Keep your mind calm and your body healthy so you can better help yourself, your loved ones, animals, nature – our magnificent Earth.
Life can get pretty busy and sometimes chaotic! Do you sometimes find yourself wishing you had more time in your day and someone to cook your meals, clean your house and do your gardening? As much as this might be nice, the sad news is that if you find it difficult to relax and still your body and mind, even if someone did all those things for you, chances are you’d still feel pressured and feel like you need more time in your day to do more.
The brain becomes really good at what we practice so if you’re used to rushing around and never making time for quietness and meditative practices in your day, then that’s the way you’ve trained your brain and it will require practice to change it to deep relaxation mode. It’s not as difficult as you may think and in fact, it’s not difficult at all. The most challenging part is getting yourself to do it.
Meditation isn’t religious and doesn’t need to be performed while sitting cross legged chanting a Mantra. You can use those forms of meditations if that’s what suits you and your needs, but I find that most people prefer a simpler method of relaxing the body and calming the mind. Learning to sit cross legged as Buddhist Monks and Yogis do can be beneficial for deeper states of meditation but most people will need to work up to that position as the body will probably be uncomfortable or in pain when you first try. If you’re just beginning to meditate, learn to still your mind and body first, then move on to practicing cross legged if desired.
Meditation is not about aiming to attain some out of body experience of psychotic, psychedelic states – in fact these practices have been shown to be risky and perhaps not beneficial at all. I prefer to use meditation to simply slow my chatty mind and feel calmer in my body.
When you practice meditation, your heart rate and your breathing gradually slow down. Your blood pressure normalizes and the function of your immune system improves. Meditation may also cause your adrenal glands to produce less cortisol, one of the main hormones responsible for ageing.
As you meditate, your mind becomes clearer and you feel less burdened by mental chatter and troubling feelings gradually melt away. Feelings of stress and anxiety are greatly reduced.
The inner calm that meditation provides may also lead to a more positive outlook, increased intelligence and enhanced creativity. Meditation helps to calm stress and anxiety and may help you to sleep more deeply.
When I taught Meditation (in my career in Stress Management) to people from all walks of life for over 40 years, I always started with a very simple technique which worked for almost 100% of people if followed correctly.
Here’s a few helpful tips on how to feel the benefits of deep relaxation and meditation:
(1) Choose a quiet place and ask people to leave you alone for around 20 mins or if you’re new to meditating, begin with 5 -10 mins (or even 2-5 mins) and build up over the coming weeks as you practice daily. (Yes, kids will most likely not adhere to your request at first, but they’ll learn if you are consistent with expressing your needs).
(2) Sit up straight, but comfortably, in a chair that supports your back. Place your feet flat on the floor and hands on your thighs – nothing crossed. Drop your shoulders and un-clench your jaw.
(3) Make sure you’re warm (or cool if its summer) and remove any tight clothing, belts, jewellery etc. Turn off your phone and better still, leave it in another room.
(4) Begin to take some slow, even breaths and close your eyes. Focus on the breath coming in through your nose (it’s usually a little warm) and the breath going out of your nose (usually a little cooler). Sit with this, feel your breath and notice how gentle the air feels as you inhale and exhale.
(5) As your mind wanders off all over the place, (this is normal) each time you become aware that you are thinking, thinking, thinking, just gently remind yourself to bring your focus back to your breathing. Each time you catch your thinking and you remind yourself to focus on your breathing, it will become easier and after a short time you’ll find yourself deeply relaxing and feeling the beneficial effects of quiet meditation. However, the mind will always wander and that’s ok – just keep bringing it back to your breathing.
You can play some gentle, non intrusive music if this helps. Whatever helps you to deeply relax and meditate is appropriate although I find it best to learn to just be still and silent but, it did take me awhile to get to this state when I first began practicing.
Don’t have expectations and don’t think you’re getting it wrong if you can’t focus for long. This is normal. Meditation is about training your mind to focus in the moment and it takes time and practice and each time may be different. But soon, as you practice the art of sitting quietly and consciously breathing, you’ll notice a beautiful calm feeling that you’ll want to return to regularly. But remember, each day may be different.
A Few of My Favourites:
One of my favourite Mindfulness Meditation Teachers. Beautiful Guided Meditation Scripts for your own meditations or for helping and teaching others.
https://www.everydaygetsbetter.com/meditate
Overcome self doubt and your inner critic or teach with full confidence. A wonderful course!
https://www.everydaygetsbetter.com/confidence
A great app for helping to declutter your mind and find more peace and calm. Many different programs and topics available to suit you and your lifestyle.
https://www.everydaygetsbetter.com/declutter
The Mindful Movement has many guided meditations which can be a beneficial way to begin your meditation journey.
https://www.themindfulmovement.com/home-2023
Kadampa Tradition. Meditations and Buddhist teachings. Kadampa teachings are available worldwide, with some available online.
https://meditateinmelbourne.org/
Thich Nhat Hahn – Plum Village. Beautiful Village – many Meditations available online.
