A few weeks ago my sister was telling me how much better she has been doing/feeling because I inspired her to do more meditation. I have to say I was really jealous. I have not been able to do the kind of meditation I have wanted to for too long. I am a mom, wife, small business owner (well, small business starter really) we just moved to a new town and although I have been able to meet some great people I am still working at building a local "tribe".
So I was really excited when I found a few great resources to make the meditation experience new and exciting for me. ONe of which is an awesome Yoga Instructor whose class I get to at least once a week (2 times a week if I am not preaching or teaching) Another great resource was even a free kindle book! So I have decided to test some of these out - over the next few months leading up to Christmas. Meditation for the busy world/life. Granted I am starting out with some knowledge and skills I am not sure if that is going to be a help or a hindrance (e.g. I would like to meditate for at least 40 minutes rather than just 10-20).
What I have learned so far is that 20 is really enough to get some good benefit. However, if one does too much less then the benefit dramatically decreases. I started my favorite technique the other day with some breath work. I have yet to be disappointed with this simple technique.
Place your feet flat on the floor and sit up straight with hands resting on your thighs, palms up (for most meditations I like just being in a comfortable position, but this one works wonders for your posture and diaphragm. Allow our shoulders to drop away from your ears and begin to breathe in the following pattern. Breathe in for the count of 4, hold for 8 counts and breath out for the count of 10. (you may find other references give different numbers, so do what works best for you, but I challenge you to hold for longer than your intake of breath and exhale at least twice as long as the intake). Try this for 5 or 10 minutes and wok our way up to 20 minutes.
This is one of the ones I like to do right before bed - I can breathe away the cares of the day. How often do I remember to do it? Not enough (like once every few weeks) One would think that the results I get are so wonderful of course I would remember, but the reality is, this meditation stuff is still getting going in fits and starts, and although I know how great it is and I see how it changes my life, it it still hard.
For the next week, every night I am doing this specific meditation.
