We want to help you in your self-care practice, and to keep reminding you that this is important. Keep remembering to take care of yourself, and to keep doing the best you can. We’re here for you.
This week we are looking at meditation.
This is such a good tool to use to help with your self-care practice. And, like everything else, it can be something you choose to spend a lot of time with, or a fast activity in your day. Just be consistent, and it can help you.
From the Harvard Gazette: “Studies have shown benefits against an array of conditions both physical and mental, including irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. But some of those findings have been called into question because studies had small sample sizes or problematic experimental designs. Still, there are a handful of key areas — including depression, chronic pain, and anxiety — in which well-designed, well-run studies have shown benefits for patients engaging in a mindfulness meditation program, with effects similar to other existing treatments.”
It’s not everything – but it’s definitely something you can do for yourself.
So, what is meditation?
From the American Psychological Association: “Meditation can be defined in many ways. But a simple way to think of it is training your attention to achieve a mental state of calm concentration and positive emotions.”
Aaaahhhh….calm and positive emotions. That sounds nice. Just exactly like something we all need.
And how do we start on meditation? What do you actually DO?
From Gaiam.com:
- “Concentration meditation involves focusing on a single point. This could entail following the breath, repeating a single word or mantra, staring at a candle flame, listening to a repetitive gong, or counting beads on a mala. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes and then work up to longer durations.”
- “Mindfulness meditation encourages the practitioner to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises.”
- “There are various other meditation techniques. For example, a daily meditation practice among Buddhist monks focuses directly on the cultivation of compassion. This involves envisioning negative events and recasting them in a positive light by transforming them through compassion. There are also moving meditation techniques, such as tai chi, qigong, and walking meditation.”
There are also a bunch of different apps you can use for mediation, of course. The app Headspace is very popular (Disclaimer: I use it!), and they have material available for newbies to mediation.
From their Meditation for Beginners page: “Most first-time meditators find it strange to sit in silence, to sit with their innermost thoughts and feelings, to sit and do nothing — the very things that, funnily enough, the mind tends to resist. To a beginner, meditation might initially feel a little alien, perhaps even daunting, but that’s okay. People have been meditating for around 3,000 years, and many have doubtless experienced the same reticence, trepidation, or wonder that first-time meditators often feel.”
It’s okay to feel weird, to wonder if you are doing it right (Yes, is the answer). It’s okay to spend ten minutes sitting on the floor wondering why your nose itches and is it the right time to scratch it. It’s okay to wish you were wearing more comfy clothes. Or to flop on the floor and look up at the ceiling. It’s fine.
I’ve been meditating for years – not all the time, not always steadily, and not very long in a session. But I don’t stray too far from it. I’ve talked about my assorted brain injuries, and one of the only things that helps to keep my brain up and running is my meditation practice. When I feel my brain going wonky (technical/medical term of art there!), I know I’m overdue to get back on regular meditation or maybe to kick it up a notch.
I have glorious, happy things to say about the value of mediation – and doing it the absolutely laziest, most minimal ways possible. You can do it too! Or, of course, you could spend a little more time, be a little more regular in your habits, and probably get even more out of it. *shrug* You do you. There is no wrong way.
Check out this quick video to get you started today: