GET READY TO ZEN OUT!

WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF MEDITATION HERE IN THE NATION, BUT HOW IN FACT DOES ONE GO ABOUT MEDITATING?

Well, first it involves about seven years in Tibet studying with Brad Pitt…just kidding ;)
 

For those who want to meditate RIGHT THIS SECOND, the three principles to keep in mind for any meditation are below.
We’ll then get into each in detail:
 

1) Posture

2) Breath

3) Be Kind to Yourself (aka ‘Forgiveness’)


As you may know, there are various ways to meditate from short “guided meditations” that are easily accessible via YouTube searches or apps such as HeadSpace, to those that have special schools / programs such as TM, short for “Transcendental Meditation.”

What we discuss below leans more towards the former practice, however they’re still relevant for the latter.

POSTURE
“SIT UP STRAIGHT!” – THANKS MOM. NO REALLY, THANKS!

We all heard variations on this as kids, and can now probably see the point.

It’s healthy to allow our body and all the various arteries, veins, organs, fluids, etc. to operate freely and without obstruction.

In a meditation sense, it allows us to breathe deeply (as our lungs are expanded and not contracted), filling not only our lungs with life-giving air, but the rest of our bodies.

On top of that, focusing on posture aligns all of our chakras, a must for any form of meditation #woowoo

 

Breath

The breath is one of the few functions of our body that we can control, while also happening unconsciously (like when sleeping).

It can act as a bridge between our conscious and subconscious, which I find very interesting and delightful. 

On top of that, the breath is something that we can always take with us, regardless of where we are.

I learned through meditation the practice of controlling my emotions and thoughts via the breath.

Once one becomes comfortable with controlling the breath during meditation, they can take it out into the world – so the next time we’re stuck in traffic and want to flip the bird – focus on breath.

The next time we get flooded with emails or additional projects at work – breath.

The next time the kids have taken control of the house – breath.
 

Be Kind to Yourself (aka ‘Forgiveness’)

The last and possibly most important principle is to be kind to oneself during meditation.

Many friends and colleagues complain that they can’t “shut off their minds” when meditating.

Well…that’s kinda the point!

We all have trouble shutting off our minds when we first meditate and that’s OK because guess what?

This practice…takes practice.

No one is a meditation expert and I’m willing to bet even the Dalai Llama has his off days. 

Once one has some experience with meditation, they’ll still find themselves thinking of that project due for work later in the day, the traffic they may encounter on a commute, or if they put the laundry in the dryer.

What helps me is viewing these thoughts like push notifications on a phone – I recognize their existence, and then “swipe” them away from my mind, again returning to my internal calm.

This process happens to everyone while meditating, so don’t be hard on yourself!

Expanding a bit on this topic, imagine a world where we all believed in ourselves 100% of the time.

How much could we accomplish as individuals and as a global community?

 And why don’t we already do this? 

If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’ve graduated high school, or college, and have myriad accomplishments under your belt.

.....I mean, at the very least you beat all the other sperm to the egg! #winning
 

In my experience, most self-talk is negative: “I can’t,” “shouldn’t,” “won’t.”

In my opinion this is a logical fallacy, given the accomplishments we can ALL find in our lives.

Be kind to yourself. Find your power.

Thanks for reading and blessings on blessings,

Love,
Dala, Sean, Monika, Vanessa, & Kristy