Slowing Down for a Second
Meditation, something I’ve picked up over the past few months and have been consistently committed to incorporating it into my daily schedule. As much as possible I’ll wake up and usually the first thing I’ll do is sit for mediation before getting ready for the day. Between coaching classes, working with clients, finding time to workout on my own, and driving between St. Mary’s, the Sweat Shop, and home; a majority of my day is go go go! What I like about meditation is that it gives me about 20 minutes to just sit in silence, slow down for a bit, and build awareness of what is happening around me during my experience instead of always worrying and planning my next step. It’s usually the one time in the day that I can let go of responsibility and just be present in the moment. Usually when I finish, I’m ready to attack the day head on with the right mindset!
As a fair warning, during your first few meditation experiences, it’ll be easy to get caught up in thought or notice your mind racing at 100mph. Or you might even feel super uncomfortable in whatever position you’re sitting in, but I encourage you to stick with it (just like you do any other workout) and commit to sitting for the amount of time you intended. A helpful tip I was told was that there is no correct way to meditate, as long as you sit with the intention to meditate, everything will be just fine and you’ll be doing it just right!
Here are some tips to help you get started if you choose to try out this meditation business…
- ● Sit quietly and maintain a gentle commitment something other than being lost in
thought–whether that ‘something’ is breath-awareness, body-awareness, whole-sound-field
awareness, a candle flame, the base of the heart-region, the bridge of your nose, etc. etc.
- ● Practice staying open to the whole of your experience.
- ● Let go of ‘gaining mind’ in that you are not trying to accomplish something or attain any
particular state.
- ● Open toward a quiet awareness that is also awake, alive, and vibrant — that is, you maintain a
gentle commitment to not entering a sleepy, dull, numb state.
- ● Neither pursue nor suppress whatever thoughts or feelings arise. Neither fixation nor
avoidance. Neither ownership nor denial of ownership. This is key.
- ● At the end of your sit,2 you take an additional minute and absorb the energy of your meditation
with eyes open, perhaps moving your hands over your body, or whatever feels natural.
If you manage to stick with it great! If not, that’s ok too! In a society where everything is moving at 100mph, sometimes it’s a good idea to take a moment or so to slow down. Enjoy!
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