Returning to the refuge of breath that is present from birth to death, JoAnna Hardy guides listeners through a grounding and connective breath-based practice.
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In this practice-infused episode, JoAnna guides listeners through:
- The first foundation of mindfulness according to the Buddha
- Whole-body awareness and inviting our body fully into the practice
- The individuality of each breath and becoming familiar with our breath
- Remembering that the breath is always with us, from birth to death
- Finding calm, peace, energy, rapture, and joy within the breath
- Becoming completely interested in each one of our inhales and exhales
- Our exhale as the connection between us and nature, us and all beings
- Landing in the rhythm of the breath and allowing it to rock you
- Letting the breath be our home base and refuge when our mind wanders during practice
- Becoming aware of sensations on and in our body via the throughline of the breath
- Feeling the body rather than thinking about your body
- Exploring practice one breath at a time, one bodily sensation at a time, with curiosity
This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.org
“That exhale is going far beyond this body. It’s what connects us to this earth, to nature, to all beings.” – JoAnna Hardy
About JoAnna Hardy:
JoAnna Hardy is an insight meditation (Vipassanā) practitioner and teacher; she is on faculty at the University of Southern California, a meditation trainer at Apple Fitness+, a founding member of the Meditation Coalition, a teacher’s council member at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, a visiting retreat teacher at Insight Meditation Society, and a collaborator on many online meditation Apps and programs. Her greatest passion is to teach meditation in communities that are dedicated to seeing the truth of how racism, gender inequality and oppression go hand in hand with the compassionate action teachings in Buddhism and related perspectives to social and racial justice.
“From the moment we come out of the womb, to the moment we take our last, this breathing is happening. Within this breath we can find calm. Within this breath we can find peace, energy, rapture, joy.” – JoAnna Hardy