One thing you need to learn about me is that I am somewhat impulsive. Once a thought or idea takes hold in my mind, there is no turning back. My first REAL exposure to meditation was last May when I was going through a week long Ashtanga intensive training at Maya Yoga. For those of you who don't know what Ashtanga is, it is the original yoga that all forms of yoga were derived from and it is NO joke!! I had never done Ashtanga yoga before signing up for this week long intensive....I was 20 weeks pregnant, not working, bored and going after a 200 hr yoga certification in a few weeks, so why not take this class and learn some more about yoga in the meantime?? I. Did. Not. Do. My. Homework LOL Looking back I am surprised I survived that week at all. However, when I take on a new adventure I want to drown myself in that subject and learn as much as I can--so I was going to do just that!
We meditated each day--started for a short amount of time (3-5 minutes) and by the end of the week was doing 20 minute meditations. My first day I could not clear my mind at all!! I could only think about was my tingling, sleeping feet, what I was going to eat next and my unborn child. As any mom knows, pregnancy (especially your first successful pregnancy after having a miscarriage) is a very scary and amazing process. Each day is a new worry: will this baby make it full term? Will I get to keep this one? Will it be smart? Will it be a boy or girl? Will it have all of its limbs, toes and fingers? Will it be born with any mental illness? Dear God, please give me a healthy baby!! That was about what my first meditation went like in my head. But the more yoga and meditation I did, the more I realized I needed meditation more than ever at that point! The best pregnancy is one with a healthy, stress free momma!! As that week went on I worked passed my feet falling asleep and really concentrated on my steady breath to help me clear my mind. At the end of the week it was still a work in progress to get my mind clear, but the seed of meditation had been planted!
When I REALLY began to love meditation was when I was going through my certification to be a yoga instructor. The school that I went through combined yoga certification with a meditation certification as well, so we were required to read two separate books about meditation and did a lot of studying on how to do it, why do it and when to do it. Meditation is different for everyone but if you have been wanting to live in the moment more, relieve stress/anxiety or simply just calm yourself down every day, meditation is something you should definitely give a try!
Why to Meditate:
Health and mental benefits! Meditation, with regular practice, can do so many amazing things for your body--inside and out! First and foremost, when you meditate your sympathetic nervous system slows down. This system is the one that regulates your fight or flight response so when this system decreases, it in turn relaxes and opens your blood vessels allowing for increased blood flow and oxygen to be dispersed throughout your body. Our bodies LOVE increased, fresh oxygen! =) Deep inhalation brings oxygen to our tissues while deep exhalations help our bodies to eliminate waste. So in a sense the more you meditate the more you are cleansing your body from the inside out.
Secondly, meditation helps to decrease the production of the stress hormone, cortisol, and who doesn't want that?! =) With this nasty, mean hormone running through our body less it automatically reduces our stress and anxiety levels. Sitting in silence with long steady breathing also helps to improve our concentration. Now a days I feel people go days, weeks or even longer without just sitting with themselves and their thoughts. It is hard to sort through everything that we see, feel and think in a day if we never take the time to appreciate what it all meant to us, in that moment of time and in that particular place. As a result of doing this somewhat regularly I have really learned to live more in the present moment. Before practicing meditation I was a complete worry wort that was always waiting for that next thing....the next big event in life until one day I realized that I wasn't appreciating what was happening right NOW because I was so concerned about how my future was going to play out. There are two sayings that have helped me with this:
Health and mental benefits! Meditation, with regular practice, can do so many amazing things for your body--inside and out! First and foremost, when you meditate your sympathetic nervous system slows down. This system is the one that regulates your fight or flight response so when this system decreases, it in turn relaxes and opens your blood vessels allowing for increased blood flow and oxygen to be dispersed throughout your body. Our bodies LOVE increased, fresh oxygen! =) Deep inhalation brings oxygen to our tissues while deep exhalations help our bodies to eliminate waste. So in a sense the more you meditate the more you are cleansing your body from the inside out.
