As a therapist and life coach, I hear many times how much people don’t like the holidays, how they find them both stressful and depressing. Below are some how-to’s to start or renew the habit of meditation, which has been shown to reduce both stress and depression.
You may meditate either alone or with one or more friends. Meditating with others is preferable, as when you do that you are actually creating Synergistic Energy Exchange, (a cooperative exchange of energy) and it enhances the meditation experience. But even if you are meditating alone, there are still many benefits.
Sit either on a cushion on the floor or on a chair, with your legs crossed “Indian-style”. If this is uncomfortable for you, you may sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor to ground you to Mother Earth instead. Keep your spine straight. This aligns your seven main chakras, the energy centers that run along your spine.
You can either look at a focal point on the floor or close your eyes. If you eyes are closed, look at your “third eye”, or brow chakra, the energy center that is just above your eyebrows in the center of your forehead. You may see colors or images there as you meditate.
Start by taking a deep breath in through your nose, allowing your belly to expand as you do. Hold this breath in for three seconds, think of all the things that have been bothering you, and let it all out through your nose. Repeat two more times.
Now continue to breathe deeply and slowly through your nose, in the same manner, but without holding your breath this time. Try to sit for ten minutes. If at first you are unable to do it for this long, start with lesser amounts and work up.
As thoughts come, do not fight with them. Simply acknowledge them and allow them to drift off.
The idea of meditation is that feeling good is our natural state. If we are not doing anything to interfere with that, we will feel good. Meditation can give us a break from the negative thoughts that create our fear, doubts, and despair. This we call our resistance. When we meditate, we release the resistance.
It is best to meditate every day. The most beneficial times to do it are either just before dawn or just after sunset. Perhaps this year instead of waiting for January first to make a resolution, you can get a head start on a new, healthy commitment- meditation!
This holiday season I decided to take a retail job at the local mall. Many of my friends and family laughed and thought I was crazy considering the long store hours and the craziness of the holiday season.
Although I understand where they are coming, I see this as an opportunity to practice my daily meditation in every day life experience.
Due to scheduling conflict, l worked alone last Saturday night from 6 PM to 11 PM in a very busy seasonal store. As the line was stretching from the register to the store entrance, I continued to breathe and allowed myself to be in the moment as I took care of each customer. As the feeling of stress and negative thoughts came, I took another deep breath and let them go. Because I was calm, the customers waiting in the long line were calm with me.
I’ve learned how to manage daily situation such as this one because I’ve my daily meditation practice. The process of sitting down and quieting my mind is a practice within itself but I now understand that my life experience is my daily practice. Sitting down and being quiet each day and learning how to be mindful allows me take my practice into my daily experience. That is what meditation means to me.
Dear Mayang,
Thank you for responding and for sharing your experiences with meditation and breathing. I think for those that are not practicing, it helps them to see some of the potential benefits they many not have thought of!
I hope you will continue to blog with us here,
Maria