Meditation is the act of sitting still and becoming aware of your physical, mental and emotional energy.
Physically:
It is a practice that helps you become more intune with your physical body, the space around your body with any energies coming into its field and any sensations you can pick up including what you hear, see and feel on a physical level.
Mentally:
With practice meditation, you can become good at releasing your mind from the roller coaster of lists of things you NEED to do, or obligations you may have or problems that seem to endlessly pop up and just ...be…..with yourself.
Why on Earth would you want to do this? Because it is important to give yourself a voice in your own life. We all get caught up in our role and responsibilities to the outside world, but we are of no use to that world if we do not give ourselves some time to pay attention to our needs first.
Why are we so obsessed with our cell phones being charged up and ready to go but not ourselves? A regular meditation practice will help you find extra energy to keep yourself not only more invigorated but more conscious and clear about your thoughts and feelings.
A meditation practice can help you relieve stress by letting all of the outside world go for a few minutes and catch up with your inner person, do breath work to centre yourself and find out how you are doing, really doing, inside. What would you like to have clarity and focus about in your life? Meditation can help you figure this out. This practice also includes being honest with yourself and admitting how you feel about certain situations, people or your actions and choices. But first, you must find that place where you can simply be. By yourself. Right now.
Emotionally:
With practice, meditation can help us understand what we value and trust. Hopefully, that trust starts with yourself and your intuition. When we practice meditation, we can become more aware of how we feel about ourselves and the situations we find ourselves in. These emotions can influence the choices we make and the stories we tell ourselves. Once we are able to quiet our minds, our emotions will come to the foreground to help us decide what is right and fulfilling for us and help us move forward in a positive direction. Our emotions act like a guide to help us understand what feels right and make better decisions for ourselves. This can make us less reactive, less dependent, less anxious and less likely to feel like we are out of control. Instead, you will become more grounded, aware and happy because you will understand why you feel the way you do and what to do about it.
PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I mentioned the word “practice” about 15 times, because it takes practice to get results. It takes practice to move forward. Just like every other thing in our lives, you cannot expect to be the best meditator of all time the first or 50th time that you do it. You wouldn’t think that you could become the best pole vaulter the first time either, would you? It isn’t a competition. It is about being grateful for your body and the connection that you have to it, your thoughts and your emotions. It is about honoring those parts of yourself by listening to them and then working to make them stronger. It is a sport of stillness, of perception and grace.
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
I have another blog that has more details but here is a little tidbit to get you interested in adding meditation into your life.
Time:
You do not need to spend countless hours doing it. That is a myth. In fact it is a smart move to begin with 10 minutes.
Guided meditations:
Some people benefit from a guided meditation to help their mind from wandering. I suggest going onto youtube and listening to different videos. What will work comes down to whatever resonates and feels right for you.
Quiet space:
Ask your family and roommates or dogs to leave you be for 20 minutes and find a quiet comfortable spot that works for you, preferably seated. You may fall asleep if you lie down, but that is an alternative if you have any physical limitations or suffer from pain while seated.
Breath work:
If you don’t want to use a guided meditation, you may play quiet music - also tons to choose from on Youtube. Close your eyes and take a few long breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. If you find your mind wandering, come back to your breath and follow it as it goes through your body. Imagine where the oxygen would go. Then start to hear your surroundings, heck, even your heart beat. If you mind wanders, go back to your breath. Try to think of nothing. Do this for 10 minutes and then take your time coming back to your surroundings. I find it beneficial to meditate outside if the weather permits.
I hope you found this useful in your exploration of what meditation is all about. This is my interpretation as an Energy healer and I am hap py to share any tools that I can to help you find balance and peace in your daily life. If you are interested, I will be doing another blog that goes into more details about how to and what to expect from adding a regular meditation practice.