Dea Rivera

Mindfulness Teacher

Engage in mindful breath awareness meditation, one of the most widely used basic form of meditation.

Practice mindful breath awareness meditation, a popular basic form of meditation.

Breath Awareness

At times our mind can resemble a baseball game- Which sportscaster are you listening to?

The mind is like a baseball game; the question is, which sportscaster are you listening to?

Baseball Mind

So you associate what you do with who you are? Maybe it's time to make a different association.

Rethink the association between what you do and who you are, suggests an article.

Being Vs Doing as We Age

Learn to take a self-compassion break throughout your day-you deserve it!

Practice self-compassion breaks to improve well-being.

Self Compassion Break

Challenge yourself with this practice of breathing and counting, focusing solely on the breath. It's a simple practice, but not easy.

Practice focusing on the breath through a challenging breathing and counting exercise.

10 Mindful Breaths

Sending loving kindness to yourself and others can be a nurturing practice that brings ease into your day. Give it a try.

Practice sending loving kindness to yourself and others for a more nurturing and easy day.

Loving Kindness

This practice is designed to help you investigate your body though sounds and sensations as your awareness deepens.

Explore your body through sounds and sensations to enhance awareness.

Sound Body

Use this practice as a way to work with difficult emotions and body sensations. It can be a gentle reminder that everything is ever-changing.

Practice working with difficult emotions and body sensations as a reminder that everything is ever-changing.

Difficulties

Quiet your mind with this practice as you visualize a lovely stream alongside you. It may be helpful when your mind feels busy or emotions feel strong.

Visualize a stream to calm your mind during busy or emotional times.

Thoughts on a Leaf

Slowing down your routine activities can be sweet. Start with this practice & begin to slow down and savor all aspects of your experience.

Slow down and savor every experience by practicing to slow down your routine activities.

Slowing Down

Relax and bring more awareness to your body with this seated body scan.

Seated body scan helps in relaxing and increasing body awareness.

Seated Body Scan

Truly listening is the greatest gift we can give others. With this practice, you may be surprised at how beneficial listening can be to you as well.

Listen attentively to others as it is the greatest gift we can give; surprisingly, practicing good listening can be beneficial for oneself too.

Listening

This practice invites you to notice body sensations as you sit, settle in and explore all the decisions you make as you move into a standing position.

"Explore body sensations & decisions while transitioning from sitting to standing in this mindfulness practice."

Standing Mindfully

If you have been overwhelmed by emotion when hearing about all those suffering from the latest natural disaster, you may benefit from this practice of loving kindness.

Practice loving kindness to cope with overwhelming emotions related to natural disasters.

Natural Disaster Needs Loving Kindness

Try this nurturing practice when you are overwhelmed with emotion and longing for ease. You may be pleasantly surprised by the effect on your mind and body. Photo by Maria Eduarda Loura Magalhães from Pexels

Nurture yourself during emotional overwhelm with ease using a simple practice, with potential positive effects on the mind and body.

Self-Hug

Wake up to the moment and connect your senses with this mindful walking practice. It may be just what you need to start your day off with awareness.

Start your day with awareness by practicing mindful walking to connect your senses and be present in the moment.

Morning Walk

Become more aware of sensations and feelings that arise with your cell phone use. A level of awareness provides you with a choice amidst your habitual use.

Increase awareness of cellphone use to make conscious choices and break habits.

Mindful Mobile Use

A useful practice to help notice when you are running on autopilot. Learn to make a conscious choice to be in the present moment. Photo by Philip Deus on Unsplash

Practice being present in the moment instead of running on autopilot.

Autopilot

A guided mindfulness practice on Forgiveness Releasing and letting go- A true act of self-care. Photo by Couleur from Pexels

"Practice guided mindfulness on forgiveness, releasing, and letting go - an act of self-care. Photo by Couleur from Pexels."

Forgiveness Practice

This practice is about pointing our attention towards the sense of sight; exploring and strengthening our capacity to become aware of our environment through our eyes.

Strengthen awareness through sight, exploring environment with focus on eyes.

Awareness of Sight

This practice is about feeling and letting in compassion and love while embracing your suffering or discomfort.

Embrace suffering with compassion and love.

Acceptance

With compassion and love, embrace your suffering, discomfort, or tension and open yourself up to your connection to the world around you. Photo by Todd Trapani from Pexels

Embrace and connect with discomfort: open yourself to the world with love and compassion.

Loving-Compassion for You

This practice is designed to allow you to settle into the breath as you become still- It's simple, but not easy.

Settle into your breath and become still through this simple yet challenging practice.

Breathing

When we exaggerate tensions in the body and then slowly release them, we suddenly become aware of the sensation of ease and relaxation. Try this tense & release practice to build awareness of where you hold tension so that you can release it throughout your day.

Build awareness of body tension with tense & release practice to experience ease & relaxation throughout the day.

Releasing Tension

Allow compassion to surround & support you in this practice as you imagine being encircled by the most loving beings you have ever met or can imagine.

Envision loving beings to embrace you while practicing to cultivate compassion.

