Meditations for Healing

Most mornings when we get up, Robbie and I pay attention to the sounds around us. We name 5 things, taking into account the sounds...

Eating my breakfast as I walk, plums and blackberries hang full and ripe along the roadside. An eagle appeared above as I approached the ocean,...

This morning's prayer and yoga practice was at swan lake nature sanctuary in Victoria, BC. One of the many wonderful things about revisiting a spiritual...

"Whatever you do long enough is a meditation." We were driving down the road and I heard Robbie say this to his friend Matteus in...

"That feeling you have in your gut". Everyone has intuition. Some have it more developed than others. For some, their radar is in their emotions,...

From the Metta (loving kindness) journal of Rita Naomi (april 2015): At some point in this practice, a type of subtle realization occurs: we start...

Pain is inevitable and a fact of life. Some of the compensatory responses to pain include "freezing", holding our muscles tightly, and shutting down emotionally....

Yesterday, my son ran up to me, put his face close up to mine and said, "Mom, sometimes my head is so full of thoughts,...

Loving kindness meditation or "Metta" is a traditional Buddhist prayer that wishes benevolence and good wishes toward oneself and another. It is not a religious...

On Friday, January 20, 2017 at 6:30 a.m. Rita Naomi ( Rita Moran) will be inaugurating a Loving Kindness practice that will continue for 45...

For most people, the oldest and most constant connection outside of our mothers is sensation. As babies, when we feel the sensation of hunger, we...

A step by step Home practice for Centering Oneself in the Midst of Change The one constant in life is change. To balance and maintain...

Saturday we went to "the place of the Red willow", the Taos Pueblo.   The Taos Pueblo is the oldest continuously inhabited dwelling in the...

When working to relieve or eliminate chronic pain, it is essential to understand the underlying patterns of thought, movement and types of "tissue holding" that...

Perhaps the simplest and most efficient way to initiate healing and maximize efficiency and balance is through becoming aware of your Breathing.   In this...

Well it's halloween, and it seemed appropriate to bring up the skeleton meditation. The skeleton meditation is done in Tibetan Buddhism and in other traditions...

We hiked in the Grove of the Patriarchs today. The fir and hemlock reached 300 feet into the sky forming a canopy overhead, teeming with...

When my son was 3, he would teach guests at our house how to meditate: "Sit down. Cross your legs like this. Put your hands...

We often have the idea that there is something we can do better, including something simple as breathing. We go to a teacher to teach...

Several years ago I led a 40 day meditation on Love. Up until that point, I had some ideas of what love was and wasn't,...

Loving kindness meditation or "Metta" is a traditional Buddhist prayer practice that wishes benevolence and good wishes toward oneself and another. It is not a...

Tonglen is a Tibetan practice of breathing in the suffering of others and breathing out love and compassion to them. (more…)

Whether you are an empath, a healer, someone engaged in spiritual practice and prayer, or are all of these, there comes a point where our...

To find peace, to live and love fully, we must honor the body and all its sensations. Rita Naomi has been a leader in Integrative...

In buddhist philosophy, the primary emotions can be broken down into 3 categories: emotions that are pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. Just as in the mind,...

My young son crawled under me this morning as I moved in cat/cow pose. He tugged on my sleeve, "mama." I paused and we sat...

A hand posture that brings about calm, lowers blood pressure and increases "groundedness" or a feeling of solidness in the body. A great centering practice...

The 4 phases of authentic service...and how having awareness of our intention and being aware of a larger purpose can bring us to what we...

This morning as I spread my yoga mat outside, Diamond and Sparkle, my hens, came over to say hello. They softly clucked, pecking the ground...

A yoga teacher shared with me once about having a fear of teaching so great that she managed to make it through her yoga teacher...

We can get so caught up in everyday life that we forget why we are doing whatever we are doing in the first place...until an...

Dirga breath is a three part breath that utilizes all parts of the lungs. It clears out toxins in the body and brings in fresh...

From Buddha to Jesus, hand mudra's have been used for 1000's of years to express the sacred. Hand mudra's have also been used to generate a...

Blessings on this full moon day...make use of the power of the moon by taking one step in the direction of your dreams. Even if...

A research article was published last March on the positive effects of Kripalu yoga and meditation in the scientific journal "Frontiers of Human Neuroscience". Brain...

Tonight nature gave an incredible lesson on the power of the witness mind, and of recognizing how our emotional and physical states are always changing....

I'm on my way to teach yoga before Jonathan Foust's meditation class.   There is snow on the ground and a deep fog mist covers...

Embrace your light. It's always there, even in the darkness.   If you are like millions of people living in a more northern clime, you...

Starting this Sunday January 17, Rita will be teaching yoga in 3 locations, Arlington, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland. Each class will be before...

If you have ever had physical pain, you know that the body never moves toward pain naturally, it moves away from pain.  The body then...

“I have three treasures. Guard and keep them: The first is deep love, The second is frugality, And the third is not to dare to...

"The Full Beaver moon in November was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another...

Thich Naht Hanh tells a story about a child whose wealthy father asks him, "what do you want for your birthday?" The child is unable...

Where there is muscle tension, other tensions will follow. The myofascial system of the body is the great web of tissue that encases our muscles,...

