Meditation

When we wake each morning we have been asked not to talk. We have been asked not to talk from the moment we wake until we get to breakfast - in between which we meditate and complete a yoga practice.This is to help us prepare for the half hour meditation we do each morning - as if I didn't find meditation itself hard enough. For me meditation is extremely challenging; we practice a Zen style called 'just sitting', have you ever tried to just sit with a clear mind? Hard stuff.

I used to be extremely skeptical about meditation. Just as I once thought yoga was all about stretching (I know right, who'd have thought?!), I used to think meditation was all about spirituality, hippies and nonsense. In both cases I was wrong, because in both situations I was pretty darn ignorant.

In the theme of turning yogic terms into something understandable and tangible, I find that the most important thing that meditation helps to practice is being right in the very moment you are in. By not allowing yourself to dwell on thoughts of the past or future you simply sit there in the present. Many argue that anxiety is caused by overthinking about the future and depression by overthinking about the past. If this is true you can see why this might be helpful here.

But meditating is still hard. For me, today went much better than yesterday. The great thing to remember is that meditation will always be a practice not a state. We have been given all sorts of tips to help us; to just accept when we have thoughts and then let them go before dwelling on them, being aware but not reacting... I find it helps to really BE in that moment, to ground down into my mat. However I'm not sure there is a 'knack' to it, but I don't really think that matters. You can't be 'good' or 'bad', that's not what it is about.

I would be lying if I said that I am completely convinced by everything that yogis claim meditation brings. Aspects about cosmic consciousness (don't ask) are still beyond my understanding and maybe they always will be. But that is not to say I don't think it has it's place in everyday life. Meditation is calming, it pauses the craziness and helps you realise everything will be okay. Give it a go.