This morning I sat down to meditate. I turned on the video I usually stream as a guide, closed my eyes. and took a deep breath.
Then, I tuned out my guide and my mind wandered through my daily to-do list, thought about what outfit I should wear for the day, and other random thoughts about life. The next thing I knew, I was being cued to open my eyes and start my day and my 10-minute meditation was over. Oopsy!
Now, I know it’s normal for your mind to wander during meditation, but can you even call it meditating if you don’t even have a few moments of mindfulness mixed in there somewhere?
I’ve been thinking a lot about quality vs. quantity lately–and meditating is just a part of the equation for me. I go back and forth on whether it’s worth it to practice meditation, yoga, writing, and all the other things I am dedicated to for just a few minutes every day or if it would be better to practice it more fully and deeply a couple of times a week?
In the yoga community, the conventional wisdom is that if you practice just a few minutes a day it makes a huge impact. But, for me, it’s nowhere near as satisfying as a nice 90 minute class at a studio.
Does anyone else struggle with this? I’d really rather have enough time to get a good thorough practice in every single day, but it’s just not going to happen.
You nailed it: "I'd really rather have enough time to get a good thorough practice in every single day, but it's just not going to happen."
It isn't that we lack organization or discipline to make this desire happen. In my situation I am responsible for two children and two parents; too often their needs cannot be scheduled or put on a calendar and they upset the balance of my day (I don't want to sound like I am complaining!).
So a few quiet minutes is all I get? They are golden, priceless even.
Then those yummy studio practices are even more decadent to me 🙂
Yoga is all about balance, so let it teach us one more thing and allow ourselves to be comfortable with whatever time we can afford.
I have the blessing of enjoying many things and the only way to enjoy them is to go with the flow.
it comes with time.
I totally struggle with this!! I want SO badly to do 60 minutes + of yoga every day but when I can't/don't I have to remind myself that it is still god enough.
Yoga is about "Quality" rather than "Quantity". Therefore, I will go for a good 30 minutes practice with good quality instead of 90 minutes but less quality.
For me, sometimes a few minutes is better than a long practice. It feels like if I get a long practice in I'm less mindful through the course of the day because I've gotten it taken care of in one lump sum. I like to spread it out.
xoxo
Hi there, as it relates to meditation this article may be useful to you. http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/yogaplus/article.aspx?id=4018 An apparently famous yogi (now deceased) says something to the effect of go through your to do list in your mind…(like you did) and then, you can much better focus on your mantra and reap the benefits of a productive meditation session.