Perfect Self-Management in 52 Weeks – Meditation 101

Perfect Self-Management in 52 Weeks – Meditation 101

So now that I’ve finished my personal „Eat, Pray, Love“, I have a few tips for meditation beginners.

First of all, meditation isn’t necessarily the main street toward bliss. Most people try to meditate and are disappointed.

I like to think of it as a possibility to widen the pauses between mental chatter outbreaks. And what does that do for us? This gives us mental calm which is a beautiful way to reduce stress.

Meditation helps you to grow your own intuitive faculty. It becomes very clear what is going to fulfill you, what is going to help you flower. - Osho

Life can get a little insane at times.  The crazy pace and demands we face on a daily basis often leave us feeling stressed, overworked, tired and even unhappy.  Meditation is a simple, effective and convenient way to calm your busy mind, relax your body, become grounded and find inner peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life.

Benefits of meditation

If relaxation is not the goal of meditation, it is often one result of it. Back in the 1970s, Herbert Benson, MD, a researcher at Harvard University Medical School, coined the term the relaxation response after conducting research on people who practiced transcendental meditation. The relaxation response, in Benson’s words, is “an opposite, involuntary response that causes a reduction in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.”

Since then, studies on the relaxation response have documented the following short-term benefits to the nervous system:

• lower blood pressure
• improved blood circulation
• lower heart rate
• less perspiration
• slower respiratory rate
• less anxiety
• lower blood cortisol levels
• more feelings of well-being
• less stress
• deeper relaxation

Contemporary researchers are now exploring whether consistent meditation practice yields long-term benefits, and noting positive effects on brain and immune function among meditators. Yet it is worth repeating that the purpose of meditation is not to achieve benefits. To put it as an Eastern philosopher might say, the goal of meditation is no goal. It is simply to be present.

In Buddhist philosophy, the ultimate benefit of meditation is liberation of the mind from attachment to things it cannot control, such as external circumstances or strong internal emotions. The liberated, or “enlightened,” practitioner no longer needlessly follows desires or clings to experiences, but instead maintains a calmness of mind and sense of inner balance.

In India, I found that sitting in a lotus position for half an hour was a sure ticket to a dead foot! I was more aware of discomfort than able to concentrate on my breathing.

Here is a simple beginner’s guide to meditation:

1. Sit tall

The most common and accessible position for meditation is sitting.  Sit on the floor, in a chair or on a stool.  If you are seated on the floor it is often most comfortable to sit cross-legged on a cushion.  Comfort is key.  Now imagine a thread extending from the top of your head, pulling your back, neck and head straight up towards the ceiling in a straight line.  Sit tall but don’t cramp up. Sitting straight helps you breathe easier and more fully.

I actually sit with my back supported by a couch or wall, cushioned by a pillow. My personal favorite is having my legs stretched out yet sitting on a chair supported by the chair back and legs hanging down works nicely.

2. Relax your body

Close your eyes and scan your body, relaxing each body part one at a time.  Begin with your toes, feet, ankles, shins and continue to move up your entire body.  Relax your shoulders, neck, eyes, face, jaw and tongue which are all common areas for us to hold tension.

3. Be still and silent

Now that you are sitting tall and relaxed, take a moment to be still.  Just sit.  Be aware of your surroundings, your body, the sounds around you.  You don’t need to change or do anything.  Just be aware.

4. Breathe

Turn your attention to your breath.  Breathe silently, yet deeply.  Engage your diaphragm and fill your lungs, but do not force your breath.  Notice how your breath feels in your nose, throat, chest and belly as it flows in and out. I find it helpful to observe how the air flows cool through the nostrils on the inhalation and warmed up on the exhalation. Just observe the air flowing in... and out. Let your body take the lead on this. You don’t need to control anything.

5. Calm your mind

As you focus on your breath, your mind will begin to calm and become present.  This does not mean that thoughts will cease to arise.  As thoughts come to you, simply acknowledge them, set them aside, and return your attention to your breath.  Don’t dwell or embellish on your thoughts.  Some days your mind will be busy and filled with inner chatter, other days it will remain calm and focused.  Neither is good, nor bad. It just is.

There is no correct length of time to practice meditation, however when first beginning it is often easier to sit for shorter periods of time (5 to 10 minutes).  As you become more comfortable with your practice, meditate longer.  Set an alarm if you prefer to sit for a predetermined length of time. 

