Meditation treats the
whole person - Missoula sessions offer introduction to practice for
health of body, spirit
By JANA STATON and DAN McMANNIS
Susanna and Puran Bair will be in Missoula on April 10-12. They will present a free talk on Heart Rhythm Meditation on Thursday at First United Methodist Church, and all-day seminars also are planned on Friday and Saturday. The two are on a nationwide book tour to talk about their practical method of meditation, which combines awareness of the heartbeat’s rhythm with a smooth, steady pace of breathing.
Photo courtesy of Institute for Applied Meditation
Meditation practices are part of Christianity and other
religious traditions, but most of us noncontemplative types struggle to
learn them, and to incorporate them into our daily lives. Fortunately,
this week Missoula will be hosting an updated, practical approach to
meditation that addresses both spiritual and physical needs, especially
our need to become conscious of and care for our hearts.
Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death for both men and women in
the United States - responsible for more deaths than the next seven
causes of death put together. These statistics indicate that we have a
“culture of the mind” that is largely ignorant of and very
hard on our hearts.
For the past 30 years Puran and Susanna
Bair, co-founders of the Institute for Applied Meditation, have helped
tens of thousands of individuals to attain better physical, emotional
and spiritual health through a heart-centered practice called Heart
Rhythm Meditation.
The Bairs will come to Missoula as part of
their nationwide book tour, giving a free introductory talk on
Thursday, April 10, 7-9 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 300
E. Main St., and all-day seminars both Friday and Saturday.
The Bairs’ practical method of meditation combines awareness
of the heartbeat’s rhythm with a smooth, steady pace of
breathing. HRM increases our ability to handle stress, and energizes
the heart. It is different from other methods that lead to a
detached state. This is applied meditation, using the heart’s
power to address the pressing needs of our lives.
In
their two books outlining this approach, “Living from the
Heart,” and their new book, “Energize Your Heart in 4
Dimensions,” they describe HRM as an integration of authentic
spiritual practices and current scientific research. The new field
of neurocardiology indicates that the heart is much more than a
mechanical pump. Rather, the heart listens to every organ and then
sends one coordinating message received by every cell.
Modeled on the physical heart, a “culture of the
heart” is based on compassionate listening and the spirit of
seeking out and creating unity within diversity.
Although
the larger goal is spiritual, the basic practice is now spreading
among health professionals, especially respiratory and physical
therapists. HRM has been taught for some time at a local Missoula
hospital as a relaxation and pain management technique for
patients.
This approach to physical and spiritual health
teaches that the challenges in our lives are the means to develop
the energetic dimensions of our heart. Optimism is a quality
associated with the height of our hearts, compassion with depth,
empathy with width, courage with the forward dimension, and
hopefulness with a strong inner dimension.
Each of these
dimensions can become metaphorically crushed, shallow, narrow or
hollow. Meditation brings us back to the heart’s goal: to be
complete, to be at peace.
But this peace is dynamic, not
passive, says Bair: “Practice radiating peace from your heart,
like a force that brings everything it touches into harmony.”
As our heart is restored to its central role of spiritual guidance,
we are able to reconnect to the deeper purpose of our lives.
Missoula got on the Bairs’ national tour (along with
Chicago, San Francisco, and other large cities) because last fall
First United Methodist Church began exploring ways to offer
meditation classes. Members of the First UMC’s Adult Spiritual
Growth Ministry approached Dan McMannis, a senior HRM trainer in
Missoula, inviting him to offer an introductory class right before
Christmas as a way to de-stress and prepare for the holidays.
The class drew a substantial crowd and half the people were
from other Christian and Jewish congregations and from the larger
community. It was clear we had something that would be of interest
throughout Missoula.
Pastor Barry Padget of First UMC
emphasizes that Heart Rhythm Meditation fits with the “Open
Minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors” message of the United
Methodist Church. “We’re inviting people from all faith
communities, and the "spiritual but not religious" folks as
well. Heart Rhythm Meditation is not a religion, but a meditative
practice that is compatible with any faith; we want people to come
and bring their own values and beliefs,” Padget said.
In addition to the free public talk on Thursday, Puran and Susanna
Bair will conduct an all-day seminar for health professionals on
Friday (with continuing education credits), a training for the
general public on Saturday, and will offer instructor training at
Open Way Center on Sunday for those interested in becoming certified
to teach this process. They will also be giving a public lecture in
Helena at St. Paul United Methodist Church on Wednesday night at 7.
For more information and to register call IAM at 1- 888-310-7881 or
online at www.IAMheart.org.
Missoula resident Jana Staton is a member of First United
Methodist Church. Dan McMannis is a senior Heart Rhythm Meditation
trainer in Missoula.