Relaxing into Meditation - on Amazon

Relaxing into Meditation is now available on all the Amazon sites :  amazon.com,amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, amazon.ca, amazon.fr, and amazon.co.jp.

The book currently has two five-star reviews on amazon.com .

Relaxing into Meditation is also available from Barnes & Noble, Blackwells and probably all good bookshops anywhere.

Rays of the Sun - 15% off until 15th October

Purchase Rays of the Sun [paperback] with 15% off with coupon code FALLREAD305

About Rays of the Sun

Ngak’chang Rinpoche’s teachings were simple, direct, and experiential. The four evening talks contained here deal with the themes studied by everyone exploring Buddhism in depth: the four noble truths, eightfold path, causality, compassion and refuge. This material is discussed in creative contemporary English, and presented from a perspective informed by Dzogchen.

Review

This is a work which belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in understanding the basic fundamental ideas which make the foundation of Buddhist thought and practice.

Disclaimer

Use coupon code FALLREAD305 at checkout and receive 15% off Rays of the Sun [paperback]. Maximum savings with this promotion is $10. You can only use the code once per account, and you can't use this coupon in combination with other coupon codes. Sorry, self-purchases (buying books that you've published) aren't eligible. This great offer ends on October 15, 2010 at 11:59 PM so try not to procrastinate! While very unlikely we do reserve the right to change or revoke this offer at anytime, and of course we cannot offer this coupon where it is against the law to do so. Finally, Lulu incurs the cost of this discount, so it does not impact the Author's proceeds of the book. 

Relaxing holiday in Tenby for author

"Cardiff-based author Ngakma Nor’dzin is pictured on Tenby’s South Beach last week, a place she took inspiration from for her book cover. 

The author of a book giving tips on relaxation and meditation, who took inspiration from the shores of Tenby for the book’s cover art, has just enjoyed a relaxing holiday in the resort."


http://bit.ly/tenbyobserver-relaxing-holiday

“In Cardiff they name roads as salutations to angels” - Ngakma Nor'dzin

"My first impression of Cardiff was somewhat romantic. My dearest friend – later to become my husband – lived in ‘Hail Gabriel’. How fantastic I thought – in Cardiff they name roads as salutations to angels. I later learned that ‘hail’ was in fact ‘heol’ and simply meant ‘road’, but by that time I was already in love with Cardiff and it mattered not."

[...]

"Cardiff is both spacious and compact. It is spacious with the many wonderful areas of open parkland where you can cycle or walk and feel part of nature. It is compact in that the main shopping centre is easily covered in a single expedition whilst still offering a great range of shops. We call our local Whitchurch shopping area ‘the village’ and indeed there are many such areas surrounding the city centre and each has its own personality. I also love that I need only travel a few miles north from my home in Whitchurch and be in beautiful and scenic countryside."


http://wearecardiff.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/nordzin/

Relaxing into Meditation : Book review by Lori Deschene

I have a confession to make: I don’t have extensive experience in meditation. I haven’t tried lots of different types under the guidance of Zen priests and mindfulness masters. I don’t have endless stories about attending meditation groups and retreats, absorbing the calming atmosphere of mass focus and relaxation.

My meditation experience involves sitting cross–legged in my living room, focusing on my breath, and opening my eyes when my phone alarm starts vibrating, 15, 25, or on rare occasions, 30 minutes later.

That being said, I’ve always wanted to learn more advanced meditation techniques—which I look forward to doing once I settle into Los Angeles.

In the meantime, I enjoyed reading Relaxing into Meditation, by Buddhist Lama Ngakma Nor’dzin.

The author starts by highlighting the importance of achieving relaxation before attempting meditation. If you’ve ever found yourself feeling resistant to stillness, spontaneously developing restless leg syndrome as your thoughts spiral into chaos, you know the challenge of meditating when you’re feeling tense in your mind and body.

Throughout the course of the book, Ngakma Nor’dzin offers a variety of breathing practices and meditation techniques to calm even the most agitated person.

The explanations are clear and detailed, providing step-by-step instructions, complete with (somewhat crude) visuals.

I especially enjoyed the section on singing as a relaxation technique. As a karaoke junky with a well–worn shower brush microphone, I’ve always found singing relaxing. It never occurred to me to maximize the meditative benefits.

I also appreciate that the author suggests starting with just 10 minutes a day to create a sustainable habit that doesn’t seem discouraging from the get–go.

