Guided Meditations: InsightLA Teachers

DJ Sol Rising @ Ecstatic Dance LA Feb 2016

Insight Michael's Album

(32 mins) Michael Stroud: Body Scan Meditation for MBCT

A short 9 minute guided meditation on the breath, recorded for people in an MBCT class.

Michael Stroud's Album

(9 mins) Michael Stroud: Mindfulness of Breath for MBCT

8/20/19 Entrepreneur, journalist, mindfulness teacher and counselor-in-training, Michael Stroud leads at 30-minute meditation aimed at enabling students to "surf the waves" of afflictive emotions and unskillful thoughts.

Michael Stroud is certified to teach Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) by UCSD Medical School and has trained with a cognitive psychologist and MBCT co-creator Zindel Segal. Michael teaches mindfulness at InsightLA, Torrance Hospital, and Alternatives, a Beverly Hills addiction clinic. Michael completed InsightLA’s professional practicum in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, trained with MBSR creator Jon Kabat-Zinn and completed the University of Washington training to teach Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for addiction. Michael has meditated since the 1970s and has trained in TM, Zen, Ch’an and Jewish meditation. He has studied with Trudy Goodman, founder and guiding teacher at InsightLA, since 2006. Previously an entrepreneur and a journalist, Michael is currently seeing patients as a Marriage and Family Therapy Intern under the supervision of Ellen Ledley, a Santa Monica therapist in private practice.

Guided Meditations InsightLA Teachers

(30 mins) Michael Stroud: "Surf the Waves" Meditation

InsightLA teacher Izumi Tanaka leads a relaxing 35 minuted guided meditation on the breath aimed at calming the mind.

Izumi has been practicing mindfulness meditation for almost 20 years and recently finished the facilitator training at InsightLA. As a freelance photographer and real estate professional, she has led entrepreneurial women’s networking groups since 2000, and is now eager to share the benefits she’s received from the practice with other busy women.

(35 mins) Izumi Tanaka: "Calm the Mind" Meditation

06/28/2019 - In this audio recording, InsightLA Executive Director Mark Koberg offers some basic instruction, leads a 34 minute practice with breath as the object of attention, and briefly offers some advice on work with thoughts that arise during meditation.

00:00:23:00 - Introduction/Instruction.
00:01:53:00 - Meditation Begins.
00:35:50:00 - Meditation Ends/Q&A on Thoughts Begins.
00:43:39:00 - Q&A Ends.

In 2009, after being diagnosed with HIV, television producer Mark Koberg needed to find a way to manage his stress and come to terms with his illness. At a friend’s suggestion, he signed up for a MBSR class at InsightLA where he became convinced of the life-changing potential of mindfulness practice.  Over the next few years, Mark studied the dharma, established a daily practice, attended retreats, and became an advocate for mindfulness training, blogging for The Huffington Post and appearing on national television shows.

Mark completed the MBSR teacher training practicum and the Facilitator Training Program at InsightLA. He also is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner Program.  He is also an adjunct professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.  Mark’s television career spans producing, developing, selling and launching national shows and digital content for FOX, ABC Daytime, 20th Television, Debmar Mercury, ITV, Harpo Productions and Lifetime TV.

(43 mins) Mark Koberg: Mindfulness of the Breath & Working with Thoughts

Dharma Teacher Mike Zittel offers an introduction to calm abiding (or in pali: samatha, pronounced “sha-ma-tah”) meditation, a form of concentration practice that clears one’s awareness, setting the stage” for insight practice.  Samatha is that aspect of concentration practice that “resolves,” “settles,” or “puts to rest” our bias, predisposition and prejudices - the conditioned mental habits and compulsions that distort and narrow of our view of the world around us.  Samatha works in tandem with Vipassana (insight practice, commonly called mindfulness).  It produces, “a mind bright and brilliant, unassailed by the hindrances,” enabling us to observe what arises, “with less stress, self-identification, and with more clarity.”  

Recorded at a 6/12/2019 drop-in class at InsightLA’s East Hollywood location.
    
Bio:  Mike Zittel: 

00:00:00 Trudy’s Introduction.
00:00:25 Meditation Begins.
00:00:43 First Bell.
00:00:54 Posture.
00:01:12 Narrow Focus
00:02:29 Four Point Cycle of the Breath: Joy, Wakefulness, Tranquility & Peace.
00:07:10 Widen the Lens: Narrow Focus to Full Body.
00:11:00 The Seeing, Hearing & Verbal Spaces of the Mind at Rest. 
00:15:03 The Ebb & Flow of the Breath: Local, Global, Full Body.
00:20:55 Let Go, Do Nothing & Hang Out in the Breath.
00:27:41 Closing Bells: Meditation Ends.
00:28:20 Trudy’s Close. 
00: 28:42 Programs End.

InsightLA Senior Teacher Michael Zittel, AMFT, has over 30 years of training and practice of Buddhist meditation, Secular Mindfulness, and the Dharma.  Micheal studied at Kopan Monastery in Nepal, Mount Baldy Zen Center, studied the Theravadan Suttas under the guidance of the Venerable Dhammananda Bikkhu of Maithree Vihara, and considers Shinzen Young as his primary teacher.  He was empowered to teach meditation and Buddha Dharma by Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society in 2015; and his passion is to translate the essence of the Dharma in a secular context that is relevant to healing and self-actualizing in today’s world.  Mike currently leads the 7:30 PM Wednesday Night drop in class at InsightLA’s Center in East Hollywood.  Working with Eileen Ybarra, Mike is also leading a seven-month dharma study class titled, “The Path of Freedom: Emptiness & Liberation,” which meets monthly at the Benedict Canyon Retreat House.

In his “civilian identity,” Michael works as an EMDR therapist in the field of addiction and trauma resolution in residential treatment centers. He incorporates Buddhist psychology into his work by teaching the dharma, and concentration (samatha), insight (vipassana) & heart practices (brahma vihara) to individuals and groups as significant tools for clients in early recovery to gain skills in self-regulation, meta-awareness and affect tolerance.

Guided Meditations, InsightLA Senior Teachers

06/12/19 Michael Zittel: 30-min Calm Abiding (Samatha) Practice.

InsightLA offers the highest quality training in mindfulness practices available in the Greater Los Angeles area.  For 16 years, we have offered classes, retreats, and special events, and an open and welcoming community of practitioners.  Though our work is rooted in ancient traditions, we offer classes in both  secular mindfulness as well as the Buddhist Insight Tradition.  All of our efforts are dedicated toward our mission of calming minds, opening hearts, and changing the world.

06/12/19 Michael Zittel: 30-min Calm Abiding (Samatha) Practice.

InsightLA

Related tracks