Lucy Parker from FLOW discusses the benefits of meditation and how it can be really useful for everyone…
Do you find yourself thinking meditation is not for me? Now read that sentence back again. We all find ourselves thinking so much, so much of the time. If you find yourself thinking more than you would like then meditation really is for you, whatever you might think.
Meditation is a skill that can slow down your thoughts and bring you more into the present moment. It can alter the speed of your brainwave pattern and begin to quiet and steady both your nervous system and emotional state. It’s how you approach it that needs to be tailored to you so that it’s helpful to still your unique ‘monkey mind’, taking you away from thinking and towards being. For those not familiar with the term ‘monkey mind’ it is a Buddhist term used to describe a restless, confused or unsettled mind.
The word meditation itself can be quite off-putting, weaving magical mystical illusions of some unattainable ‘enlightened’ state. It also comes in many shapes and sizes, much like yoga, which can make it confusing when you want to get started!
My advice, as always, is to keep it simple. Research is showing that as little as five minutes of sitting quietly in meditation five times a week can be beneficial to steady our busy brains and start to find a place of stillness that we can call home.
Perhaps now that the kids are weaving their back to school, and you’re rediscovering your daily routine, is a great time to give meditation a go. Scheduling a five-minute window in your diary each day to sit and be with yourself in the present moment is hugely beneficial.
The tricky thing to get your head around is that in meditation you’re not looking to achieve anything. You’re not going to do it wrong and you’re not going to do it perfectly. You can’t be the best and you can’t suck at it.
All you need to do is practise regularly until it begins to feel familiar and can seamlessly fit into your daily routine like brushing your teeth or drinking your morning coffee. Without even trying too hard you might soon find that five minutes turns into 10 and you’re sitting like a pro!
So, let’s help you get started and begin to feel more comfortable, settling into the rhythm of the practice and tuning into the here and now. Both practices below have been designed with one main consideration in mind, to give your thinking mind something to do keeping it less easily distracted. With a focus, your thoughts are less likely to wander, and you can enjoy a little peace from the monkey mind. Give it a go, I can’t wait to hear what happens….
Breath
Sometimes our busy brain gets in the way and demands our full attention, diverting us away from the present moment. Like a child having a tantrum, when our brain is too full or too demanding it’s hard to step off the thinking train and get into feeling what is truly going on for us right here and now.
Try this super simple and wonderfully effective breathing trick, I call it Nose: Nose-Nose: Mouth:
It couldn’t be easier, here’s how…
- Breathe in through your nose
- Breath out of your nose
- Breath in through your nose
- Breath out of your mouth
- Repeat for as long as you need, whenever and wherever you like.
Go deeper!
If you find you can sit calmly with the practice above try this next step, perhaps beginning with the breathing as above and progressing onto this…
- Sit comfortably in a chair, or on the floor, with your spine upright
- Set a timer for five minutes, or so
- Imagine a lava lamp bubble slowly moving up the length of your spine and then back down again
- As you breathe in the bubble rises
- As you breathe out the bubble falls
- Repeat, keeping your mind softly and steadily tracing the slow movement of the bubble up and down your spine
Learn more?
Perhaps this practice has left you curious to learn more about meditation and other ‘stilling’ techniques to help you stay focused, calm, and steady. If you want to learn more, why not join one of my new LIVE WELL workshops? We will cover easy and accessible breathing techniques, meditation skills and other life hacks to help you to live your life full of presence, awareness, and health.
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY: DON’T MISS!
LIVE WELL WORKSHOP Saturday October 7, 2-5pm
at Flow Tunbridge Wells
29 Woodbury Park Rd,
TN4 9NQ