Circle of Love

This brief guided practice will assist you in feeling your breath as you begin to notice the tendencies of the mind- returning to the breath over and over again.

Practice feeling your breath and returning to it despite the mind's tendencies with this guided exercise.

Experiencing the Breath

Using the breath to become aware of habitual reactions of mind and body when faced with a stressful situation. Our body is constantly sending us messages- information in the form of sensations, thoughts or feelings. Accept what is there with kindness.

Be aware of habitual reactions to stress by using the breath and accepting sensations, thoughts, and feelings with kindness.

Reactions

Parents can be so rushed getting everyone out the door in the morning that they can miss an opportunity to connect with their children. Try creating a new habit: embracing, aligning your nervous systems & taking 3 slow-deep breaths together, before anyone heads out the door. Photo by Min An from Pexels

Connecting with kids in the morning: Embrace, align nervous systems & take 3 slow-deep breaths together before heading out the door.

Leaving Connected-Mindful 3 Breaths

We can be mindful and present during the mundane morning rituals of our day. Try this "brushing practice" to become a touch more aware of yourself and your thoughts while you are cleaning your pearly-whites.

Practice mindfulness during morning brushing with this simple technique to become more aware of yourself and your thoughts.

Brushing Mindfully

This session is designed to help you become aware of the clouds in your mind- through the subtle movements of the breath- Notice them, with curiosity and let them float on by without judgment.

Become aware of the clouds in your mind through breath; notice with curiosity and let them float by without judgment.

Cloudy Mind

Reset your nervous system, with a smile. This practice invites the body to awaken with a smile in your heart-filling it with lightness, creating ease as you become aware of your breath.

Reset your nervous system by awakening your body with a smile, filling your heart with lightness and creating ease through breath awareness.

Smile

Because it is so common to get distracted when we start a mindfulness practice, it can be beneficial to use a way to note & count the breath as a stabilizing support. See if this practice invites more ease to your body and mind.

Using a breath count as a stabilizing tool can aid in mindfulness and bring ease to the body and mind.

Note & Count Your Breath

Notice how you can be aware, conscious & attentive to the feeling of your breath. You don’t have to control the actual breath, but awareness will go where you direct it. Use this practice to learn to trust your breath.

Be aware of your breath to build trust in it. Don't control it, just direct your awareness towards it.

Trust the Breath

Enjoy this practice of being aware of how interconnect we all are. As alone and cut off as we sometimes feel, the truth of our existence is that we are all interconnected. None of us really lives apart and independent.

We are all interconnected and never truly live apart or independently, so practice being aware of this fact.

Interconnectedness

The practice of gratitude is a powerful way to bring more happiness, well-being and resilience into our lives. It’s done by using thinking to generate a positive mind state, then dwelling in the effects of that positive mind state. Give it a try!

Practicing gratitude can improve happiness, well-being, and resilience by generating a positive mindset and dwelling in its effects.

Gratitude

We greet the breath with awareness and interest- the way we might see a friend in a crowd. We don’t have to shove aside everybody else. Our energy, our enthusiasm, and our sense of connection are going towards that friend. In just that way, we pay attention to the breath.

Pay attention to the breath like how we greet a friend in a crowd, without shoving aside others and with interest, enthusiasm, and connection.

The Breath

A helpful practice in coping during difficult experiences & situations: RAIN: Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Non-identification.

RAIN: A coping practice for difficult experiences - Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Non-identification.

Rain

Settle in with this relaxing practice to find balance between your breath, body and mind; checking in, beginning again, again.

Relax and find balance through a practice of checking in with your breath, body, and mind, beginning again and again.

Beginning Again

A Beautiful Story With a Heart-felt Lesson

A touching tale with a meaningful message.

Butterfly

This is a traditional story from China. It is the story of an old Chinese farmer who lived many years ago.

"Story of an old Chinese farmer from ancient times."

Good Luck Bad Luck

It was a beautiful women expensively dressed...

Happiness

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog with my dog down to the beach near my home...

Starfish

Weight of Water

This 3 minute-mindfulness practice invites you to tune into your body just as it is in this very moment. Awakening to all your senses and noticing your environment.

A 3-minute mindfulness practice to tune into your body and senses, and be present in the moment.

Tuning into Sitting

Mindfulness of breathing happens when we tune in to whatever we find when we sit and allow our body to breathe just as it is. Exploring sensations calling out and pulling our attention as we find breath in our bodies and following it just like waves on a beach- gently rolling in and out.

Mindfulness of breathing is achieved by tuning into the body's breathing sensations and following them like waves on a beach, calling and pulling our attention.

Body Breathing

Imagine your initial broad awareness followed by a reducing of focus, then expanding once again -in the shape of an hourglass. This practice can be incorporated into the busyness of your day to provide a feeling of being balanced and centered.

Hourglass practice: start broad, reduce focus, then expand again - adds balance & centeredness to busy day.

3 Step Breathing Space

Inspired by Jack Kornfield, this visualization will bring you through your bathroom mirror to recognize your playful spirit and unlimited potential and talents within. Shift into compassion to find love for yourself, trust for yourself and truly know yourself.

