Yoga Clocks and Timers by Now & Zen, Inc.

YOGA FOR BEDTIME

Need help sleeping? Doing yoga exercises before bedtime can be just what you need

Sit up in bed comfortably, either with your legs folded or straight in front of you; whatever you can do with the most ease. Sit up and lean slightly back on your pillows or backboard. Close your eyes and rest your hands on your thighs and just breathe here for a few minutes. This doesn’t have to be a serious meditation but just a short while to do nothing but breathe.

Need a Yoga & Meditation timer?  Get the natural one: A Bowl-Gong Bamboo Zen Timepiece from Now & Zen

Spiritual practices such as meditation or yoga are best done in an environment  of beauty and tranquility. And the clock/timer you use for your practice can make  a real difference in creating such an environment.  But using a timer with artificial “beeps,” or even “recorded gongs,” coming out of a plastic box can be less than ideal.  The Bamboo Zen Timepiece  is unlike any other meditation timer on the market because it features a real, natural,  acoustic, long-resonating gong, produced by its traditional Japanese style bowl-gong, or “rin-gong”.  Moreover,  The Zen Timepiece is made with sustainable natural bamboo, so it is as beautiful to see as it is to hear.  Once you use a Zen Timepiece, nothing else will do.

Yoga & Meditation Timer and Clocks

Now & Zen – The Yoga Clock & Timer Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Re-wire Your Brain for Happiness - Choose a Meditation Timer with Chime

A quiet explosion of new research indicating that meditation can physically change the brain in astonishing ways has started to push into mainstream.

Several studies suggest that these changes through meditation can make you happier, less stressed — even nicer to other people. It can help you control your eating habits and even reduce chronic pain, all the while without taking prescription medication.

Meditation is an intimate and intense exercise that can be done solo or in a group, and one study showed that 20 million Americans say they practice meditation. It has been used to help treat addictions, to clear psoriasis and even to treat men with impotence.

The U.S. Marines are testing meditation to see if it makes more focused, effective warriors. Corporate executives at Google, General Mills, Target and Aetna Insurance, as well as students in some of the nation’s classrooms have used meditation.

Various celebrities also are known meditators, including shock jock Howard Stern, actors Richard Gere, Goldie Hawn and Heather Graham, and Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer of the band Weezer.

In one study, a research team from Massachusetts General Hospital looked at the brain scans of 16 people before and after they participated in an eight-week course in mindfulness meditation. The study, published in the January issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, concluded that after completing the course, parts of the participants’ brains associated with compassion and self-awareness grew, and parts associated with stress shrank.

Recently, the Dalai Lama granted permission for his monks, who are master mediators, to have their brains studied at the University of Wisconsin, one of the most high-tech brain labs in the world.

Richie Davidson, a PhD at the university, and his colleagues, led the study and said they were amazed by what they found in the monks’ brain activity read-outs. During meditation, electroencephalogram patterns increased and remains higher than the initial baseline taken from a non-meditative state.

But you don’t have to be a monk to benefit from meditation, which is now gaining acceptance in the field of medicine.

The Most Soothing Meditation Timer and Clock with Chime

Physicians have increasingly started prescribing meditation instead of pills to benefit their patients. A Harvard Medical School report released in May found that more than 6 million Americans had been recommended meditation and other mind-body therapies by conventional health care providers.

Perhaps the most mind-bending potential benefit of meditation is that it will actually make practitioners nicer. Chuck Raison, a professor at Emory University, conducted a meditation study in which he hooked up microphones to participants who had been taught basic meditation and those who hadn’t. He then recorded them at random over a period of time. Raison found that these newly-trained mediators used less harsh language than people who had no meditation experience.

“They were more empathic with people,” Raison said. “They were spending more time with other people. They laugh more, you know, all those things. They didn’t use the word ‘I’ as much. They use the word ‘we’ more.”

However, even the Dalai Lama admitted that meditation is not the silver bullet cure-all for every ailment or emotion.

“Occasionally, [I] lose my temper,” he said. “If someone is never lose temper then perhaps that may come from outer space, real strange.”

The Dalai Lama also cautioned that meditation takes patience, so new mediators should not expect immediate results.

“The enlightenment not depend on rank,” he said, laughing. “It depends on practice.”

Some scientists believe that in a generation, Americans will see meditation as being as essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle as diet and exercise.

Although meditation can be done in almost any context, practitioners usually employ a quiet, tranquil space, a meditation cushion or bench, and some kind of timing device to time the meditation session.  Ideally, the more these accoutrements can be integrated the better.  Thus, it is conducive to a satisfying meditation practice to have a timer or clock that is tranquil and beautiful.  Using a kitchen timer or beeper watch is less than ideal.

And it was with these considerations in mind that we designed our digital Zen Alarm Clock and practice timer.  This unique “Zen Clock” features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings the meditation session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal.

adapted from worldnewsreport.com by Maggy Patrick and Lauren Effron

The Most Soothing Meditation Timer and Clock with Acoustic Chime

Now & Zen – The  Meditation Timer Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Soothing Gong Meditation Timers - It's exquisite sounds summon your consciousness out of your meditative state with a series of subtle gongs.

