MEDITATION 101

When I tell people what it is that I teach, they often express their desire to meditate, as they are perfectly aware of the benefits they could get from this activity, but alas... their crazy busy minds won't allow them to meditate!

My friends, I know exactly what you mean! It is not realistic to expect your thoughts to cease during meditation.

If you must think, think about it this way: meditating is like sitting by a riverbank, watching the river flow. The water goes through a lot of turmoil: splashing, swirling, swooshing, finally flowing calmly. You are a presence observing the river flow, you can hear it, you can smell it, but you are not getting splashed, you don’t get in the water to help it flow along! Your thoughts are a river, YOU are the watcher. Your thoughts, just like the water, will always flow. 

How to still your mind during meditation
 

A meditator just acknowledges the thoughts, watches them pass, but does not engage with them. So if you think to yourself, “I need to buy milk on the way home”, you can just thank your mind for remembering and let go of the thought. If you think to yourself “...and need to get cheese, and tomatoes, and bacon, or maybe I should just become vegan? “... You can imagine the difference of this experience.

No need to scold yourself once you catch yourself being engaged in the train of thought, the very thing that you caught yourself is a wonderful thing! Congratulate yourself, and gently return your focus back to meditating: the breath pattern, the eye focus, or the mantra. 

The simplest mindfulness meditation

Want a simple mindfulness mediatation? Sit in any easy pose (chair is ok), close your eyes, and just listen to your physical body. Listen to your breath, experience the air as it enters your nostrils, observe the temperature and any sensations as your breath passes by your sinuses and down your throat. Notice your rib cage expanding and any sensations that come with it.

Can you feel your ribs moving to the sides? To the front? To the back? Put your hands on your lower ribs and notice if with the inhale you can actually feel the ribs pressing harder into your hands?

Locate your pulse on your wrist or on your neck (gently), and feel your pulse. Can you hear or feel your heartbeat? Your stomach growling? Any other sensations?

How long can you focus on this? 1 minute? Maybe 3? Congratulate yourself on a job well done, even if it's just 30 seconds. No judgement needed here, just self-love.

I have to admit, it was not easy for me to stay focused while meditating at first. But once I discovered that using mantra was an amazing tool for keeping focused, it was no going back!

Download my free Beginner Meditation Guide, if you'd like to know more about how to use a very simple mantra to help keep your mind focused!

If you're ready to consider joining a community of beginner meditators just like you, learning at your own pace, under the guidance of an experienced, compassionate, and slightly quirky meditation educator, please join us at Meditate to Elevate: Practices for Mental Balance and Elevation!

I hope to practice with you soon. Sat Nam!