Visualize yourself in the bathroom mirror to tap into your potential and talents, and shift into self-compassion to love, trust, and know yourself.

Stepping Through the Mirror

Making resolutions & setting goals are tricky at times. We can play games, bargain and blame others as we make excuses for our lack of progress. Have you ever done that? Sometimes there is an awakening that happens -causing us to see clearly what is blocking our success.

Setting goals can be difficult as we often make excuses for our lack of progress, but sometimes an awakening can help us see what is blocking success.

Yoga Resolution

This ancient tale illustrates how how similar we experience sorrow and loss with the understanding that life and death are a part of being human.

The tale shows that grief is universal and life and death are intrinsic to humanity.

Grief & the Mustard Seed

This tale of unknown origin describes two wolves within a warrior that are in constant battle. Is it possible you have two wolves within you?

Unknown tale of two wolves within a warrior in constant battle, prompting readers to introspect if they have similar wolves within them.

Two Wolves

This tale of comparing the jungle where courage, tenacity and belief in one's self bring results.

A comparison of the jungle where self-belief leads to success.

Marsha's Elephant

A tale of caution in holding on to possessions that appear desirable but fail to meet our greater needs in the end.

Be careful in holding onto possessions that may seem desirable but don't meet our actual needs in the long run.

Happy Monkey

When there is a willingness to open the heart to what we have been closed to - it is courageous. Begin to forge a new relationship from the heart with yourself and with others.

Opening the heart to new relationships with courage creates a positive change.

Courage

By sensing the vitality in the body one can notice that the breath has a strength all its own. Using imagery, becoming aware of this strength & energy in the body can be extremely beneficial.

Being aware of breath strength & energy in the body through imagery can have significant benefits.

Strength

The commute home from work can take a turn at any moment. Knowing the right treatment is one thing, embodying that is another.

Being prepared for unexpected commuting incidents is different from actually taking the necessary actions.

The Right Treatment

A tear can hold much meaning when it comes from the ones we love. This story is for those of us struggling to find balance with all we find important in our everyday lives.

A story for those struggling to find balance in their lives, highlighting the significance of tears shed by loved ones.

My Wish

Cultivating JOY is an essential skill that we all posses, but tend to forget about. Use this practice to get in touch with the felt sense of joy in your body through the sensations of well-being.

Get in touch with the feeling of joy in your body through well-being sensations; cultivate this essential skill we all possess.

A tale inspired by the 13th century Persian poet and philosopher, Rumi. This wise and worldly story may invoke modern day philosophical questions about love, possession & freedom.

A worldly tale inspired by Rumi that explores love, possession and freedom, raising modern philosophical questions.

Merchant & the Parrot

Settling into the present moment, softening the body and slowing the breath is a skill that deserves practice. I invite you to notice the subtle shift after completing this settling of breath.

Practice settling into the present moment, softening the body and slowing the breath – notice the subtle shift it creates.

Settling into Presence

A story of genuine love & respect for your purpose-whatever that may be at the moment. Find out by asking the question, does this serve and honor me?

Love and respect your purpose by asking if it serves and honors you.

Honor the Body with Cake

The wise mind is suspended between reasonable mind and emotional mind- learn to find a sense of calm and awareness and chose to rest here in this place of inner wisdom- of wise mind.

Find inner wisdom and calmness by learning to balance the reasonable and emotional mind and resting in the suspended state of the wise mind.

Wisdom

The process of creating is one that can be allusive to many, yet we are constantly creating in our lives weather it's a fine meal, a story or an adventure. This story my bring light to maintaining the flow of creativity in your own life.

This article discusses the importance of maintaining creativity in daily life, whether it's through cooking, writing or exploring, and offers tips for doing so.

Creativity

This guided visualization is designed to help you release the build up of energy and stress in your body. This could be the most effortless cleanse you have ever had and it could prepare you to receive just what you need.

Effortlessly release stress and energy buildup through a guided visualization for a refreshing cleanse and openness to receiving what you need.

Energy Cleanse

A project in the rain forests is developed only to take an interesting turn. Maybe there is a lesson in it for you.

Rainforest project takes an unexpected turn - find out why.

The Amazon Project

Few letters are timeless with meaning, encouragement and truth. This is one of practical, rational advice- inviting the present moment with open palms. Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Timeless letters offer practical advice to invite the present moment with open palms.

Letter from Grandma

What small thing could you do this holiday season to fulfill the wish of another? Is there something you can give whole-heatedly? Let the Blue Santa encourage you to move in that direction.

Let Blue Santa inspire you to fulfill someone's wish this holiday season by giving whole-heartedly.

Blue Santa

The top of the mountain is the destiny for a proud women seeking enlightenment. Is this type of journey is absolutely necessary?

Is ascending the mountain necessary for an enlightened woman seeking her destiny?

Woman Seeks Enlightenment

Black Elk can teach us to acknowledge the beauty and wisdom that surrounds us in our sacred space.

Black Elk teaches us to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of our sacred space.

Tracks by Dea Rivera