We hear that meditation brings us peace, it heals, it connects us to divine energy, it rejuvenates, it grounds, it balances, but how do we do this? In my discovery of meditation, I tried meditating on my own, and I sometimes had a moment (or several) of wondering, what the heck am I doing?
Well, for one thing we are giving ourselves a chance tune into ourselves, into our hearts. It’s a chance to let things go that do not serve us, pain, doubt, fear, anger, frustration and fill that space with healing, creative energy in our hearts, minds, bodies at every cell of our being.
We can pick any place to meditate. Although many people like to pick a quiet place, it’s not about the filtering the outside noise, it’s about filtering the INSIDE noise. To quiet the mind of thoughts like, “I’m hungry, what am I going to eat after this?” “I don’t think I can do this” “I need to return that email” “Did I leave the oven on?” “I can’t believe I did that.”
Meditation is a time to filter the inside noise; dig deep; and heal. It’s a time to filter the inside noise, open up and create. You don’t have to meditate for long periods of time, even 5 minutes will do just fine to realize that you are that powerful. You are that powerful to be able to heal yourself and others; feel the joy in life, spread that joy and be the divine being you truly are.
Here are a few meditation tips to help get to know what the heck you’re doing:
1. Be comfortable. Find a position that works for you, laying down, sitting, with blankets, pillows, leaning against a wall for support, whatever it takes. And, if you find your mind is wandering around and you cannot focus, then shift your position. It’s OK to do that, and sometimes better to change your body position to get your mind to shift, switch gears and focus.
2. Stay with your breath. Continuing to breathe is not only important in daily life, but in meditation, too. Focus on the inhale and exhale, maybe even exaggerate it to bring your body into an even and full inhale and exhale that feels effortless.
3. Allow things to happen. Allow images to come into your mind, feelings to come into your heart. Many people see colors others see words others see pictures, and it’s possible to see all of these things or something totally different. So allow the mind and heart to open and receive divine energy and see what happens. If you find yourself feeling frustrated or unfocused, then go back to Steps 1 and 2 :).
If you’ve enjoyed this blog, please consider donating to the Bending Tree Expansion Project to help us expand our resources to live your yoga. Our goal is to help people find their strength and creativity from the inside out…meaning finding their joy and living it fearlessly, from the heart.
Thank you and Namaste, Karen