When you are ready to end your practice, slowing bring your conscious attention back to your surroundings.  Acknowledge your presence in the space around you.  Gently wiggle your fingers and toes.  Begin to move your hands, feet, arms and legs.  Open your eyes.  Move slowly and take your time getting up.

Day 1: Focus meditation

Find a quiet place, maybe even the toilet or an empty conference room at work, and get into a comfortable sitting position. A concentrative meditation technique you can try today involves focusing on a single point.

This could entail watching the breath, repeating a single word (maybe „relax“, „peace“, „love), staring at a candle flame, listening to a repetitive gong or counting beads on a rosary. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes. It’s all good. I find focussing on a candle quite pleasant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfpLea9OurA

In this form of meditation, you simply refocus your awareness on the chosen object of attention each time you notice your mind wandering. Rather than pursuing random thoughts, you simply let them go. Through this process, your ability to concentrate improves.

Enjoy this time for as long as you want or have time for.

Day 2: Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation technique encourages you to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises. Then let them go.

Through mindfulness meditation, you can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in particular patterns. Over time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge experience as “good” or “bad” (“pleasant” or “unpleasant”). With practice, an inner balance develops.

Day 3: Walking meditation

Walking meditation is a way to practice moving without a goal or intention. Mindful walking simply means walking while being aware of each step and of our breath. It can be practiced anywhere, whether you are alone in nature or with others in a crowded city. You can even practice mindful breathing and walking meditation in between business appointments or in the parking lot of the supermarket.

Walking outside in nature is a joy. Yet even in a busy city we can enjoy mindful walking. Mindful walking allows us to be aware of the pleasure of walking. We can keep our steps slow, relaxed, and calm. There is no rush, no place to get to, no hurry. Mindful walking can release our sorrows and our worries and bring peace into our body and mind.

We can practice walking meditation alone, with another person, or with a group. Placing our footsteps one after the other slowly and in silence, we can create joy with each step.

Day 4: Writing meditation

Talking or writing about your feelings forces you to call them something. And one technique taught in mindfulness meditation is naming your emotions. It’s part of noticing and detaching from those emotions vs. letting them hijack your bliss. It’s about helping you to develop a pause button so you can observe emotions in a detached way.

Two UCLA studies showed “that simply labeling emotion promotes detachment,” says David Creswell, Ph.D., a meditation researcher at the university who joined colleague Matthew D. Lieberman, Ph.D., in heading up the studies.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record brain activity and pinpoint where in the brain it occurs, Lieberman’s team found that assigning names to negative emotions turns down the intensity of activity in the amygdala — an almond-sized sector of the brain that acts like an alarm system: When you witness a car crash, argue with your spouse or get yelled at by your boss, it’s your amygdala’s job to set off a cascade of stress-related reactions.

But if you simply name the distressing event, Lieberman says, you can wield more power over your amygdala’s freak-out. “When you attach the word ‘angry,’” he explains, “you see a decreased response in the amygdala.”

Creswell’s 2007 study supported these findings. His team asked 27 undergraduates to fill out a questionnaire on how “mindful” they were — how inclined they were to pay attention to present emotions, thoughts or sensations. They found a striking difference between the brains of those who called themselves mindful and those who didn’t: Mindful patients showed more activity in the areas that calm down emotional response, known as the prefrontal cortex; and less activation in the amygdala.

Take a few minutes to observe your feelings and emotions at the present moment. Without contemplating the reason for the feelings, just write down what you observe. Keep observing and writing for a few minutes or for as long as you need.

Day 5: breathing

1. Sit or lie comfortably.

2. Close your eyes.

3. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally.

4. Focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage and belly. Make no effort to control your breath; simply focus your attention. If your mind wanders, simply return your focus back to your breath. Maintain this meditation practice for 2–3 minutes to start, and then try it for longer periods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzzb3jHhgeU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67SeR3LxtdI

You can do this at work if you use earphones or earbuds.

I have a possibility to measure the oxygen saturation of my blood. Before I did so much yoga and meditation in India, I had about 98% and sometimes less. Now it is up to 99! I never breathed so much in my entire life as I did on my ayurveda trip!!

Now go have a mindful weekend!