AS A MEDITATION PRACTITIONER FOR 17 YEARS, I LOVE TEACHING PEOPLE THE TOOLS AND REFINEMENTS THEY NEED TO DEVELOP STABILITY AND RESILIENCE IN THEIR DAILY PRACTICE. I TEACH TECHNIQUES THAT UTILIZE THE SUBTLE BODY AND ALLOW US TO COME SETTLE AND RETURN TO THE CENTER OF OURSELVES IN A DEEPLY SOMATIC WAY.
Before any meditation practice, I encourage clients to ensure their system is not overly agitated and strongly advise they complete some form of practices from the Nurturer. For example, I often recommend clients first engage in a simple “shaking” practice that can help to relieve the excess energy from our system which allows us to come to a natural stillness in the body rather than an imposed one.
I have found it most useful to use certain “Hot Spots” in the body to anchor our attention. “Hot Spots” are places where the energy and felt-sense of the body is naturally strong and therefore easier to focus on. These Hot Spots serve as the foundation for the Somatic Meditation I teach. Using these somatic gateways makes it much easier to stabilize our attention during meditation for periods of time. I generally start by introducing people to two “Hot Spots” in the lower belly. One advantage of this is that when we focus our attention low in the body, our thinking naturally slows down as a by-product of the practice. I find it useful to help clients access the feminine “hot spot” in the front of the belly first, allowing them to somatically experience warmth and soothing as they deepen their focus. Once their focus and attention is established in this place, we move to the masculine hot spot close to the spine at the back of the belly which allows us to feel a somatic stability and strength.
After these points have been established, I help people come into the somatic core of the masculine in their body, their spine. The spine is the very core of our being as a person and when we enter its felt sense, we naturally come into contact with the qualities of the “backbone” and resolve.
“Derek’s attunement was so spot on that he was able to meet me exactly where I was at in my inner world. His guidance and encouragement during the exploration had me looking at the blind-spots that I would have otherwise ignored and so missed the opportunity of insight that was available in that moment. I highly recommend working with Derek, some of my most profound realizations have come through our work together.”
