"Just watch the breath." It sounds so simple, but as any seasoned practitioner will tell you, "just breathing" can be surprisingly challenging. To experience the deep rewards of this practice, start off on the right foot with expert help from Insight Meditation Society instructors Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein. They'll help you find the skillful balance of concentration and relaxation that results in a finely attuned state of ease that will stay with you long after you get off the cushion.
Sounds True Practices are short downloadable audio sessions selected from our most popular courses. Affordably priced and ideal for beginners, they're a powerful way to use energy healing, guided imagery, meditation, and other proven practices at home or on the go. Put them on your smartphone, MP3 player, tablet device, or computer … and start experiencing their benefits today.
This session is excerpted from Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein's 12-week online and correspondence-based Insight Meditation Course.
Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg, a student of Buddhism since 1971, has been leading meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Influenced by her more than forty-five years of study with Burmese, Indian, and Tibetan teachers, she teaches intensive awareness practice (vipassana or insight meditation) and the cultivation of lovingkindness and compassion. She is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, both in Massachusetts, with Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. Salzberg is the host of Metta Hour, a New York Times bestselling author and the author of many books, including Real Love, Real Happiness at Work, The Kindness Handbook, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, and A Heart as Wide as the World. She has also authored several Sounds True audio and interactive learning programs including Insight Meditation (with Joseph Goldstein), Unplug, and Lovingkindness Meditation. Learn more at sharonsalzberg.com.
