VIDEOS
Dive into this library of video teaching from Alistair.
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Guided meditations (usually around 30-40 minutes)
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Teaching on various topics: body-based meditation, compassion, internal family systems and much more
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Alistair's answers to students
We've organised the 150+ videos into different channels and categories. You need to be a supporting member to access the golden ones!
Films and Fun Stuff
This is a collection of some short films and documentaries Alistair has made:
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An Introduction to Holy Island
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Green Tara Island
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Thoughts on the Sea
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Sitting the Downs
Good for Beginners
Here are a dozen practices that give you a good taste of embodied meditation. Many of them done standing up:
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Starting with a lovely set of energy practices, bring energy into the standing body
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Then moving into the classic Mindsprings relaxation, Polyvagal Tuning.
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Then a brace of practice looking at tracking the energy around the somatic circuit
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And three practices working with awareness and stillness: 3 Objects, Mantra and the Practice of Fives
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Then there are two tasters of Beingfulness and Tonglen
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Finishing with a recap of the energy workout with my dog, Ben.
Tips and Talks on How to Meditate
After and during many of the live Mindsprings sessions, Alistair talks about some of the misconceptions and common questions arising for meditators. These 13 short talks address a potpourri of subjects:
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Eyes shut or open during meditation?
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Not identifying with our thoughts
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The goal of the 'aerated' self
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Meditation on the cushion vs. meditation in the 'real' world
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Not falling into the pitfall of looking for calm
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Some practical unpacking of practices like kapalabati and the practice of fives
Bringing the Body Online
Mindsprings grounds a lot of the meditation we do in the body and this is a great selection of somatic practices:
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We start with two simple energy exercises which you can use before any practice session.
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Then there's little talk on the specific nature of somatic practice.
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Two practices introduce Alistair's Polyvagal Tuning which is a great somatic practice for bringing us into a positive body-mind state.
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Then there is a suite of practices introducing the Somatic Circuit - a great way to find your way back into the body.
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Next, are practices opening up this space: the Somatic Tent.
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Followed by a more advanced energy practice known as the Torus.
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Finally, there is the classic practice of Earth Breathing and some somatic practices opening the heart for Compassion work.
Untangling Thoughts & Thinking
After and during many of the live Mindsprings sessions, Alistair talks about some of the misconceptions and common questions arising for meditators. These 13 short talks address a potpourri of subjects:
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Eyes shut or open during meditation?
-
Not identifying with our thoughts
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The goal of the 'aerated' self
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Meditation on the cushion vs. meditation in the 'real' world
-
Not falling into the pitfall of looking for calm
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Some practical unpacking of practices like kapalabati and the practice of fives
Soothing & Centring the Body-Mind
Central to all meditation is the ability to calm and soothe the body-mind. Without this, all further therapeutic elaborations tend to disappear in a morass of fizzy distraction:
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The soothing practice of Earth Breathing
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Shamata or calming practice: the practice of Fives
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Working with mantra
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Frond breathing
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Tonglen and compassion for our own experience
Maitri: Loving Your Inner Parts
Before we can love others we have to be aware of and love the multiplicity of parts within our own psyche. The practice of maitri (of self-compassion) explores this with the help of Richard Schwartz' Internal Family Systems.
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Beginning with a short overview, we dive into the crucial experience of the 'backspace which gives us the somatic field of loving-kindness into which our parts can peep. we can explore the parts that Schwartz identifies as firefighters, managers and exiles in our practice and bring some kindness and clarity to them.
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These parts often manifest in specific somatic ways as explored in the teaching around cylinders
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Two more talks about the wider ramifications of this work in our lives.
Opening the Heart to Others
Ultimately all our practice comes back to how we relate to others. The cast-iron patterns of selfishness are hard to soften. But therapeutic meditation turns a lot to Buddhist practice here:
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Guided practices to feel the embodied 'backspace' essential for compassion practice
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Embodied versions of the Buddhist practice of tonglen
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Explorations of the awakened heart or bodhicitta
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Discussing the practical challenges of loving others
All the Guided Practices
The Mindsprings Video library contains more than 50 guided meditations ranging from 10 to 50 minutes. Please use the search function to pinpoint the practice you want or look through the categories to find inspiration.
All the Teaching
The Mindsprings Video library contains more than 100 recorded teachings. Some are short answers to questions Alistair gave during sessions. Some are longer teaching on meditation, therapy or Buddhism.
Please use the search function to pinpoint the practice you want or look through the categories to find inspiration.
