How bad do you want a life full of peace and bliss?
If your like me you may have spent thousands of dollars on workshops, seminars and training’s seeking the answers to find peace and bliss in your life. If your not one of those people well then I think I may have a solution for you and it may just save you from draining your bank account! Not to mention, save you from years of stress, anxiety and fear.
The answer to discovering that missing part in your life that will bring you sweet serenity and joy is MEDITATION.
I believe meditation is the most important thing we could “make time” for during our day. We are thrown so many things to juggle all at once on any given day. For instance, my current state of mind while I was preparing to write this blog was pretty erratic. At the time I was juggling with the stress about how the heck I was going to finish creating my website within a week, pondering what I should eat for lunch, sinking into the ache in my neck from all this computer work; all the while questioning what the heck I was going to write about for this meditation blog…phewww! I’m sure you can relate to the feeling of stress and anxiety that was overcoming me.
So you know what I did? Exactly what I have been trained to do in moments like this! I stepped outside unrolled my yoga mat, sat in lotus pose and began to draw deep breaths in and out.
I am a yoga teacher (student 1st of course!) and Dhyana or meditation is the 7th limb in the traditional 8 limbed path of yoga. Dhyana fuses together all the practices prior in an attempt to create an uninterrupted flow of concentration. With enough diligent and persistent practice one may be able to reach the final stage in yoga, Samadhi or complete bliss! It could take a lifetime (or lifetimes) of sitting in lotus pose to even scratch the surface of Samadhi! But this level of transcendence isn’t necessary to reap the benefits of meditation. Also, you don’t need to be a yogi sitting in lotus pose with a perfect posture to feel the effects of this miraculous practice.
Below I will share what my meditation practice looks and feels like, and few tips that help me get into that peaceful state of mind we talked about.
1. Find a nice quite place where you won’t be distracted
- Normally I plug in my headphones and listen to some soothing music to avoid any external distractions. Also this allows you to pick a song that is the duration you are looking to practice for.
- Although alot of times one of my buddies will call in the middle of my meditations. But I just listen to my intuition and allow the phone to keep ringing, knowing that I chose this time to sit, breathe and BE! (Sorry friends and family! haha)
- One of my favorite artists to listen to is Anugama. You can find his music on YouTube.
2. Find a comfortable position you can totally relax in.
- I started off sitting naturally in a chair with my spine nice and tall. Sometimes I would lie down, it all depends how your feeling. But you often see people sitting in that iconic lotus position with there hands in what we call a mudra. This is to connect your roots down into the earth and extend your mind up into the universe; there are many intentions behind this position but most important is that you are comfortable and relaxed. so choose your position and…
3. Begin to breathe fully and intentionally.
- There are many specific pranayama (breathing) techniques in the practice of yoga but to start off I would just take full and complete deep inhales and exhales. This will naturally draw your awareness and concentration inwards and allow your heart rate to slow down.
- I like to try and tap into the pause that happens at the top of the inhale and exhale. It is very subtle unless you have a steady yoga practice but this brief pause is enough for us to catch a glimpse of Samadhi (bliss)
4. Attempt to become completely aware of ALL of your senses.
- Try to listen to each and every instrument playing in your relaxing song, or every noise around you if your in nature. Feel every limb in your body, the tension in your face and hips.
- Listen to the thoughts passing through your mind. There will probably be an abundance (Haha) That’s okay, just listen and let them pass. NO judgement, just listening and feeling.
- Sometimes this is harder than it sounds. So a technique I like to use is imagining a giant magic eraser and wiping my mind clear of any thoughts.
Meditation may not be the easiest thing to do, but it is something we MUST do if we want to find peace, joy and bliss in our lives. Give up all your excuses, such as “I don’t have enough time I’m too busy.” If your one of those people you should probably meditate three times a day! It doesn’t matter how long, or if your mental chatter continues. All that matters is you do it.
How bad do you want your life? Your happiness? Your peace and bliss? It is all there waiting for you. Don’t wait, the time is NOW…