Secondly, meditation helps to decrease the production of the stress hormone, cortisol, and who doesn't want that?! =) With this nasty, mean hormone running through our body less it automatically reduces our stress and anxiety levels. Sitting in silence with long steady breathing also helps to improve our concentration. Now a days I feel people go days, weeks or even longer without just sitting with themselves and their thoughts. It is hard to sort through everything that we see, feel and think in a day if we never take the time to appreciate what it all meant to us, in that moment of time and in that particular place. As a result of doing this somewhat regularly I have really learned to live more in the present moment. Before practicing meditation I was a complete worry wort that was always waiting for that next thing....the next big event in life until one day I realized that I wasn't appreciating what was happening right NOW because I was so concerned about how my future was going to play out. There are two sayings that have helped me with this:
Anytime that I am having weak moments or know that I am worrying too much I remind myself of these two quotes. Also, being a religious woman my FAVORITE mantra to repeat when I am meditating or need to calm down is "Let Go(inhale.) Let God(exhale.)" I just say that over and over with my breath until I feel at peace internally.
How to Meditate:
When you are wanting to learn how to meditate it is always best to learn from someone who has had some training. But thanks to our technological advances you can basically learn how to do anything online. Meditation is much like yoga in the fact that there is no right or wrong way to do it. I found a great article with a ton of great information and step by step meditation instructions at the bottom of the article so feel free to go check that out----> HERE.
For me, personally, to really get into meditation I had to start with flame gazing meditation. (GREAT video with relaxing music---> HERE) To some this may sound like a super 'crunchy' hippie thing, but really it is just lighting a candle and staring at the flame while you focus on clearing your mind and steadying your breath. The MOST important thing is your breath! When I first started meditating I was in the wrong by thinking that I wasn't doing it right if my mind was having thoughts come in and out--but then a yoga student of mine, who went on a week long silent meditation retreat, discussed with me how it is not about completely clearing your mind but rather acknowledging thoughts without judgement. Our brain has thoughts, memories and emotions that it is constantly sorting through but during meditation the trick is to hear those thoughts without make any decisions regarding them and not allowing a single thought to overtake your meditation. If a thought just won't leave your head, take a mental note that you keep thinking about it and address it later. This is where music, flame and my breath came in handy for me. When I couldn't stop thinking about my thoughts I would really focus on what the flame was doing, making sure I was inhaling and exhaling FULLY and when all else failed, just listen to the music! Again, there is no right or wrong way to meditate. The main things I can suggest are to sit comfortably, in a quiet room with no distractions.
Where to Meditate:
ANYWHERE!! I used to meditate for short bursts at work if I was becoming irritable or impatient--just step away, sit down, close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. That counts! =) If you read the article I posted above it talks about how beneficial even five minutes a day can be, so squeeze it in anytime/anywhere you can! When I am doing REALLY good with my meditation practice I will try and meditate in the morning and at night--but it has been a while since I was practicing that regularly. Although, this post makes me want to start doing it every day/multiple times a day again!
Please let me end this post by saying that I am not a meditation expert. I am certified, but I have also only been doing it for a little over a year and a half and like all things in life--it is a journey. The more we meditate as individuals the more we learn about ourselves and the more we are open to what is happening around us right now. It breaks my heart to see so many friends and family members on social media that allow themselves to be overtaken by the negative things going on in their life---if I can encourage ONE of them to meditate and recognize how blessed their lives truly are, regardless of the bad things---this post was 100% worth it! I also have a guided meditation I can email to anyone that would like it! Just email me at Laceybarrett0727@gmail.com and I'll send it your way! That one is easy because you just go to a quiet room, play some relaxing music and listen to my voice as I guide you through a 7 minute meditation! I hope everyone has a great day and takes a few minutes out to just breath and be thankful! #Namaste
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