Ngakma Nor’dzin’s goal isn’t to get us meditating for an hour in both the morning and evening. It’s to help us develop a greater sense of awareness and compassion, fostered through meditative practices that are as diverse as we are as individuals. As someone who mistrusts one-size fits all solutions, I value her sensitivity to our unique needs.

Throughout the book, Ngakma Nor’dzin provides a small window into the experience of meditating in a classroom. By interspersing short anecdotes from her experiences teaching, Ngakma Nor’dzin gives you an idea of what it might feel like to be part of a group.

I’ll be honest—I’ve never been fond of closing my eyes within a sea of other people, except for the few moments in savasana after a yoga class. (And even that I sometimes rush).

But this book got me thinking about my resistance to letting go within a group atmosphere. Knowing the benefits of meditating on my own, I imagine it would be freeing to fully relax in a less controlled environment.

Of course that’s not a requirement for meditation. All you need is a small daily time commitment, a willingness to actually do the exercises outlined in the book, and patience with your mind and body. Sometimes it takes a while to settle into relaxation. As I outlined in my recent post Why Positive Thinking Didn’t Work for Me, the benefits justify the short-term discomfort.

If you’re just starting your practice, looking for a reprieve from life’s daily stresses, you’ll likely find Relaxing into Meditation simple, informative, and highly useful.

(http://bit.ly/nrprimdes)

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Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide  ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Ngakma Nor’dzin – Author Interview - Cathy B. Stucker

"What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

My new book is called Relaxing into Meditation. Published 13th August 2010. The wish to learn to meditate is commonly expressed, but people often have little understanding of what meditation is. They want to meditate to feel more relaxed, but struggle to establish a regular practice because they find that meditation actually requires effort and application, and can be challenging. In this book I offer exercises to help people relax the body and calm the mind before introducing meditation practices. I discuss how meditation ultimately leads to complete relaxation of mind and body, and offer a practical approach to how this can be achieved."

For the full  interview, please see http://www.sellingbooks.com/ngakma-nordzin-author-interview

Relaxing into Meditation : Book review by Lois Henderson

Ngakma Nor’dzin’s training in meditation began three decades ago under the guidance of Tibetan teachers, culminating in her ordination into the non-monastic tradition of Nyingma Tibetan Buddhism. She is, in fact, the first Western woman to achieve such a distinction.  She and her husband, Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin Tridral, have run a local meditation group for more than twenty years. And this is how she starts this book—with a meditation group. Her concern with bringing the presence of meditation to a wider audience is clear. She believes that “[i]f everyone meditated for a few minutes every day, the world would be a more peaceful and friendlier place”.


Nor’dzin begins Relaxing into Meditation with relaxation and breathing techniques specifically aimed at creating relaxation of the body and calmness of mind before embarking on a description of meditation practices which may be more demanding. As she believes that it is preferable to have obtained some relief from pain before beginning meditation, she starts the book with relaxation techniques to allow us to arrive at a starting point for meditation. She advocates using an aural guided narration to facilitate one’s progress through the various exercises that she describes.

Nor’dzin’s teaching background is clearly evident throughout the text in the systematic and logical way in which she presents her material. Each chapter starts with a description of the meditation group performing the activity which she then goes on to describe. Before explaining how to practice the technique, she discusses the importance and relevance of doing so. Nor’dzin also advises one on how to cope with any difficulties that one encounters with the exercise. Her years of experience with teaching others in small group settings, as well as individually, have enabled her to gain insight into what difficulties these might be, and she has evolved ways of dealing with any such problems, which she shares with us, her readers. Although she writes about a subject that others have been prone to mystify and deliberately, it often seems, obscure, she writes in such an accessible and approachable way that you are drawn to listen avidly to what she has to say. She is, in fact, overwhelmingly kind and gentle in her approach, so that, no matter your age or background, you are likely to be comforted and inspired by her work.

Relaxing into Meditation is well illustrated with line drawings throughout, and ends with a glossary, which expands on some of the more unusual terms to be found in the text, though such terms are relatively few, and an easy-to-read index. As someone who is only now, in her mid-fifties, starting to become more aware of how to treat herself and her own body with kindness, I can definitely recommend the timely wisdom of this book. No matter your age, do consider acquiring a copy for yourself—it should be well worth it.

(http://bit.ly/nrprimhen)

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Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide  ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.