If you’re beginning a meditation practice, start with 2-5 minutes twice a day, every day, working your way up to 30 minutes per sitting. There are many styles of meditation; the first two suggestions on this page are rotation of consciousness meditations. It is helpful to have someone read the meditation “scripts” to you very slowly the first couple of times you practice.
 Body Awareness meditation – In a cross legged, seated position, place your hands on your thighs. Bring your awareness to your posture. The tail bone descends as the crown of your head reaches up to the ceiling, bring as much length to your spine as possible. Draw your shoulders back and down, away from the ears. Keep your neck long. Focus on your breath for a few breath cycles, until you feel your mind begin to quiet. Bring you awareness to the parts of your body that are touching the floor; the sit bones, the sides and backs of legs. Focus on those parts of your body, seeking out subtle sensations. Now bring your focus to where the legs cross; feel that connection. Mentally ask yourself if you can distinguish the top leg and the bottom leg, or just feel the connection? Move on, feel the palms of the hands on the tops of your thighs. Just focus on that area where they meet. Feel the thigh, then the palm, then both simultaneously. Keep working up the body. When you get to the head, focus on the tongue seated in your mouth; feel your breath passing in the back of your throat; relax the backs of your eyes; feel your breath on the edges of the nostrils.
Sound Awareness Meditation – Follow the same basic format as the above exercise, but rather than honing in on sensations in the body, listen for subtle sounds around you. First focus on sounds close to you, then begin to seek out sounds further away. You control where your focus goes, do not wait for a distracting noise to pull you away. When you are in the early stages of practicing meditation, it is helpful to set up a couple of sounds. Try soft music that has various instruments that you can try to distinguish between; place a ticking clock, metronome, or something with a repetitive noise 10-15 feet away; turn on a fan in the next room. As you gain experience with rotation of consciousness meditations, you can meditate anywhere, at anytime by just closing your eyes, feeling and listening.
Tratak with a Candle (Candle Gazing)-Practice candle gazing in a dark room for best results. Light a candle and place in front of you make sure it is not near anything that can catch fire. Sit upright, reaching the crown of your head to the ceiling. Gaze at the candle without moving your eyes or blinking for as long as you can do so comfortably. When the urge to blink becomes strong, close your eyes and observe the image that you see behind your eyelids. Keep them closed until the image that is “burned” into your mind’s eye disappears. Observe the color, shape and movement of the image that appears in your closed eyes without attachment or judgment; just watch. When the image dissipates, open your eyes and begin the process all over again. 5-15 minutes.
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DO NOT STOP TAKING ANY MEDICATION WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL
**Medication Alert**
We DO NOT recommend that you discontinue taking prescription drugs without the consent and supervision of a medical professional. It is very important to be under a physician's care if you plan to discontinue medication. Discontinuation of anti-anxiety medications can lead to severe reactions, resulting in seizures, coma or worse. This information is not intended as a replacement for your healthcare providers services. The practices offered on this website are intended to give you some tools to break the cycle of anxiety and stress in your daily life. If you are currently seeking help from a healthcare provider, discuss these techniques with your provider to ensure that they work in concert with your current therapy. A fantastic web resource for information about stopping your medications, Dr. Heather Ashton's work: http://benzo.org.uk/
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