(HealthDay News) — There are many forms of mediation, most of which are rooted in ancient tradition.

For many people, it’s a great way to relax and soothe stress.

Here’s a summary of meditation’s common principles, courtesy of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine:

• Find a quiet place with little sound or distracting activity.
• Find a position that’s comfortable for you, including sitting, lying down, walking or standing.
• Focus completely on meditation, which in practice may include repeating a word or phrase, focusing mentally on an object or focusing on breathing in a certain way.
• Have an open mind and learn to acknowledge life’s distractions without necessarily judging or acting on them.
• Set your Gong Meditation Timer for 20 minutes and relax.

adapted from abcnews.com by By Diana Kohnle

Although meditation can be done in almost any context, practitioners usually employ a quiet, tranquil space, a meditation cushion or bench, and some kind of timing device to time the meditation session.  Ideally, the more these accoutrements can be integrated the better.  Thus, it is conducive to a satisfying meditation practice to have a timer or clock that is tranquil and beautiful.  Using a kitchen timer or beeper watch is less than ideal.

Gong and Chime Meditation Timers and Clocks

Gong Meditation Timers - preserving the environment of stillness.

Now & Zen – The Gong Meditation Store

Downtown – Boulder, Colorado

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

orders@now-zen.com

gong meditation timers and alarm clocks

The Most Unique Gong Meditation Timer with Tibetan Singing Bowl

As beautiful to see as it is to hear, the Zen Timepiece is also a decorative accessory that adds elegance to any room. Its wood platform (available in cherry or maple) is designed to be positioned either with the clock’s digital display to the front, or turned around, with the bowl-gong in the front. Although the clock looks good both ways, when the digital display is turned to the back it accentuates the clock’s natural theme and helps reduce the visual clutter of electronic modernity in one’s interior environment. At a suggested retail price of $199.95, it may be the world’s most expensive alarm clock, but according to Steve McIntosh, it’s definitely worth it: “Waking up in the morning is a metaphor for life, and anything that adds grace and beauty to this daily process is a good investment. When you use the Zen Timepiece it’s like waking up in a Zen temple.”

zen clocks and chimes

Now & Zen – The Gong Meditation Timer Store

1638 Pearl St.

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Calming Alarm Clocks for a Better Mood - Takeuchi KeishÃ

To control mood swings, says Selby, we need to sidestep the negative thoughts that generate our moods by shifting attention instead to sensory experiences. This breaks the free fall into an anxious or depressed emotional state. “This attention shift gets you out of past-future fixations and into the present moment,” he explains. By practicing this first step, you’ll get more adept at stopping a bad mood in its tracks.

Now that you’ve temporarily halted the downward spiral, expand your awareness to include the breathing experience in your torso. Say to yourself: “I’m also aware of the movements in my chest and belly.” Don’t make any special effort to breathe; rather, feel the natural flow of your breath as it moves in and out.

Waking up in the morning should be as pleasant as falling asleep at night. The Zen Alarm Clock's gradual, gentle awakening is transformative.

Our Zen Timepiece’s acoustic 6-inch brass bowl-gong clock is the world’s ultimate alarm clock, practice timer, and “mindfulness bell.”

It fills your environment with beautifully complex tones whenever it strikes. In the morning, its exquisite sounds summon your consciousness into awakening with a series of subtle gongs that provide an elegant beginning to your day. Once you experience the Zen Timepiece’s progressive awakening, you’ll never want to wake up any other way. It also serves as the perfect meditation timer. Available in 5 wood styles, including bamboo (shown).

adapted from body + soul, Jan/Feb 2007

Wake up with gradual, beautiful acoustic chimes. The Zen Alarm Clock transforms your mornings and gets you started right, with a progressive awakening

Now & Zen’s Bowl/Gong Alarm Clock & Meditation Timer Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

COURTESAN OF MONTOYA by Suzuki Harunobo

By Fleda Brown

Our local sangha had our 4-hour block meditation yesterday–people coming and going, with a number of us staying and sitting the whole time. Plus our 30-minute snack time afterward, which is gradually creeping into the realm of an actual meal, so much food!

Since we had no discussion group to tell you about, I thought for today I’d offer a few more poems you may not know. Here are two from Ryokan (1758-1831), a Japanese Buddhist hermit who spent much of his time writing poetryand doing calligraphy. His poetry is simple and inspired by nature. He loved children, and supposedly sometimes forgot to beg for food because he was playing with the children of the nearby village. Ryōkan refused to accept any position as a priest or even as a “poet.”

Too lazy to be ambitious,
I let the world take care of itself.
Ten days’ worth of rice in my bad;
a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.

And another:

The man pulling radishes
pointed the way
with a radish.

What I notice in what I’ll call “Buddhist poetry” is the way it takes the authority of the moment for granted. It doesn’t ask anything of me, the reader, other than to be a companion to the poem. It lacks decoration and it lacks self-consciousness, almost as if the speaker has to work up the energy to write it down, the poem that has just occurred to him/her.

