the past or thinking about what the future may hold.
I can just be.
Julia W. // April 2nd, 2015
Need some stress reduction tools? Give meditation a try April 29th. Tiffany Robinson is hosting a 1-hour intro meditation workshop at Le Physique, located on Vancouver’s glorious seawall in False Creek. Just a 5-minute walk from the Olympic Village, Canada Line station.
Lightwork is a simple, potent form of meditation that can give you more energy, focus and enthusiasm for life.
You’ll learn two powerful visualization techniques you can use everyday:
1. Centering: A technique for calming a chattering, busy mind
2. Grounding: A technique for releasing stress, worry and emotions
When: Wednesday, April 29th, 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Where: Le Physique, 662 Leg in Boot Square
Cost: $20 (plus tax)
Why? Meditation rocks. Give it a whirl.
Register for Apr 29th Intro to Meditation
To register via PayPal (with any major credit card) use this form:
To register by phone or email contact Lightwork at 604-733-8776 or lightwork@lightwork.ca
Full payment required at the time of registration.
Class fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Jacqueline // February 8th, 2015
Come on by…Lightwork is now offering a 20-minute guided meditation every Tuesday at the Centre for Peace. No prerequisite – everyone is welcome.
This is an easy, fast way to add more meditation to your week. This guided session is part of Lightwork’s ongoing weekly Healing Space event, where you can drop in for energy healings, energy readings and chair massage.
Why not check it out? Here are the details:
What: 20-minute guided meditation every week
Day: Every Tuesday (with a few exceptions throughout the year – please check the Healing Space page)
Time: Weekly Meditation 6:40pm to 7:00pm (Note: Healing Space is from 5:30 to 7pm)
Location: Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace, 1825 W. 16th Ave (at Burrard)
Cost: $10
We hope to see you soon!
Julia T. // February 2nd, 2015
One thing I wish everyone could know about meditation is it can really change your life.
Not in a new-years-resolution-you-let-slide kind of way. But in a real, long lasting sense.
Meditation enables you to get to the core of your issues, where real change happens. It is one thing to know you have an unhelpful coping mechanism, but another to be able to let it go…and to let it go with ease.
Mediation can really help with this, making lasting change easily. The ways I have changed since beginning to meditate are among the reasons I am most grateful to have a meditation practice.
Cathy // January 15th, 2015
Meditation helps with major life choices.
I remember a time when I experienced major anxiety deciding whether to change my job. It was a dilemma: should I stay in a secure position or switch to a job where I could use my creativity?
At the time I had a young family so security was important, but my job involved long hours that limited my family time.
My analytical mind went back and forth trying to weigh the options. The more I tried to figure it out, the more confused and overwhelmed I became. My pros and cons list wasn’t working!
I wanted to give up. For a while I just stayed in the current job avoiding a decision, but I continued to be dissatisfied despite my best efforts.
Over time, using meditation to refocus my attention and tone down the chatter in my head, I was able to see the choice I really wanted to make.
I took a leap. I switched to the new job. And because I did I gained new skills, used my creativity and developed a family routine that was much more manageable and fulfilling.
I learned that security comes from within and I’m capable of creating what I need in my life.
Julia T. // December 3rd, 2014
Being present helps me face the worry that life is passing me by.
I find it empowering to be present, to be with my life however it is. With presence I’m not waiting for something to happen. I’m more at ease with the moment.
With presence comes the ability to be aware of every level of your experience. Whether it’s your senses — like the feeling of the breeze on your skin — or internal things like emotions, presence is where the richness of life lies.
By cultivating presence in meditation, I’m able to experience it in my daily life. It’s funny how what once seemed mundane is transformed into a glorious experience.
Cathy // November 9th, 2014
Through meditation, I learned to be aware of when my mind wanders and when I become distracted.
I started to see opportunities to change things in my life so that I could live with less confusion. I was tired of being scattered and not always on top of my game.
I became more organized simply by seeing that if I changed just a couple things in my daily routine, I would feel less stretched and overwhelmed. Instead of having many things on the go all the time, I learned to complete things efficiently.
I learned ease. I began to feel calmer and more aware.
With these changes I feel better about myself, more capable and settled.
Tiffany // October 5th, 2014
Meditation is my way of noticing what’s going on within me. These days it feels like stillness and quiet.
But it wasn’t always this way. Early on, I often cried when I meditated. I can’t say this felt awesome, but it certainly felt like it needed to happen. Meditation helped me see the reasons for my emotions. It’s helped me understand myself deeply.
My experience of meditating has really changed over the years. Now I’d say it feels powerful. Some days it feels like just being love.
I love the stillness of it and more and more, I see that this stillness is me.
