Meditation Notes

Spoiled Yogi has been having "Mindful Mondays" about her journey of building a meditation practice and in responding to one of her posts I was inspired to write a bit on the topic here. I've been meditating for a few years now. Not always regularly (wish me luck that I can get better about that) but when I meditate I do the hell out of meditation.

Here's some notes on what my meditation practice is like:

• 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... 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 do some neck stretches if needed and meditate right then and there.
• Then - once I'm in it... I try to focus on my breath - 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 when I would continuously feel the urge to peek at the clock or wiggle or scratch my nose or check to make sure the door was locked (or unlocked if the hubby was about to be home from work). I eventually 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 okay then one more, then one more... Sometimes I play music and I make myself sit through one more song.
• Generally speaking, I just sit for however long it takes. On really "off" days I call it good after 5 minutes. 5 is kind of my bare minimum... on average I sit for around 20 minutes... and on fabulous days I go 30+ minutes. I usually look at a clock after the fact out of curiosity of how long I sat. But I definitely think that 5 minutes is the perfect amount of time for beginners.
• I like to sit facing my altar - like I can kinda "feel" Ganesha sitting there staring back at me... like he's gonna disapprove if I peek.
• I sit on a "cushion" which is a folded up blanket on top of a big flat blanket that functions like a rug. I own a meditation cushion and it looks good but I don't use it. Throw pillows or folded up blankets work wonderfully.

Things I don't do:

• Use Malas or Mantras - they both are like a thousand times harder than any other form of meditation for me. They distract and frustrate me.
• Walking meditations - I did that once in teacher training and while it was a fun experience in a group I feel stupid doing it alone.
• Meditate just before bed. I figure it's not a good idea to start associating meditation with sleep.
• Take it too seriously. If your brow is furrowed - you're missing out.