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Bindiya Murgai at a Meditation Session In Bhutan
We live in exciting yet challenging times and one of the inescapable realities of this century is that most of us are living with increasing levels of #stress in our daily lives. These are intruding into every part of our being and are gnawing away at precious moments of #peace and #relaxation. We are working harder and for longer hours. We seem to need more and more money to fulfil our ever growing needs. We are constantly wired, always connected. Constantly toggling. Restlessly punching the TV remote. Glued to our new lifeline, the mobile phone. Or the universal trap of the internet, now also proudly available to us while flying -- which until now was our mandatory “time out”. What’s more, we can even make a cell phone call from the Everest!! There is no escaping.
This constant barrage of stimulus and stress often leaves us bewildered. Our body starts to function on hyper drive that leads to a slew of physiological reactions – #anger, fear, #depression, #mood swings, #panic attacks, heart problems and headaches being just some of them. So what do we do? How do we cope? Thankfully, the answer is simple. We meditate!
Now here’s the difficult part . . .
When I first tried to meditate, it was a frustrating experience. But I tried again. This time, it was even more frustrating. The story went on for a while (actually a “long while” spread over a few years). Each time lead to more frustration, because I wanted the “experience” so badly. I wanted to connect with my higher consciousness, tune into the universe, experience astral travel and have an out of body experience. I wanted to live out all those fantastical tales that I had heard happening to people who meditated.
Resolute and after multiple attempts, I finally got somewhere. I got to a point where I just gave up trying! It was too much work and left me wondering what was wrong with me. Why could I not meditate? As it turned out, there was nothing wrong with me, but there was something wrong in my approach and the method.
Its been quite a few years since that experience. Today, I am a #meditation and #InnerWork facilitator and I run #workshops and #retreats. Ever so often, I meet people who tell me that they have tried to give “meditation a shot” at some point in their lives but never managed. Thankfully, due to my own initial struggle, I can now genuinely empathize with them, but more importantly, offer solutions that suit their personalities, lifestyles and ecosystems. It’s actually all quite easy. If one technique does not work for you , even after repeated attempts, change it! Just like there are multiple routes to climb a mountain, there are multiple methods to meditate. But first, what does meditation really mean?
What is meditation?
Science has proven that each of us has 50-70,000 thoughts every day. We live in a thought world. Imagine each thought as an aeroplane, and our mind, an airport. Now imagine what would happen to the “mind’s airport” when it has so many “thought planes” flying around all the time. Imagine the crazy noise, the hectic activity. Get the idea? Here is where meditation comes in. It’s sort of like the “Chief Operations & Traffic Controller” of the mind, giving it some “down time” by quietening and pausing its incessant internal chatter. It guides awareness, makes it mindful and is the doorway to higher states of consciousness.
How will meditation help me?
Promotes #BetterHealth
Meditation #ReducesAnxiety and stress. It lowers blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety. Studies show that meditation boosts the immune system and rewires our brain to reduce stress. It can prevent and help us heal from various illnesses, relieve pain and accelerate post surgical recovery. It also promotes inner peace, joy and equilibrium, which in turn increases our life span.
Sharpens the mind
Meditation helps us enhance our ability to focus and be productive even under high stress situations. It gives us clarity of thought and increases our output. Applying this focused attention to our personal life makes our relationships more positive and enriching.
Reboots your brain
ADD or #AttentionDeficitDisorder is becoming an increasingly common problem in urban society, where the constant bombardment of stimulus leaves us grappling with our attention span. We become forgetful, absentminded and impatient. It’s like a machine shutting down due to overheating. Or a computer crashing, due to overloading of data. Meditation makes us more mindful---it reboots our brain, and brings our awareness to the present moment, increasing concentration and making us more appreciative of our lives.
Creates emotional balance
The stresses of our daily life take their toll and often come out as negative emotions such as anger, irritation, jealously and resentment. Meditation makes us more conscious of these emotions. It enables us to monitor them and even transform #NegativeEmotions into positive ones. It calms us down and makes us less emotionally reactive and balanced, thereby creating a more tranquil mental ecosystem.
