It was over ten years ago when I first
discovered meditation. On a Reiki course, where I learnt about Buddhism, ate
the most delicious vegan food and meditated. (it sounds such bliss now!) I came
back knowing myself better than I ever had before. I had a new found passion
and for the first time I felt like I knew what I wanted in life.
Being a 21 year old PR exec at a City
agency, work soon got in the way and my daily meditation and Reiki slowly
dwindled and made way for parties and over spending (as you do). But it's
always been something I've found time and time again, when life has thrown me a
curve ball. It's been my way of bringing back some focus. And, whenever I
regularly practice meditation, I feel that fantastic feeling all over again.
When I had my son, I discovered a book
called 'Buddhismfor Mothers' which reignited my passion for Buddhism and meditation. Since then
I've been meditating on a regular basis. But, as it does, life kept getting in
the way and I kept finding myself going days or weeks without meditating.
I was so focused on trying to sit for an
hour, that I lost why I was doing it in the first place. So I sat down and
reassessed my practice and worked out a way to get meditation into my daily
life. Once I stopped trying so hard it became really easy.
The benefits of meditating are endless
and you can get a hugely positive outcome by doing just a few minutes every day.
Yep. Who hasn't got 2 minutes to spare?
I'm a total pro at making excuses. I
would even make excuses (to myself) as to why I didn’t have time to meditate.
Even though I knew how fantastic I felt after doing it. It really does only
take a small amount of effort and the time you spend meditating can make a huge
impact on your life. So when it comes to making a choice over flicking through
TV channels/catching up on Twitter/Facebook or whatever other excuse you'd
like, and meditating there really is no contest. (besides, you can still do all
that after you’ve meditated!)
I know there's this misconception that
meditating means you have to be 'weird' 'kooky' or 'hippy' in some way, walk
around bare footed and dance around with josticks. Or at least that's what my
husband pictures when I tell him I'm off to my Buddhist group. But it's really not
the case. People are continuously surprised when they find out I meditate. It's
not something I do in public, and because it's a normal part of my life I guess
I don't talk about it that much. I talk about it to my close friends that
are interested in it, and I’ll mention it if I think it would benefit someone,
because it's not very often people know much about it. (probably because of the
misconceptions) Anyway, don't just take my word for it. There's scientific
evidence that proves meditation and relaxation methods have a profound effect
on your health and wellbeing and an abundance of blog posts and articles by
people who have seen first hand the benefits of meditation;
'What researchers at Harvard Medical
School discovered is that, in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods
such as yoga and meditation, far more ''disease-fighting genes'' were active,
compared to those who practised no form of relaxation.
'In particular, they found genes that
protect from disorders such as pain, infertility, high blood pressure and even
rheumatoid arthritis were switched on. The changes, say the researchers, were
induced by what they call ''the relaxation effect'', a phenomenon that could be
just as powerful as any medical drug but without the side effects. ''We
found a range of disease-fighting genes were active in the relaxation
practitioners that were not active in the control group,'' Dr Herbert
Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, who led the
research, says. The good news for the control group with the less-healthy genes
is that the research didn't stop there.'
And that's just one article about the
benefits. It's got to be worth a go hasn't it?
If you’ve ever been curious
about meditation, give it a go for a few weeks and if you don't like it, don't
do it again. What have you got to lose? A few minutes of time you probably
would've wasted on a TV flick anyway?
In the hope that you're interested in
giving it a go. I've pulled together a simple 'how to' guide to help you get
started. By no means am I an expert in meditation. But I've done a lot of
research over the years and have found a good starting point that has helped me
build a regular meditation practice that I am getting plenty of benefit
from. Once you've given it a go, you can research different methods of
meditation to benefit your specific needs.
Start Gently
If you haven't done any meditating
before, don't set yourself unachievable goals that are likely to put you off
before you've even begun. I know 10 minutes doesn't sound like a long time but
it definitely feels like a long time when you first start meditating.
Start by spending two minutes focusing
your mind on your breathing and build it up from there. Add on another two
minutes every few days / weeks (as and when you feel comfortable) and build up
to 10 minutes, at your own pace. There's no set time frame for it. Everyone's
different. So do what you feel comfortable with. If you get to 10 minutes and
feel like it's too much (you can't focus on anything and you feel more tense
than relaxed because your mind is wondering from trying to focus so much) just
reduce it again. It's better to do two minutes of good quality meditation every
day than one or two long blasts where you’re fighting against your own mind.
Remember, your mind never truly switches
off. It’s made to keep going. So don’t expect to be completely ‘thought free’
even for two minutes. As you get used to meditating it just becomes easier to
control it. So just let it be.
