Last week, I kept thinking to myself how silly I have been for not meditating regularly all these years I’ve been a yogi. I knew how beneficial meditation can be for managing stress, increasing focus, and overall health. And it just takes a few minutes!
Well, this week I remembered why I’ve never been able to stick to it: It’s really hard! There are always other things I want to do instead of sitting there. When I make myself sit it, I just think of all the other things I could be doing instead. And then my nose itches. I think maybe I forgot to hit “Start” on my timer … obviously I’ve already been sitting for 15 minutes. When I peek at it, I see that I had, in fact, only been sitting for 3… 5 minutes left. Damn!
What is wrong with me?
I’m not giving up, though. I know if I keep at it, it will get easier. Going into this week, I’m going to stick with 8 minutes of daily meditation (clearly, I have not graduated to 10).
I’m going to try a few things to clear my mind before I sit–like write down my to do list for the day and set it aside. I’m also going to do at least a 10-15 minutes of asana first to get into the right frame of mind and put the timer behind me so I can’t look no matter how much I want to!
Ugh. Do you have any other tips?
I know it sounds silly, but those guided audio meditation downloads really help me… for those, oh, three times I've even *tried* to meditate. Considering my anxiety levels, I should be trying more often. I'm right there with ya!
I always meditate to the cd Seven Metals: Singing Bowls of Tibet. It's kinda like a Pavlov thing now – as soon as I hear that music, I'm able to sit quietly and go inside….
Meditation is so hard. Ten years and counting and I still don't think I've got it…
I know how you feel! I'm still doing my 5 minutes a day, and sometimes I forget! But even just 5 minutes makes a huge difference. Also, I love doing some asana before because it gets you out of your head and into your body.
I sympathize, I remember what that was like. For me, finding a meditation that I truly enjoyed made a huge difference. The easiest ones for me: 1) Loving Kindness meditation (because it's phased and it just makes you feel so good) and 2) Mantra meditation (but only when it's a mantra I really love). Keep at it, you're doing awesome. Eventually it does become easier, although the nose never stops itching 😉
When I meditate I tell myself repeatedly, "throughout the whole day, I give my time and space for other people. I am just as important as anyone else, and I deserve to give myself time and space. No one is more important than me in this 15 minutes."
That message really helps validate my practice!
Love this post!
Meditation is always Hindsight 20/20. Looking back we knew we needed it but we still don't implement it in our daily practice.
The moments where I recognized I needed meditation where so incredibly liberating and offered so much clarity. Asana is so heavily weighed upon in yoga, that we have to force ourselves to meditate. So I think most yogi's aren't encouraged to go there by our "instructors".
Great post, shutting down the net to go meditate!
i find i can only meditate after practicing and sometimes i throw on my iPod and hit play on the "Chakra Meditation" podcast. good stuff. i definitely agree that it *is* hard and i am no where near where i would like to be with a meditation practice.
"Well, this week I remembered why I've never been able to stick to it: It's really hard!"
Hah–agree! And I second the people who meditate with a CD. That has been a great entry point for me.
These are the things which work for me (I'm a beginner, too):
1) Guided relaxation sessions. I have these in my yoga studio. They are one-hour guided meditation/relaxation classes, introducting visualisation techniques etc.
2) Guided meditation CDs/mp3. I've done the audios from Yoga Journal 21 days challenge (the spaces between breaths meditation with Sally Kempton – awesome) and some recordings by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It's easy to follow someone's voice and also the meditation techniques introduced on these recordings are helpful in your individual meditation.
3) Meditating to some calming music. I have some special meditation music audio for that. You can use it to set the timing for your meditation and it's not as unpleasant as waiting for the alarm clock to go off 😉
4) When the thoughts come, I usually do not try to force myself against them, but notice them and let them fall in the background. I have this image of me being a disengaged observer and them being like slides in my head. I just see the slides moving and let them slowly fade, move away. Another image that I like is that thoughts are like animals that come to you. You sit there quietly and let them come closer, but you do not try to keep them and you do not do anything to them. After a while the animals get bored and go away ;).
I find that if I don't do my meditation first thing in the morning I probably won't do it at all… so I suggest first thing if possible.
I like to prep with some asana too… I have a series of things I do. I do 1-2 sun salutations, at least 1 headstand, at least 1 handstand, and at least 1 forearm stand. Then I immediately sit and meditate right then and there.
Then – once I'm in it… I try not to think anything of "thoughts" that wander through. I let them complete their course and I take a deep breath to kind of cleanse and re-start.
I do remember doing exactly what you describe though – I started doing with my meditation exactly what I do in my asana practice – when I feel that resistance come up – I try to sit through just one more long steady breath – if that one was ok then one more, then one more… Sometimes I play music and I make myself sit through one more song.
Yup, it is hard. One thing I've found helps me is Kornfield's suggestion (I think it was him) that you let yourself think about getting up three times before you actually do so. When you're about to jump up and give up, acknowledge the thought, let it go, keep breathing … The third time it happens, you're good to go. Doesn't sound like a big thing, but it really helps me.
What about simple pranayama beforehand – that's in part what its for, right?
I think you have to not want it so bad… it reminds me of something from the bhagavad-gita – you should not be attached the the fruits of your actions. You know that meditation will be good for you, so naturally you want that "goodness". You want to meditate, because you want the benefits. If you let your mind be clouded by the potential benefits (i.e., constantly aware of the thoughts, "I have to do this, it's good for me" or "I need to do this for my own good!") you'll never be able to focus on the action itself. Being disciplined in this way is just another form of yoga… (disclaimer: I wish I could follow my own advice! haha)
What a wealth of knowledge you all are! Thanks so much. @Donica, I LOVE your affirmation! It's SO true.
@ThisOne'sOptimistic … OMG love the animal image. It's a nice metaphor, but sometimes it's literal for me. Today my dog licked my hand enthusiastic for a full minute of my 8 minute meditation. I just ignored her until she went away. 🙂
Thanks to all for your encouragement suggestions! I'll try anything! This week is going MUCH better than last. 🙂
I love meditation. It's relaxing.
Raquel
Good job. Keep it up.
Michael