Meditation: The elixir for all our mental ailments?

Excerpt from Huffington Post article published June 20, 2011

Sometimes I feel like the stereotype of the snake oil salesperson as I tout the benefits of meditation. It reduces anxiety, depression and physical pain. It increases productivity and creativity. With regular practice, relationships and self-regulation of intense emotions are improved. Even memory gets a boost. There really isn’t a difficulty that can’t be helped with meditation.

Unlike snake oil, meditation has plenty of research* to support benefit claims. The biggest challenge is: You have to do it. When people tell me they can’t meditate, their reasons are usually one of these: “My mind is too busy” or “I can’t sit still.” If you’re one of these folks, I have a few prescriptions for you to try.

Read the full article on Huffington Post.

May 23, 2011

Use a guided meditation to take a vacation from stress

Georgioupolis beach — Image via Wikipedia

For me a guided meditation or centering technique is a poetic journey that my mind agrees to take. By simply choosing to use a guided meditation there’s a subtle letting go, like receiving a massage. The mind can stop working, can stop trying so hard. It’s like taking a mini vacation. An easy and quick trip to relaxation and stress reduction.

Recently one of my students remarked that she tried a centering technique, but ended up thinking so much about the content she couldn’t meditate. I suggested that the content must have provoked her somehow; that instead of feeling as if she’d failed, to try something different. In the same way you wouldn’t continue going to a masseuse that you didn’t like, if a particular meditation technique doesn’t work, go to another one.

The purpose of guided meditation

The purpose of a guided meditation is to engage the mind in the present moment through meditation instructions and imagery. With audio or video recordings, just focusing on the sound of the person’s voice or their physical presence can be relaxing.

The content of a centering technique can offer new ways of thinking about yourself or experiencing yourself in the present more fully, i.e. becoming more self-aware. After listening to a guided meditation even once you may find that it’s a technique you want to use on your own. That was true for me with a meditation in which I was guided to imagine a cave in the place between my inhalation and exhalation. The image has such a strong pull in quieting my mind that I use it often.

As with any meditation, it’s helpful to be in an environment free of distractions.

April 29, 2011

Sitting cross-legged on the floor can benefit your meditation

Woman sitting cross-legged — Image via Wikipedia

The first fundamental I propose in setting up a meditation practice is to get comfortable. (See Fundamentals post in March, 2011.) So, is sitting on the floor out of the question? I hope not. To begin with I’ll try to convince you of the benefits so maybe you’ll give it a try. Then I’ll offer some ideas on how to make it comfortable.

I find sitting cross-legged either on a wide seated chair or on the floor helps me get focused. It takes me out of my usual routine and shouts to me: “You’re going to meditate now!” Why not give meditation a grand entrance?

My legs become engaged in an active, and completely different way, than usual. This moves my attention from my thoughts and into my body. It keeps me meditating instead of daydreaming.

I also associate sitting on the floor with my childhood. I feel younger, more flexible physically and mentally.

So, I hope I’ve talked you into trying it, at least. Here are the pointers to make this as comfortable as possible:

Find a high-enough cushion or stack of blankets so that your knees are level or lower than your hips. If they are level, put additional blankets or supports of some kind under your thighs.

For back support, sit against a wall with a small pillow at your back.

For neck support, use one of those travel pillows on your shoulders.

If your ankles hurt, wrap them with socks.

And, lastly, if you are still uncomfortable, take some deep breaths and change your posture. See www.healthandyoga.com/html/meditation/poses.html for additional ideas.

April 14, 2011

A meditation method: Notice what you notice

You’ve had the experience, haven’t you, of becoming aware of something that’s always been there but hadn’t caught your attention? A photograph on the wall of your favorite restaurant, a colleague’s shoes, a tree limb sticking out over the road. Or as the bird in the photo, your shadow on the wet sand. Why do you all of a sudden notice?

I think of these instances as little reminders to be in the present moment – to shift thoughts from the past or future. Letting go of such thoughts opens up a stream of possibilities. My heart quickens and I sense an excitement as if I’ve just met a new love. Often these moments hold a phrase or image that becomes a poem. Just being aware creates newness, a creative inspiration.

When we meditate, we are not waiting for those random moments; we are creating the environment for them to happen. A very simple method of meditation is to notice what you notice. As you sit in your favorite quiet spot, begin by being aware of your surroundings. Take in the colors and textures, the sounds and smells. A squirrel scratching at the earth to dig up a nut; the dusty odor of the furnace coming on; a soft warmth on your cheek from the sunlight filtering in through the blinds. Whatever you notice, just catalog it in your mind as something interesting. Don’t do anything. In fact resist the temptation to swipe at the cobweb, or adjust the thermostat.

With each new sense that you notice, watch where your thoughts go. Maybe you remember something painful. If so, then notice the pain. Where is it located in your body? What stories does your mind start telling you? Be curious about the pain as if it is the first time you’ve experienced it.

Whether the dusty odor of the furnace makes you want to go down and change the air filter, or you associate it with a visit at nasty Aunt Beulah’s, the key is to be inquisitive about what you notice and not judgmental. Judgment is what takes us out of the present moment and squelches our relaxation. So, allow the mind to roam freely. Just keep noticing where it goes and what impact it has on your body and your emotional state.

Be a pioneer within yourself. Each thought is new. Each sense experience is new. Each breath is as new as the infant’s first breath. Enjoy the wonder and meditate.

March 25, 2011

Breath to brain meditation technique for slowing your thougths

This is a transaxial slice of the brain of a 5... — Image via Wikipedia

This technique came to me one day when I was meditating and trying to soften the clatter going on in my mind. Especially when I wake up at my usual time 7 – 7:30am and go to sit in my meditation chair, my thoughts are already in high gear with my plans for the day. I’ve disciplined my body to sit anyway, before my cup of tea, before getting on the computer to check messages.

So, I sit and watch my thoughts. One day, feeling particularly frustrated, a new idea popped into my head, “Fog up your brain with your breath.” Of course, I don’t think this is possible physiologically, but I thought it an interesting exploration. In yoga classes, and in bodywork sessions, I was often instructed to “direct my breath” to an area that needed soothing or relaxing. Well, most mornings, that’s my brain.

I took a deep breath and imagined the exhalation going up and clouding my head. Instantly, I sensed my thoughts slow down. I took another breath and did the same. The result was almost dizzying. The thought I’m on to something snuck out from the fog and I continued meditating, focusing on the light, fluffy sensation inside my skull. Within moments my sense of time disappeared. I automatically came back to awareness of the room when my usual twenty minutes had passed. I felt refreshed and my mind calm for all the day’s events.

One of the participants in a meditation workshop gave me feedback that the technique didn’t completely work for her. She couldn’t get past imagining carbon dioxide floating around in her brain. So, not wanting the pollution, she “sent” the breath out through the crown of her head. She was then able to relax and allow the experience to unfold. This is a great example of allowing meditation to teach you how to meditate. Take your experience and make it your own.