Are You Sitting Comfortably?
It sounds obvious, but making sure
you're sitting comfortably really does make a difference. You can't concentrate
when your leg starts going to sleep or your back starts to ache. Setting
yourself up in a quiet place, at a time you're unlikely to be disturbed (I do
it when my son goes to bed and ask the husband to stay away until I’m done!)
and making sure you're comfortable is the first step in getting this meditation
practice down.
Most people have heard of the lotusposition. But there are many more ways of sitting for meditation and, unless
you're particularly flexible, I wouldn't suggest opting for the lotus yet. I
keep things simple and sit in a standard crossed-leg / half lotus position. I'm
no where near ready for the lotus (yet!). You could also sit in a chair or
rest on your knees with a cushion between the back of your legs. Just make sure you're
comfortable and you're connected to the floor in some way. Have a look at 'thislink'
for a few suggestions on how to sit and try them out first.
I sit on a big cushion and then position
soft pillows under my legs and around my bum to help push my pelvis forward and
stop my back from slouching. It took a few attempts to get it right, so
practice getting comfortable before you even begin to meditate. It'll be a
massive factor in whether you come back for more and will definitely make it
easier to meditate.
As well as being comfortable, your whole
posture is important. It's about being grounded and having a connection to the
earth. So here's a little check list of things to consider when you're finding
your position:
Sit on the floor (on a cushion) / kneel
/ sit on a chair (with a hard back) with your feet firmly on the floor.
*
Keep your back straight but relaxed,
arms and shoulders soft.
*
Have your head leaning slightly forward
(but not too far so you fall asleep!).
*
Your chin is facing slightly down,
rather than up.
*
Place your hands resting in your lap.
*
Most people say to keep your eyes
slightly open, rather than fully closed. I find this really difficult, so I
close my eyes. (do what feels right for you)
Breathe in, and out!
Keep it simple to begin with and stick to a breathing meditation while you’re practicing.
You’d think it would be simple to sit
and breathe, seeing as we do it all day every day without even thinking about
it. Well I didn't find it that simple. It took me a long time to feel
comfortable because I was so focussed on controlling everything. The trick is
to relax and focus on your breathing. Breathe normally but focus on it. As you
breathe out, you count. Count up to 10 and then start again.
Breathe in, breathe out - 1
Breathe in, breathe out – 2
Breath in, breathe out – 3… and so on.
If you find it difficult to get to 10,
start by counting to 4 or 5, and work your way up. You're aiming to focus just
on your breathing and the counting.
Do that for 2-5 minutes to begin with
and work up.
Wandering Mind
All of this sounds easy. But your mind
is made to 'wander' it's programmed to continuously work. So don't expect to
switch off completely. You should expect thoughts and feelings to pop into your
head as you meditate, but the trick is to notice that thought, push it to one
side and bring yourself back to the counting and breathing.
When you have a lot on, it's really hard
because you'll get your to do list popping in every second. It's so tempting to
then think in more detail about those things. Then you get annoyed with
yourself for wandering off from the meditation. That's where you'll want to give
up. But if you understand that your mind will wander, accept it and move on,
you'll find it a lot easier to get through your meditations. (Is anyone else finding 'wander' a weird word after reading it so much?)
If you do find yourself thinking too
much the best thing to do is to readjust and start the exercise again. And if you're
feeling too frustrated, just come back to it another time. Practice makes
perfect on this.
I also find writing my list of things to
do before a meditation very helpful.
Coming Round
Once you've finished your meditation (I
use a meditation count down app on my phone. It has a 'dong' when the timer
finishes to bring me back) bring yourself back slowly. Open your eyes when
you're ready and shake off the meditation. I like to have a good stretch and a
few moments to collect my thoughts. I usually have a note pad close by to write
down all the things that popped into my head!
Don't Expect too Much to Begin With
It's easy to expect to feel instant
changes from your first meditation, unfortunately it doesn't work like that. (I totally thought it would be an instant thing!) It
takes a few weeks and sometimes months to get the hang of meditating, so you've
got to be in it for the long run. But for just a few minutes every day I think
it's an investment well worth making.
It's a lot more to read than it is to
practice. So don't be put off. Give it a go and see how you get on. If you
don't get on with the way I've laid it out, try another method. There are so
many, there's bound to be something you get on with.
I also like the 'Headspace' app. The guy who came up with it is an ex Monk and takes you through guided meditations. The first 10 are free (or they were when I first got it). Well worth a look.
Are you in? I'd love to hear how
you get on. Come say Hi on Twitter (azestofgem) or drop me a message on Facebook (AZestofGem) to let me know how you're getting on. Good luck.
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