Don’t Hate, Meditate
My cousin has a T-shirt that reads, “Heavily Meditated”, the shirt makes me laugh because I know what life is like when I’m heavily meditated versus when I’m not.
Do you have an active meditation practice?
Usually when I ask this question during yoga class or workshops almost no one raises their hand. This isn’t surprising though because in Western society meditation isn’t a common practice that’s learned or discussed.
Typically when we think of meditation we think of someone sitting in a crossed-legged position, eyes closed, hands in the lap, being perfectly still for hours…which to be honest sounds pretty miserable! Wouldn’t you agree?
It took me ages to come into a meditative practice because I thought it needed to look or be a certain way. When I thought of meditation I would always visualize a monk, in an orange robe with a shaved head, going about his daily practice. I’m for sure not a monk, so this limiting viewpoint kept me out of meditation for many years… Until I gave it a try!
Meditation totally changed my life! A story that I’m happy to share with you in another blog...in this page read I’d like to share with you what other ways meditation can be.
If you are curious about meditation, what it is, and how it will benefit you, then read on to learn how this practice has the power to change your life too…
What is Meditation?
Meditation is many things, not just the usual visualization I described above of sitting perfectly still. It is both concentrative and mindful, both spiritual and physical, dramatically benefitting the body, mind, and soul combo.
Concentrative Meditation is your usual style of meditation. Sitting or lying still, focusing in on one thing, be that your breath, a single word, a mantra, or reaching new levels of a higher consciousness or God source energy.
Mindfulness Meditation is a practice of everyday things that cause you to slow way down, focus on one thing, clear out the mind, calm the nervous system, or relax into a more peaceful sleep. These types of practices can be anything of the follow and everything in between…for example, brushing your teeth while looking into your eyes in the mirror, and doing nothing else; taking a silent walk in nature without your devices; sipping tea and observing nature; playing with an animal; all to name a few ideas.
Regardless of which style of meditation you’re practicing that day, the intention is to slow down and calm the nervous system. By doing this over time you will be able to reach stages of peace, calm, joy, happiness, acceptance, etc. You will also be able to reduce stress, overwhelm, disease, and overall discomfort within the body.
Benefits to Meditating
There are so many benefits to meditation, here are some areas that can improve your life:
Better stress management skills
Better management of symptoms related to anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, pain issues
Changes in different aspects of attention and mindfulness
Greater empathy and compassion for yourself and others
Increased self-awareness
Improved emotional well-being
Improved memory
Improved immunity
Headache relief
Do you now or have you suffered from anything on the list above?
Personally, each one of these areas has improved in my life by dedicating myself to a daily meditation practice. I slipped out of this practice for over a year without even realizing that I wasn’t meditating in the way that I needed.
It was pointed out to me by my Ayurvedic practitioner, she asked me, “If you know this helps you, then why aren’t you doing it?”
Her question hit me right in the feels! I started crying because I knew that I was denying myself something I needed because at the time, I was tired of trying. I felt burned out in life, I wasn’t working and was planning to move back to the states for a while. Through my stress and burnout, I wasn’t nourishing myself as the best I could be.
We all go through this from time to time, get so worn out, and that we can hardly take that next step. This experience with my practitioner has completely changed me this past year. I have dived back into my meditation practices and my life is improving every day.
I can tell the days that go by when I haven’t meditated, because let’s face it, some days you forget even the most second nature of activities. When I do forget for a few days, I observe how I feel both when meditating regularly verse when I’m not.
I’m far more pleasant to be around because I have more patience, clear thinking, compassion, joy, and happiness. I have far fewer anxiety symptoms, chronic pain, the “woe is me” symptoms and insomnia. I know this practice, while seemingly small and unimportant, makes one of the biggest impacts on my routine.
Try Something New or Come Back to the Practice
How can you use my story of meditation practice to reflect back into your life?
What would it look like if you began meditating more regularly?
Meditation suggestion for the week…
Take a walk outside, alone or in silence with a friend, leave the devices…walk for up to 20-30 minutes.
Pause to smell the roses, watch the birds, take off your shoes and stand in the grass. Be mindful in your practice, smile to yourself.
Give gratitude to yourself for getting out and trying something new!
Check back for next week’s blog post on How To Meditate When You’re Stressed.