I
may be the only person on the planet who’s never tried yoga. That is, until
last year. Now it’s my new addiction.
But
my yoga is not an exercise class, it’s
a spiritual practice. My teacher is a wonderful, wise, profound woman who
sometimes says such amazing things that I want to run home and write them down.
She
starts every session with a few minutes of mediation to clear the mind and
prepare the body for our yoga poses, but I would be devoted to this class even without the stretching and strengthening benefits of Warrior One and Downward
Facing Dog.
Because
I’ve found that meditation is magic.
I
challenge you to try it.
Position
doesn’t matter – you can sit in the traditional pose, cross-legged with your
hands on your knees and your thumb and forefinger touching, or you can simply sit
in a chair with your palms on your thighs. In yoga pants or plain old comfy
sweats. Nothing matters as much as your mental state.
Here’s
the secret: listen to your breath. Literally. Breathe in. Breathe out. And really
listen. The mere act of listening to yourself breathe will slow your breath,
smooth it out, lower your blood pressure and calm your brain waves. It will
increase your focus dramatically because you will be present, ‘in the moment.’
It’s
not easy clear your ‘drunken monkey mind’ (as my teacher calls it) because pesky
thoughts are always trying to interrupt your silence. What are you going to
make for dinner? What time will hubby be home? When do you have to pick up the
kids from soccer practice? These
thoughts and a million others will devilishly try to interrupt your serenity.
Don’t
let them. Silently say, “I’ll think about you later,” and let them go.
Then
concentrate on the silence in your mind and let the magic happen.
I’ve
had visions. I’ve had solutions to book plot problems pop into my head.
Sometimes I just have a beautiful, overwhelming, blissful feeling of peace.
Often when I leave class, I have this sense of people around me moving at 150% speed.
It’s weird, but I feel slow, centered, incredibly calm. I try to keep that
feeling with me as long as I can.
What
about you? What is your meditation experience? Ever wanted to try it? As a newbie to this, I'd love to hear from you!
Leigh
1 comment:
I haven't tried meditation, but I did try yoga a few years back after one of my friends pestered me to death. I don't like to sit still and planned to be bored. But I loved it! Well, not the actual doing part of it, but the way I felt afterwards. It's not the same as meditation, but is similar.
Post a Comment