Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the constant strain of day to day life? I know I have. Trying to balance work, home, and all our obligations can be difficult to say the least. It is therefore no surprise, that so many people have become increasingly interested in meditation.
Meditation is an excellent way to alleviate stress and calm the body and mind. While it may seem simple and self-explanatory, some key thoughts and techniques should be considered in order to do it properly. Let’s take a look below…
Posture and Position Are Unimportant
- Although it can be helpful and is certainly preferable, it is not necessary to set aside a specific spot or “retreat” wherein you will meditate. It is also not all about silence, fasting, and statuesque sitting positions. You can meditate anywhere and at any time, and sometimes you just have to take what you can get. The important thing is to make sure you’re doing it and that you try to get into the routine of doing it daily so that it becomes a HABIT.
- We may desire peace and quiet, but sometimes that’s simply not possible. Life is messy and loud. That is to be expected. If you’re at work and have a few minutes before a meeting, that is the perfect opportunity to take a moment and meditate in order to calm yourself down and relieve any anxiety you may have. It can make all the difference trust me.
Meditation Does Not Have to Be Silent or Solemn
- Meditation is about tranquility and rising above our experiences that hold us back and beat us down. It’s intended to get you to feel and experience things without overly thinking about them. It’s important to differentiate between thought and awareness. When you think about things, you tend to overanalyze them and look at them logically and emotionally.
- However, when you’re aware of them, you begin to feel and experience things with your senses. You are aware of the feeling of the seat you’re sitting on, the sound of the clock on your wall ticking or the fan spinning overhead, etc. You experience them without really thinking about them. That is awareness, and awareness is KEY to meditation.
Put Your Mind to Work
- Rather than trying to silence your mind altogether, try putting it to work. Focus on your breathing while opening yourself up to awareness of your surroundings and your experience. Allow yourself to experience whatever it is that is going on in your life at the moment, whether that’s an emotion such as sadness or frustration or humiliation, or simply experiencing your environment and all the sights and sounds and smells that come with it.
- Your mind will continue to be active, no matter how much you may fight with it and try to silence it. Can you picture a monkey on crack with adhd that cannot be tamed? Well that’s kind of how our minds work in a nutshell. It will always be working, thinking, and trying to find tasks or activities to occupy itself. Have you ever tried falling asleep at night to no avail because suddenly thoughts are roaming around in your head? You begin to think about the day’s activities, things you forgot to do, things you wish you had “forgotten” to do, deadlines that have to be met, and then that embarrassing moment from grade school that makes you cringe in humiliation all over again; followed by some random but catchy jingle you have not even heard in decades. We’ve all been there I’m sure.
- Your mind exists for a reason. It is supposed to think and remain active. After all, it is controlling every ounce of you. It affects you and the way you think and act. It affects your movements. It will always be trying to find something to do. So put your mind to work. Focus on your breathing. You don’t need to change your breathing or use any specific technique. For now, just focus on your breath. Breathe in and out slowly through the nose.
- This can be a great way to soothe yourself to sleep at night. Focus on your breathing while allowing yourself to become aware of your surroundings and the present moment. You may hear the faint sound of an owl outside your window. You can feel the blanket wrapped around you and the pillow under your head. Again, you do not need to be sitting in any specific position. You do not need to sit at all. Whatever works for you and whatever position you are already in will be just fine to get started.
It may take time to really get into the groove of meditating on a daily basis, but it’s important to follow through and make a habit of it because meditation has been proven again and again to have lasting positive benefits. Even if it’s just 1-2 minutes per day in the beginning, make sure to include it in your daily routine starting today! After a while, you can expect lower levels of stress and anxiety, better overall health, and an overall improved attitude that will do wonders for not only yourself, but your family, your business and most importantly, the quality of your life.
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