Helps deal with psychological problems
Meditation also helps heal many psychological problems such as overcoming trauma, loss, depression and grief. It also helps us understand ourselves, the people and the universe around us better. Once we begin the journey, the benefits unravel before us in ways we least expect.
Meditation myth busters
1. Meditation is not something religious or associated with a particular faith. In fact, it can be practiced by anyone, at any age, irrespective of their age, culture, gender or religious beliefs. It can even be practiced by people with no faith in any “higher power”.
2. It does not necessarily involve uncomfortable, jalebi-like postures only meant for those with flexible bodies. You don’t have to sit in the lotus position with your legs crossed if it does not suit you. As a matter of fact, you should actually find a position that is comfortable for you. One that causes no pain, discomfort or distraction. But avoid something that is so comfortable that it makes you fall off to sleep.
3. Not all meditation techniques require you to sit or be still. You can also meditate while walking, running, swimming, dancing and believe it or not, even while sweeping or washing dishes.
4. There is no “right” time or rigid rule involved in meditation. Although certain times of the day, especially early mornings are considered to be the great time to meditate, don’t be put off if your mornings are already too packed. Or if you just can’t pull yourself out of bed early. Simply pick another time that suits you.
5. Meditation is not a pursuit meant only for people with a serious disposition (though it can help sombre individuals see some humour in life). It’s actually a pursuit of peace and joy, one that everyone can enjoy and benefit from it.
6. Meditation is not a prescription drug but it is a self-prescribed prophylactic. Regular practice has numerous health benefits, however do not use it as a substitute for any ongoing medical treatment, unless you have discussed it with your physician.
7. Meditation is not an instant fix. Be patient. Give it time. Don’t expect to see results right away. If you are an ill tempered, volatile personality, it’s most unlikely that you will turn into a gentle pool of serenity overnight. But with regular practice, it WILL happen. Remember, no flower blooms in a single day.
8. Meditation is not produced in Hollywood. If you expect to go on fantastical journeys and fly across other galaxies and planets, watch Star Trek! Meditation opens doors to many inner and outer journeys, better experienced than explained, but none of them are produced in Hollywood. Or even Bollywood for that matter!
There are innumerable ways to meditate, and it’s only after trying out a few, that you will know what method works best for you. Here are a few relatively unconventional methods to get you started.
1. Healing the #MindBodySpirit: Tapping Your Worries Away
How to practice:
• Sit crossed legged on the floor or on a cushion. Or on a straight backed chair or sofa, with your feet on the ground and your hands resting on your thighs.
• Bring your focus on the situation or the person who has caused the anxiety and try to visualize it or them as clearly as possible. Replay every detail in your mind as though you are rewinding a movie. Let yourself feel all pain, anger, anguish and distress.
• Now start tapping you index finger gently on you left thigh and do the same on the right one. Keep alternating and make a gentle rhythm that feels comfortable and that you can continue for 3-6 minutes. As you keep tapping, keep your attention on the source of your stress.
• After about 3 minutes you will feel your anxiety level going down. You can continue for up to 6 minutes. Feel free to put an alarm so that your mind is not distracted with keeping track of time.
• End with 10 slow, deep breaths.
• If at the end you still feel anxious or stressed, repeat all the steps after a gap of an hour.
• If there are any traces of anxiety left after the second time, repeat the same steps, but instead of tapping your fingers, move your eyes from left to right for 3 minutes.
Benefits: This is a simple and quick stress busting method that will reduce anxiety and help you deal better with your problems. It’s also very useful for people who get panic or anxiety attacks. The best part is that it can be practiced anywhere, anytime.
Principle behind it: Tapping both sides of your body, alternately for a sustained period of 3-5 minutes significantly reduces stress and anxiety, by engaging both sides of your brain.
