Namaste Yogis and Yoginis,

I am super excited, and privileged to be offering a TEDx Talk on May 10th on Metta Meditation called Mindplay to Expand Love in Your Life. I hope to be able to share the video of my talk in late June.

I have been practicing meditation regularly since the early 90’s but my first introduction to mediation was in fourth grade. I was 9 and my mother dragged my entire family to Transcendental Meditation (T.M) as a “family activity." At 9 years old, this was not my idea of fun. After several lessons and being given a mantra (a short Sanskrit word I had to mentally repeat for 20 minutes each day), I was initiated as a practitioner of T.M. My mom enforced our 20 minute nightly meditation time (which at the time, felt more like punishment.) And while I went in to my room begrudgingly, I always came out feeling renewed and peaceful. However after a few months the family routine shifted and my mom stopped enforcing meditation time. But while I dropped my daily practice, I did access the technique whenever I felt frustrated or stressed all the way through college. It was always my ‘emergency’ tool.

When I was 23 I enrolled, on my own this time, in a Vipassana Mediation course through the New York Insight Mediation Center. I had the amazing good fortune of having Sharon Salzberg as one of my earliest teachers. It is hard not to stay on the path when you begin with an incredible master like Sharon. In 1998, through some serendipitous circumstances I wound up at a Pema Chordon Retreat at Omega Instituted and since then I have studied with her annually.

Today, the forms of meditation I most often practice are mindful awareness or mindfulness, shamatha-vipashyana (vipasana), Metta and Maître. Interestingly, these techniques have had a great impact on my yoga practice and teaching. They integrate seamlessly as both are entirely breath centered with plenty of opportunity to pause and listen inward. My physical movement is strong, but slow and mindful enabling me to cultivate conditions where reflection, and insight can happen. Together my meditation and yoga practice help me become more grounded, present, and relaxed; to cultivate a more open body, mind, and heart.

This month each blog will focus on ways to enjoy mindfulness more often whether it is on your meditation cushion, yoga mat, or during your daily interactions with others.

In fact, to help jump start you, I’ve created a 7 minute mindfulness meditation you can access right now!

(Huge Gratitude to Nikki Gregoroff and Paul Weinberg for recording this for you…)

listen to the mindfulness meditation now

…you are only 7 minutes away from a more grounded, relaxed and present you!

Also be sure to check back each week for more inspirations!

With joy!

Jillian

Join Me to Deepen Your Practice

Save your spot now for a weekend or week long immersion in yoga, meditation and nature at Kripalu.

“Offered in the beauty of Kripalu’s natural environment, this retreat provides the perfect combination of yoga, meditation, and time in nature to leave you centered in your heart. Jillian Pransky weaves slow flow vinyasa, restorative poses, mindfulness, and walking meditations under the wide-open sky to leave you grounded, expansive, and with a deeper connection to yourself and the world.”

Mindfulness at Home with Calm Body, Clear Mind

(I am so grateful for Yoga Journal's super review!)

“Jillian Pransky…has been revolutionizing the practice of chilling out for years, and now she’s sharing her wisdom in her first DVD…. The practices are perfectly suitable for beginners, while more-advanced students will appreciate Pransky’s attention to concentration and breath. Not only will you get excellent asana instruction, but also rich guided meditations that you can listen to in the restorative poses, when you’re deliciously horizontal and no longer looking at the screen.”
— Yoga Journal