We don’t fly away in these poems, as the nineteenth century poet John Keats put it, on the “wings of Poesy.”  We don’t fly away anywhere. We are where we are, right here, and that’s just fine. Or, more to the point, it is what it is.

Peonies, c. 1900

Here’s another poem by Ghalib (1797-1869), a Persian poet from India. It’s translated by Jane Hirshfield, a contemporary Buddhist poet:

For the raindrop, joy is in entering the river—
Unbearable pain becomes its own cure.

Travel far enough into sorrow, tears turn to sighing;
In this way we learn how water can die into air.

When after a heavy rain, the stormclouds disperse,
Is it not that they’ve wept themselves clear to the end?

If you want to know the miracle, how wind can polish a mirror,
Look: the shining glass grows green in spring.

It’s the rose’s unfolding, Ghalib, that creates the desire to see—
In every color and circumstance, may the eyes be open for what comes.

This one seems a bit like a “teaching poem,” doesn’t it? It doesn’t seem to be just opening the immediate moment to a companion—it’s “telling me” something. But look again: it’s telling the speaker himself something. He’s speaking this to himself. So really, it looks as if it’s the same simple seeing as in the poems by Ryokan.

adapted from Spirituality and Health Magazine, Feb. 2012

soothing chime alarm clocks

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl St.

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

meditation timers with elegant soothing chimes

The Zen Alarm Clock’s long-resonating Tibetan bell-like chime makes waking up a beautiful experience — its progressive chimes begin your day with grace. When the Clock’s alarm is triggered, the acoustic chime bar is struck just once … 3-1/2 minutes later it strikes again … chime strikes become more frequent over 10 minutes … eventually striking every 5 seconds until shut off (see the chime progression graph, below). As they become more frequent, the gentle chimes will always wake you up — your body really doesn’t need to be awakened harshly, with a Zen Clock you’re awakened more gradually and thus more naturally. $129.95

meditation timers with elegant soothing chimes, real acoustic sounds

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl St.

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

How to get that Elusive Good Night's Sleep - Tsukyoka Yoshitoshi 1888

Stanford’s Dr. Clete Kushida, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, who has worked in the field of sleep research since 1977, offers these tips to a better night’s sleep:

Maintain a regular schedule, getting to bed and rising at the same time as consistently as possible each day, selecting the number of hours of sleep that make you feel best, whether it’s seven hours or 10.

Use bright light within five minutes of waking, for 30 minutes, to synchronize your internal clock.

Avoid bright light two to three hours before bedtime, which delays sleep onset. If you read, get just enough light to read and avoid halogen.

Avoid remaining in bed if you can’t sleep. After 20 minutes, if you can’t sleep or fall back asleep, go into another room and do something else until you feel drowsy.

Avoid reading or watching TV in bed (especially thriller novels or action shows) unless it makes you drowsy.

Avoid napping, unless you nap every day at the same time for the same amount of time or you are tired and about to get behind the wheel of a car.

One of the ultimate Zen like experiences is waking-up from a great slumber refreshed and energized. Your mind and body are harmoniously one, both alert and focused. Having a refreshed mind and body are two keys to a natural and Zen lifestyle. Waking up in the morning should not be a loud and abrupt awakening, but rather it should be a peaceful positive experience.  The right natural alarm clock can transition your deep and tranquil sleep into a serene start to consciousness. Imagine a long-resonating Tibetan bell-like chime waking you up to a beautiful morning experience.

The right alarm clock can be the most beneficial investment for you. With our Now & Zen natural alarm clock you are awakened more gradually and thus more naturally. Now & Zen is focused on creating a naturalistic lifestyle, and our clocks are an example of our philosophy.

adapted from SFgate.com

Waking up in the morning should be as pleasant as falling asleep at night. The Zen Alarm Clock's gradual, gentle awakening is transformative.

Now & Zen’s Gradual Chime Alarm Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Zen Alarm Clock with Gradual Chime, No Snooze Buttons Allowed!

The latest batch of high-tech alarm clocks explode, roll away, fly away and even make you solve math problems to keep you from oversleeping.

No Snooze Button Alarm Clocks, Zen Clocks Can Change Your Life

Now & Zen – The Zen Alarm Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

gentle awakening clock with acoustic chime

Boulder, Colorado—an innovative company has taken one of life’s most unpleasant experiences (being startled awake by your alarm clock early Monday morning), and transformed it into something to actually look forward to. “The Zen Alarm Clock,” uses soothing acoustic chimes that awaken users gently and gradually, making waking up a real pleasure.

What makes this gentle awakening experience so exquisite is the sound of the natural acoustic chime, which has been tuned to produce the same tones as the tuning forks used by musical therapists. According to the product’s inventor, Steve McIntosh, “once you experience this way of being gradually awakened with beautiful acoustic tones, no other alarm clock will ever do.”

sleeping woman using gentle awakening alarm clock

Now & Zen – A Gradual

Alarm Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383