Meditation Foundational Practices: Breathing, Open Awareness, Mantras and Visualizations.

Most meditation traditions use the breath as a concentration anchor. Counting breaths, following the breath through its entire cycle, and being aware of the sensation of the breath going in and out of the body. The breath is used as a focus anchor in most meditation practices because it is ubiquitous. Additional focus anchors would be sound, sensations, body scanning, and eventually, open awareness where we sit without choosing a specific anchor. As we sit and pay attention to the present moment with the help of an anchor, we recognize, acknowledge, and investigate thoughts, body sensations, and feelings/emotions – without attachment or engagement. When we get distracted, we gently bring our attention back to the anchor over and over again.

The following family meditation practices are effective ways to introduce a mindful moment into your daily routine.

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NOTE: At any time, when you need extra time during the practice, pause the podcast for as long as you'd like and come back to finish up.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to Community Wellness by providing schools and organizations with mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the ⁠Welcoming a Mindful Future⁠ podcast and Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

All our links are compiled and can be viewed at Linktr.ee/MindfulFrontiers.