Practice Nada Yoga with Reggie Hubbard (and his gongs) on Wanderlust TV: his new series ‘Nada Yoga: Union Through Sound‘ is a 10-part series that you can practice for free when you take advantage of our free 14-day trial.
I remember when I first started meditating, I had so many questions….
What if I do it wrong?
What if I can’t get my mind to stop thinking?
What am I supposed to be doing?
Why can’t I stop focusing on my foot that’s falling asleep?
As a meditation teacher, I always try to remember to offer different tips and techniques so that students can see that there are different ways to practice meditation and that it’s okay to adopt a practice that serves your practice needs. What’s most important is creating regular intervals to pause, take an inventory of our somatic and energetic needs, and fortify ourselves in accordance with our compassionate inquiry. That is the focus of this meditation journey.
The journey’s foundation is based on the premise that the aim of meditation is bringing the mind into right relationship with itself—invoking a sense of ease so that awareness can expand, the mind can calm and we can begin to experience life with more grace and subtlety. And the journey is rooted in my formal training in mindfulness through the MMTCP program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, infusing elements of nada yoga, the yoga of sound.
Mindfulness pairs the concepts of expanding non-judgmental awareness and lovingkindness. Let’s define awareness as the aspect of consciousness that bears witness to our human experience without judgment, but simply takes notice. And let’s define lovingkindness (metta) as unconditional love–for self and others. The goal of metta meditation is to awaken our connectedness to all life. If mindfulness is this capacity to see clearly, metta is the capacity to meet what is happening with kindness and caring. Sabene Salassie likens metta to the warmth and power of the sun–which illuminates all, which thaws all, and allows us to see things with more compassion. The warmth of metta allows for repair and reconnection. Another aspect of metta to consider is that it is the response of the awakened heart–a quality of attention and discernment about what your needs are, and how to respond in light of those needs.
That understanding forms the basis of my series on Wanderlust TV, “Nada Yoga: A 10-part Meditation Journey“. Over the course of this mindfulness journey, I begin with some fundamental meditation techniques and definitions, and about halfway through the series I introduce different sounds (crystal bowls, Tibetan singing bowls, and gongs) to heighten your connection to states of consciousness that emerge when the mind is calmer. Nada yoga allows the mind to quiet by focusing on sound, then we can bear witness to internal and external sounds which can range from the breath in the body, blood circulating to hearing the breeze or the sound of silence and stillness.
The series is for all levels of meditation practitioners—from those who have never practiced meditation before, to those who practice every now and then, to those who have a regular practice. Enjoy the journey with an open mind, tell a friend, and most importantly, enjoy the chance to take a mindful pause for the best cause ever: your healing and well-being.
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Reggie Hubbard is an internationally-recognized yoga and meditation teacher and the founder and Chief Serving Officer of Active Peace Yoga. His yoga and meditation practice have served as a sanctuary of peace and perspective while navigating the stresses of being a black man in the world and serving in pressure filled jobs at the height of politics. He began practicing yoga under extreme emotional distress at work and now shares his practice to all walks of life in service to helping people navigate this thing called life with more peace and ease.
Reggie has taught Members of Congress, Congressional Staff, major labor unions, leading progressive organizations and individuals from all walks of life—simple tools for managing stress and bringing peace to mind, body and spirit.
In addition to his yoga teaching practice, Reggie has held many senior strategic and logistical roles across a variety of fields, ranging from global marketing, digital and community organizing, government relations, international education to Presidential campaigning. He received a B.A. in philosophy from Yale University and an MBA in international strategy from the Vlerick Business School in Belgium.