Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips for Quieting the Mind | zen habits | simple productivity
I find meditation to be one of those things that will take me years and years to get good at. On the one hand, I find it relaxing and calming, on the other hand, I know that I am barely scratching the surface. Here is an interesting primer on meditating. I found it interesting.
Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips for Quieting the Mind | zen habits | simple productivity
5. Notice frustration creep up on you. This is very common for beginners as we think “hey, what am I doing here” or “why can’t I just quiet my damn mind already”. When this happens, really focus in on your breath and let the frustrated feelings go.6. Experiment. Although many of us think of effective meditation as a Yogi sitting cross-legged beneath a Bonzi tree, beginners should be more experimental and try different types of meditation. Try sitting, lying, eyes open, eyes closed, etc.
7. Feel your body parts. A great practice for beginning meditators is to take notice of the body when a meditative state starts to take hold. Once the mind quiets, put all your attention to the feet and then slowly move your way up the body include your internal organs. This is very healthy and an indicator that you are on the right path.
Published in categories: general, success, howto, meditation
Meditation - It’s good for you
Just a quickie link to a great article about the benefits of meditation.
The Physical and Mental Benefits of Daily Meditation | PickTheBrain
Published in categories: meditation
How to meditate
Meditation is one of the hardest aspects of yoga, and for me, an integral part. There is a reason that corpse pose is considered one of the hardest pose in yoga, and it all has to do with the meditation part. There are many benefits to meditation including and not limited to: mental health, better able to cope with anxiety and stress, aligning yourself with the world mind, and, last but not least, being able to levitate in lotus pose (OK, that last one is just to be funny).
Contrary to popular belief, meditation does not have to be done sitting cross legged or in lotus pose. It can be done at any time, anywhere, in any pose that is comfortable to you. I routinely do it sitting propped up against the wall or lying down on my back.
The trick to meditation is to not think. Of course, that can be frustrating at times since the monkey mind loves to skip from thought to thought. Here are some tips and tricks that I use to try to meditate daily.
Published in categories: yoga, howto, Intention, meditation
Practicing off the mat
Today, at work and along with my team, I was moved from the 5th floor, to the 3rd floor. This sucked on so many levels, but most of all, it sucked because on the 5th floor, I was in a secluded cubicle with a lot of privacy. No one walking by could see what I was working on or look at my computer screen. Now, on the 3rd floor, I am in one of the busiest hallways, with no privacy, and directly in front of my boss’ boss’ boss’ (that’s three levels up) office. Jeez, what a turnaround.
So, I spent all of last week and most of this morning all pissy about it. The injustice of it all! But, you know what? I was making only myself miserable. No one else cared, and no one else was impacted. There was nothing I could do about it. No matter how miserable I made myself, nothing was going to change. Clearly, this was not helping.
Published in categories: general, yoga, embracing change
The Perfection Trap
So, I’ve been practicing now for almost 8 months. I started a couple of weeks into January ‘07, and here we are in September. And you know what? It’s not about getting the poses right. It’s not about having a great Down Dog. It’s about the practice. It’s about the work. It’s getting on your mat everyday, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Yoga, more than anything, is mind work, not physical body work. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lots of physical work in yoga, but that is not the goal of yoga, only the path. So everyday, it’s about doing the work.
Everybody has their own mental traps to avoid. I find mine to be the “perfection trap”. I like to get the poses ‘right’. I want (oh so badly) the perfect down dog, the perfect moutain pose, the perfect warrior 2. But these thoughts, these wants are just distractions from the real work. It’s not about the perfect pose, and honestly, I haven’t figured out exactly what it’s about yet. I know though that part of it is about having the still mind, the calm inner self. It’s about the sit at the start and end of practice. It’s about setting that intention for that day. It’s about the breathing. It’s about all of these things and more that I have yet to figure out.
Right now though, it’s about doing the work every day.
Published in categories: general, yoga
Upper Plank, how do I love thee…
It’s been a while since my last post and a couple of weeks since my last class. The usual excuses as to why are at the tip of my brain but does it really matter?
Published in categories: general, yoga, success
Happy Father’s Day
Happy Father’s Day Dad. I love you.
Published in categories: general
How to De-anxiousify with Alternate Nostril Breathing
Alternate Nostril Breathing, also known as Nadi Shodhana, is a pranayama breathing exercise where you breathe first through one nostril, then the other. It has a calming effect on your body and mind. It can combat insomnia and calm your anxiety. The trick of course, is to sit and do the breathing exercise when you are feeling anxious or can’t sleep. A word here: never use these practices in place of your doctor’s advice.
Published in categories: yoga, howto, prana
Yoga vs Yoga, who will win?
Last week, I attended a class with a new yoga teacher. He obviously knows his stuff. He had me sweating like a pig within moments. The thing is, we sat on the mat at the beginning of class and dived right into yoga poses. Where is the fun in that? Read more
Published in categories: yoga, Intention
Have Intention, Will Succeed
For me, intention is a very strong part of yoga. Every time I step on the mat, it is with a particular intention. For a while now, it’s been to unify mind, body and spirit, and I feel, very much, as if I’m making progress. But that’s just practice in preparation for the real world. I’m practicing being clear about my intention by doing that in yoga. The goal is to be clear about my intention on or off the mat.
Published in categories: yoga, success, Intention
