As a meditation teacher and someone who has studied the science of meditation, I am not surprised by the latest news story of schools replacing detention with meditation! I will say that I am delighted to hear that meditation is finding a way into schools in the US. In cultures where meditation is simply something done as part of your daily routine, this practice is believed to aid mental and emotional health, improve our ability to learn and focus, lower blood pressure, and so much more.
The best part about this news story was when the little girl shared her meditation practice with her stressed out mom, to help her! How cool is that?
If you want to learn how to meditate, I can teach you and it’s way easier than you probably think!
First, it’s NOT necessary to keep your mind totally empty of thoughts for twenty minutes. As human beings, that’s impossible. I’ll bet that even Deepak Chopra can’t empty his mind completely – and I’m not sure he’d want to.
Think of meditation as way to get in touch with your own personal GPS. We all have our own personal guidance system. We just don’t always hear or listen to it.
When I teach yoga, I ask students to become aware of their mind body connection and we work on making that connection stronger. During meditation training, we make a stronger connection to our spirit, soul, inner guidance, or whatever you wish to call that part of your human experience.
There are also many different ways to meditate. That may not sound familiar to you if you’ve attempted meditation before but, just as everyBODY is different, so is every MIND. What works for you may not work for your sister, or mother, etc.
Have you ever sat in front of a fire at night and been so mesmerized by the flames that you didn’t hear anyone talking around you for a little while? Well, that was you on meditation!
While you are reading this, inhale deeply and then exhale slowly. Now close your eyes and do it again and pay attention to the end of your nose. Does the air feel cooler coming in or going out? Warm one way, cool the other? Try it, I’ll wait… Most people find that if they pay attention, the air feels cooler in the inhale and warmer on the exhale. This is another way to practice meditation. Simply focusing on the feel of your breath flowing in and out of your body.
And do not worry about thoughts coming in! This will happen. It’s normal! Do not scold yourself, or think that you’re not good at this. This is normal for us humans. The trick is to simply acknowledge that your mind has wandered and start again. Bring your focus back to your breath. After a while, those times of mind wandering will happen less and less.
You can also try a “mantra” meditation. This is where you repeat a word or phrase to help keep you focused on that instead of your daily to do list.
There are people who suffer from PTSD that meditate with horses and it reduces their anxiety. Kirtan Kriya meditation has been proven to help prevent Alzheimer’s. The list goes on and on. There are so many benefits from a daily meditation practice that I could fill up six months’ worth of posts with them.
Just as there’s not one exercise that makes everyone lose weight, there is no one type of meditation that works for everyone. But I can tell you that something works for each person, which is why I teach several different ways to meditate during my trainings.
Enjoy this video of a short mindfulness mediation, which is essentially your own short self-Reiki session.
So, do you want to improve your own brain health, improve your mood, reduce your blood pressure, boost your immune system, become less judgemental, and sleep better? If you answered, yes, then sign up for my meditation training and I’ll help you get there!
Best of Health,
Kathi
