Guided Meditation on Mindfulness of the Breath
The breath has been one of the most common objects used for calming and meditation techniques. Vidyamala guides us in a classic mindfulness of the breath exercise. This exercise has existed for more than 2500 years and remains relevant in calming our minds. In a more profound level, it teaches us how to learn to respond to situations and not just react. Studies show that regularly practicing Mindfulness of the Breath for 2 months can result in improvement in anxiety, higher levels of contentment and calm.

Warning: Please do not listen to this file if you are driving or operating heavy machinery as it can cause sleepiness and relaxation.

Body Scanning
This guided meditation practice helps us to develop habits of greater ease and awareness of the body. Adopting a comfortable posture, lying down or sitting, we scan through the whole body with our awareness, using the breath to let go of areas of pain and tension.

Warning: Please do not listen to this file if you are driving or operating heavy machinery as it can cause sleepiness and relaxation.

Dealing With Stress - Developing a Coping Plan
It is important to have our own individual coping strategies when stress levels become too much. This section talks about how to develop a coping plan we can call our own.

Dealing With Stress - Taking Care of Your Person
When we are busy and stressed out, many of us forget to take care of our own person. We need to do regular maintenance checks to ensure that our body is still ticking.

Dealing With Stress - Pros and Cons Table
Stress can affect our ability to deal with situations. For some of us, we develop behaviours which can temporarily improve our stress but has potential negative consequences long term. This section talks about using a logical technique to look at our behaviours.

Dealing With Anger
Anger is a powerful emotion which if uncontrolled can destroy relationships. Anger can also make us feel miserable and regretful. This is a talk on practical anger transformation techniques that all of us can practice.

Preparing For Exams
Exams and assessments are inevitable when one is a student. They cause lots of distress and suffering to many of us. However, if approached with a logical plan, they do not have to be that painful.

Meeting Deadlines
To meet deadlines, it is important that you are well organised and that you plan ahead. It is also critical that you are realistic in the tasks that you set yourself, and that you create conditions that support the achievement of those tasks. The following is a talk on strategies to help you successfully meet your deadlines.

Self Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a technique which can be helpful in many ways in medicine, as shown by brain imaging and rigorous research. It is often misperceived by many as a form of "control" which is used in entertainment. In reality it is a procedure which involves the use of the imagination and the focussing of attention. Amongst its many uses are pain management and enhancing relaxation.

Dr Bob Large is a Psychiatrist and Pain Specialist. In this audio file he talks about hypnosis and self-hypnosis. He then reads a hypnotic script with a focus on enhancing relaxation and wellbeing. People vary in their hypnotic capacity, but most people are able to experience hypnosis or self-hypnosis to some extent.

Warning: Please do not listen to this file if you are driving or operating heavy machinery as it can cause sleepiness and relaxation.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation is a commonly used technique for stress management.

Matt Shepherd works part time as a researcher within the Department of Psychological Medicine. He has had a long interest in working with people around relaxation issues. His current research work includes e-therapy projects.

Warning: Please do not listen to this file if you are driving or operating heavy machinery as it can cause sleepiness and relaxation.

Brief Walking Meditation by U Vansa

A wandering mind is perfectly normal for most people. However, many meditation beginners equate a wandering mind and distractability with failure in their meditation practice. An alternative for beginners in meditation is to consider walking meditation first before trying sitting meditation. If one can practice walking meditation for a few minutes regularly, one can then progress to doing other meditations while washing the dishes, folding or ironing clothes, while exercising or while performing other daily routine activities.

Brief Sitting Meditation by U Vansa (excellent for beginners)

A short version of mindfulness meditation using the breath as the object of focus. This is a good sampler on mindulfness meditation for beginners. If one can do mindfulness meditation for 3 minutes every day for a week, then one might consider doing 4 minutes the following week and so forth. Studies have shown that regular meditation for about 2 months can bring about changes in one's perspective, mental health and possibly physical well being.

Brief Loving Kindness Meditation while Sitting by Sharon Salzberg 

This is a good introduction for beginners to Loving Kindness Meditation. The goal is to increase enhance feelings of compassion and connectedness to ourselves, other people and other beings. Loving Kindness meditation has been practiced for at least 2 thousand years.

Brief Loving Kindness Meditation while Walking by Sharon Salzberg 

This is an active form of meditation combining walking and loving kindess meditations. The goal is to incorporate loving kindness aspirations in our routine thinking process. Instead of constantly being immersed in our worries, a loving kindess wish to ourselves and other beings becomes an oasis in our busy and frenetic minds.

Mindfulness with Dr Craig Hassed.

The following five tracks are a series of mindfulness practices.   The fourth is a bodyscan meditation and the fifth is a combined mindulness meditation

Dr Craig Hassed, Monash University
craig.hassed@monash.edu

You can view his book Mindfulness for Life here.