When: Anytime when you feel anxious or stressed about a something or someone from your past or present. It could be a work situation gone bad, a broken relationship or anything else that triggers stress.
2. #MovingMeditation: Walking
How to practice:
• Stand with your back straight. Keep your body relaxed. Make a soft fist with your hands, wrapping your fingers lightly around your thumb. Place your right hand over the left, with your right thumb on top of your left hand. Place your hands together just below your sternum and keep your elbows slightly extended outwards from the sides.
• Begin walking slowly on a predefined route, either indoor or outdoor. This can be a circle, square or even back and forth down the same line. But it’s important to follow the same route.
• Begin with talking half step with every cycle of breath (inhalation and exhalation). The first half of the step is to place your heel first and the second half is to place the ball of the foot. Your pace must be extremely slow. As you walk, focus on your breath. Keep your eyes lowered and directed at the path ahead of you. Don’t look from side to side.
• You can start by doing this for ten minutes every day and slowly increase it in increments that suit you.
• Towards the end, slowly increase your pace till it is back to your normal walking speed.
• Walk normally for a few minutes. Keep focusing on your breath. Breathe naturally. End your mediation when you are ready to do so.
Benefits: It calms the mind and is good for people who do not enjoy sitting still for long. It also helps in becoming more efficient and precise at work and clearer in relationships.
Principle behind it: This helps integrate movement with a focused mind by bringing your concentration to walking.
When: Anytime you want to get a clearer perspective of things and when you need to slow down and be calm.
Where: You can practice this in a room which has enough space to walk around without obstruction. Or you can pick a terrace, a garden or a park. But choose a place that is not crowded or noisy.
3. #MindfulMeditation: Media Watch
This is an important meditation and very relevant to the current times, as your mind is bombarded by a barrage of information that you are consciously and subconsciously assimilating through the various media you are exposed to. Be it TV, radio, internet, newspapers, movies or even computer games , every thing you read, watch or hear, plays a key role in shaping your thoughts, moods and behaviour. And you mostly don’t even notice it!
How to practice:
• Sit on a cushion or a chair in a quiet room away from others. Recall some images from any media that you have been exposed to in the past few days or hours.
• Note how the material makes you feel. What emotions do you experience and how does your body react to it. Notice if you heart beats faster, is there tension in the muscles, do you breathe faster, feel restless or sweaty?
• Ask yourself if the material you took in is positive in nature or if it evokes negative emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, irritation, helplessness or frustration. How did the violent thriller you watched on the weekend affect you? Or the news story about the recent killings? What about the soap where every character is vile and vicious? Or the one about a group of happy friends? What about the beautiful documentary on penguins? Or the one on Quantum Physics?
• Now ask yourself why you allowed that media into your life? Did you really want to read or watch it? Or was it just surfing apathy that made you sit through it? Were you trying to understand something better? Were you seeking excitement? Or release from the daily pressures of life?
• Make a mental note of all the media that created a negative response in you and also what made you feel happy or positive.
• Take a deep breath and as you exhale, imagine breathing out the negative images and information from your mind and consciousness. Repeat this exercise at least ten times. Then simply focus on your breath for a few minutes.
• Before you end, make a conscious resolve to filter the information that you subject yourself to from here on. Be mindful of your media intake. And be clear about what’s good or bad for you. Deliberate on your choices and work on eliminating negative media influences from your life.
Benefits: Reduces #MediaAddiction, which is on a rapid rise, and stress from #InformationOverload. Makes you mindful of the information you expose yourselves to and how it shapes your thought process, responses and personality.
When: Ideally at least once a week or on days when you feel you have taken in too much information. Or when something you have watched heard or read alters your mood in a negative manner. It could be a piece of news you saw on TV or a book you read.
Preparation: Make a list of all the content that you have been exposed to in the past few days. Stuff you have been watching, reading, surfing or hearing. Highlight everything that is negative, violent or disturbing in nature. Note that TV soaps where characters constantly conspire against one another or where evil always prevails, are also included in your “negative stimulus” list.