To see the world in a grain of sand And Heaven in a wildflower To hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity...

Where the mind goes, life flows... Having an idea of our internal compass can do wonders for those of us who want to be of...

When in pain, it is good to name it: "I feel angry." " I am hurt." Some pain is so sharp and acute you can't...

We live in a very fragile world. If you have ever held a baby or child in your arms, you only have to remember that...

Funny that we need a day to remember to be kind. Much less a reminder to be kind to ourselves... Blame, shame, and guilt all...

"Fear is the cheapest room in the house, I would like to see you living in better conditions." -Hafiz Fear can at times be a...

Well it's a new moon today folks. AND...it is not just any new moon. It is a new moon in the lovely intense sign of...

Today is the last day of my being 50. I started my 50's being pregnant. Her name was Isabella. She was a healthy vibrant being,...

When you are a parent, paying attention to your child's' every word can be difficult. It doesn't matter if you are employed full time or...

The sun shines down, and its image reflects a thousand different pots filled with water. The reflections are many, but they are each reflecting the...

My heart holds within it every form, it contains a pasture for gazelles, a monastery for Christian monks. There is a temple for idol-worshippers, a...

We are moving into the full moon this week. Astronomers call this the "Super Blood" moon: the harvest moon in the Northern Hemisphere and the...

There are 3 stages to the process of meditation. Stage 1: The initial learning of meditation can be quite easy: Find something you are passionate about....

The moon rises in the Eastern sky, the sky streaked oranges, purples,and pinks. The Olympic mountain range appears through the clouds on my left as...

The Connecticut River is far beneath me right now, the rails screeching underneath, cars swaying from side to side as we cross a bridge with...

Drawing the Mandala of your Life: Bringing Forth what Matters Most Mandalas are a visible representation of the patterns that shape our lives. From nature...

There is the expectation among people that somehow if you meditate or practice yoga that you feel less. You are supposed to be more calm...

"I have three treasures. Guard and keep them: The first is deep love, The second is frugality, And the third is not to dare to...

Just for today, do not be angry Just for today, do not worry Just for today, be grateful Just for today, work hard Just for...

The long term health benefits of meditation and yoga are known, namely greater happiness, lower blood pressure, and less stress. What is lesser known is...

It is exhausting work putting a person's life into bags, especially if it is someone close to you. In the last 20 months, there has...

Loving kindness meditation or "Metta" is a traditional Buddhist prayer that wishes benevolence and good wishes toward oneself and another. It is not a religious...

We cannot sow seeds with clenched fists. To sow we must open our fists. "No podemos sembrar con los puños cerrados. Para sembrar, hay que...

Day 3 of Surrender Sadhana : Today marks the anniversary of the last combat troops to leave Vietnam in 1973. It did not mean the...

Life happens. And depending on the situation, there may be nothing we can do about it in the moment. All of a sudden, hearts are racing,...

I love the river. Its flow. Its constancy. It is here that I find my home. It is here that I rest. There is nothing...

It is hard to say what is harder, having the ability to intuit and see or managing the ability to intuit and see. I say...

The fascial system has 2 main purposes: Containment and Communication. Containment provides the basis of form and structure for the muscle tissue.  Tensegrity, coined in...

www.johnscottartist.com On Tonglen: I started the community Worldwide Meditation for Healing and Compassion (www.facebook.com/MeditationHealingCompassion?ref=hl) after experiencing the practice of Tonglen in my meditation practice. Tonglen...

When a joint is injured and requires surgery and care, the surrounding tissue is taken into consideration as part of the rehabilitation process. The connective...

May 22, 2012 Every person’s life is a blank canvas from which they must draw their own life, their own expression, their own way. What...

Healing Philosophy My philosophy of healing includes the following 3 tenets: A. We are born with an energy blue print. Our physical body is a...

This morning a priest came to see me for a session. Chronically overworked, fatigued and in a low mood, he told me he knew he...

Rita has been a healer for over 25 years. She first became introduced to healing in 1972 at the age of 8 when her mother...

I have been thinking a lot lately about what put me on the path of being a healer. Being a healer is an intensely personal...

We are all connected. When one person suffers, we all suffer. It is our responsibility to ensure that we care for ourselves, but we must...

Paleo. Vegan. Dairy Free. Grain free. Great tasting. Easy. 2 cups of baby kale (or arugala or field greens) 1/2 shredded carrot sprouts (used baby...

Warm breakfast cereal this morning. Tastes great. Anti inflammatory properties, nourishing and warming for the body. Fresh spices are better if you have them. Takes...

One of my favorite poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, speaks to grief and kindness, one layer over the other...sometimes one is all you can truly...

A spontaneous poem by Karaniya Metta Sutta By one who is skilled in goodness And who knows the path of peace: Let them be able...

Breathing 1-2-3-4 Sit erect with pillow under bottom or sit on chair with feet planted on floor.The type of breath for breathing 1-2-3-4: Ujjuyai breath...

Very often, we approach learning something from the perspective of succeeding. We want to do it right and well. But to effectively learn to meditate,...

Everything but the kitchen sink vegetarian chili: 1 Onion 2-3 cloves of Garlic 2 cups mushrooms 2 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 zucchini...