Practicing Meditation In My Daily Life

The idea of meditating and doing so successfully brings a lot of feelings to many of us. Most of all, the feeling of it being difficult, time consuming and unattainable. Who can sit in a lotus position for hours with a blank mind without one’s feet falling asleep and addressing every itch possible?

The first time I attempted to meditate was at the age of 11 or 12 years old. I have always read everything I can put my hands on and read a book on meditation and the benefits of meditating a couple of times per day. To this day I have no idea who the author of that book was but it instructed how to sit in a lotus position and  meditate twice a day for an hour each time, which would do wonders. Reading this, I decided to give this meditating thing a try, sat down, crossed my legs and closed my eyes. Yes, I was a serious kid growing up, curious about most things and with a great interest of learning. The hour seemed more like two days and no matter how many times I tried, I just couldn’t sit for the full hour without itching everywhere, my feet falling asleep, my back starting to hurt, and a mind racing with thoughts. For many years I put meditation aside and thought I had already tried it.

Many years later, when disscussing something with a friend, she asked if I meditated. My answer was naturally that I have already tried that and it doesn’t work for me. That’s when I found out that there are many different ways to meditate and that one doesn’t have to sit in a lotus position in order to be meditating. One doesn’t have to sit quietly with one’s eyes closed for an hour either in order to call it meditation. This certainly peaked my interest and as I began practicing meditating this way, I experienced some of the benefits. In the beginning it was quite a challenge to sit through my impulses with closed eyes without getting up. My mind would tell me what I needed to do, the starving plant that needed to be watered, the phone calls I needed to return, the laundry that needed to be done etc. Little by little I began to be able to sit through those five minutes and enjoy them which brought rewards. The five minutes of meditation every day contributed to slowing my mind down and it became more comfortable and less stresfull being in my head. I slowly began dealing with situations differently and responding to people differently because I wasn’t always tired and stressed out. The quiet mind gave me more room to see alternatives and options and to not act out before getting a chance to see things from a different perspective.

Many of the great teachers of all times, speak of meditation and the benefits in our lives. If you would like to get started meditating or have come to a halt in your meditation practice it can be picked up wherever you are. I’ve become more gentle with myself while meditating and do not expect a quiet mind without thoughts anymore. Instead, when distracted by my thoughts I observe them with as open of a mind as I can at the moment and let the thoughts proceed without holding on to them or judging them. That has helped me to enjoy meditating without feeling like I’m failing every time because I still haven’t reached the blank mind.

However challenging it might be to get started and even more challenging to be disciplined enough to continue meditating consistently it’s definitely worth the benefits. Many teachers will tell you to sit comfortably and to start small. I challenge you to sit with your eyes closed for five minutes every day for 30 days and see what might change in your life. It helps to keep a journal to remember and take note of things while practicing meditating. How it feels, what seems to be challenging and the new ideas and inspirations that might come. I would absolutely love hearing about your meditation experience and what it has done for you. There is nothing more inspiring than other people’s experiences, successes and failures because our failures are sometimes what brings us to the place where we are able to succeed!

In Love With Spring Every Time

The sun has boldly been hanging out all day for the last couple of days and the air is still nice and crisp without the sticky summer humidity that we are used to. This is by far the best time of the year! Every time this happens, I feel as if I’ve been involuntarily hibernating for a long time and now I’m starting to thaw up and warm up. Warmer weather means lighter clothing and less clothing which means more body awareness and how one looks. I remember being in my late teens and being so skinny that there was nothing hanging over my pants and no loose skin flabbing on my stomach when I was jumping. Now, I’m looking at my body AND, I do need to emphasize how grateful I am to have a healthy and fully functioning body that walks and runs and holds me up every day so I can do what I need to do.

However, every year, as I’m going through the reasons for why I’m grateful that I don’t have any deadly illnesses, my legs are strong, my lungs can breathe and everything bends the right way, I still see what can be improved. What about a tighter abdominal area, more defined leg muscles, and increased endurance and stamina?

In spite of disliking running A LOT, I ran a few races some years back. This year, after a recovery from an injury last year, I’m back to where I can run and work toward actively participating in races again. That’s honestly, the only way to get me out runnning, if I have something that I’m working toward, a goal. My first race was a 5K on flat ground. It’s short and easy without the challenges from a race on hilly terrain that requires more strength and stamina. The race went really well, considered that I was on a juice detox diet and hadn’t been ingesting solid food for a couple of days and had been doing lot of work prior that day, including a 60 minute massage.

Since it’s always nice to try something new to avoid getting stuck in the same rut, I decided to try a class at the gym where I belong. Let me tell you, that’s a big deal! I do not like classes where everyone does the same thing while cheerfully smiling and acting overly upbeat while trying to breathe. However, it’s definitely time to try something new so I chose a more advanced choreographed cardio class. AND, I’ll admit it, I loved it! The instructor was great, very human and fun. The class posed an intellectual challenge in addition to the physical challenge. My feet were trying to follow what my brain told them to do while intensely watching the instructor and sticking to the beat of the music with arms moving around not the least gracefully. I was sweating already after only 30 minutes of high intensity cardio steps. This is what is so great with working out. There is always something new to learn, something to increase (balance, coordination, stamina, core strength) and taking those small steps to explore what’s out there. when I get bored, it’s my own fault for not being open to trying something new that poses a challenge to me in some way.

Therefore, my conclusion will be to encourage everyone to try something new, something that we absolutey cannot see ourselves doing and to set healthy and attainable goals! Every day is a new day to take one action toward a healthier and happier life filled with peace and joy!

Namaste,