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Meditation

Healing through stillness

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Have you ever stepped into the darkness, the space you’re afraid to enter? The cosmic unknown? It calls to you the breathe of your spirit, gently whispering for you to step inside. Waiting for your arrival with an open embrace.  I have, and in this space is where my true healing began.

burning candle for meditation
Burning a candle during meditation can be calming.

For me I thought meditation was never going to happen. Easy , soft, gentle, uncomplicated. I wanted to just close my eyes, focus on the dance of my breathe, and float away into bliss. I was struggling, my mind always racing, my breathe short, and shallow, always fidgeting, never able to fully embrace the space. Then it happened, The breakdown. The physical and mental kind of breaking that shuts you down, and you feel as though you can no longer go on this way.  I had so much going on in my body and mind. I was having multiple surgeries, health issues, nursing my mom who didn’t have much time left, as she was battling stage five lung cancer, going to school, and working as a preschool teacher. I also suffer from mild depression, ptsd, and fibromyalgia.  My soul said enough! You need to make some changes, I listened.

This is when I found the silence, the stillness I had been turning away from. I was finally ready to listen to spirit, and free myself from my own self destruction. I was ready to begin the journey to freedom. Freedom from the confines of my own negative thoughts and patterns. I knew deep down I needed to greet, and embrace meditation without any expectations,  to just ebb and flow with the river of my mind and see where spirit guides me.

Meditation and I became best friends, we are now inseparable. No, it was not easy, I had to make it accessible and simple for me. I made it a ritual. I wake every morning with the birds signaling me to rise and embody the day full of joy, curiosity, and compassion. I light my candles, the soft glow warming the space.I brew my tea or coffee, sit in the lovely space I created as my altar welcomes me with objects that move me towards my highest self, and bring me love. These are pictures, poems, crystals, candles, my journals, fresh herbs or flowers from my garden. I burn some sage, get comfortable in my seat, close my eyes, and I begin to focus on my breath. Slow, gentle, deep, and expansive, I begin to explore and bear witness to my body and mind. My heartbeat slows with each inhale, and my body becomes soft with each exhale. I am at peace. I made it

I can’t say this was an easy habit to embrace. Patience and I were strangers, we needed to welcome and hold each other on this journey together. Allowing myself that 10 minutes, some days twenty minutes without  the pressure of doing, just being in the present. Yes, thoughts would float their way in, I would acknowledge them , greet them with grace and acceptance, then watch them float away in contentment.  I would allow my body to feel any sensation that would arise, and not fight it. I would embrace , receive, and let go. In time this meditation, {sometimes silent, sometimes guided} not only connected me with source, but with my most authentic self. In these moments of stillness and quite magic happens for me, I feel alive, I feel love, I feel spirit. I see clearly, and with clarity. I know that I am home, and the door to peace is always open.

Ask yourself, How often do I tend to my own garden, get in the dirt, dig in the soil of my beautiful life, muddle around, soak in the sunshine, water my soul, and watch my journey bloom? When we take the time to sit in stillness, and bear witness  to our souls calling, to walk into the space of unknown, and open our hearts, we can heal. We can love and feel gratitude for the gift of life. In turn, we can radiate this love, and peace to all beings everywhere.

If you are in need of resources to help guide you in your meditation practice, I highly recommend the Namafit website. They are great resource for finding experienced meditation and yoga teachers. I also love guided meditations by Tara Brach, and an awesome read that really helped my meditation practice is “Bliss More”, by “Light Watkins.”

Photo credit George Becker

Meditating In Meetings

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Meditation in a studio can be difficult. Sometimes the person next to you is breathing healthy, we hear a door close or are interrupted by someone moving in their cushion. Meditation itself is difficult – it’s a practice, almost like training for a marathon.

on, some days you run with ease, other days you can’t get through 3 miles and the training never stops. It’s a continuous effort for the rest of your life, if you are willing to embark on it. And we all do it for the positive side effects including increased health. You can say while running is for the body, meditation is for the mind.

The goal is of course, to be at peace with your thoughts and feelings and to regard them with no judgement. Its effects should reach outside of that studio with the heavy breathing person. So how does this work? If its hard enough in a studio, how could it possibly work in every day life? I may practice meditation for the rest of my days, but how can I increase its effects in my daily business? Luckily there are some exercises you can introduce into your life, without having to be in the studio –  which is what I will share with you.

meditating while in office meeting

One of my favourite exercises is tracing your fingers. I do this in meetings when people overwhelm me or I notice I am getting agitated: Under the table, with your left had, trace up each one of your fingers. Breath in as you trace up, and breathe out when you get to the palm of your hand. Do that for each finger. Focus on how you breathe as you trace your fingers. This shifts your focus from the content, by moving it inward and diverting your attention from the meeting to your breathing. So many times in life we forget to breathe, and just focusing on breathing in and out is not enough – this action drives your focus and makes you take a step back. It’s ok if you zone out for a bit – the exercise takes no longer than a couple of minutes and has stopped me from letting people know my true emotional state or even better – has stopped me for letting it out on them.

Another one I like to do is under the table. I concentrate on breathing in as I roll my feet to the balls of my feet, and breathe out as a move to the heel of my feet. I usually do one foot at a time. It has helped me deal with my anxiety by focusing on the movement and the breathing a long with it. If you find yourself the type of person that often shifts around or fidgets easily, this is a great way to feel grounded and focuses. Plus its not a large movement so people wont notice and it allows you to still take notes and seem present. No one will know you are taking a moment to step back from the challenging elements of the world.

Life is beautiful, but sometimes it can get hard and then on top of that, we tend to throw meetings and deadlines to make it more challenging. Meditation can help with that. It takes little things and little steps, but the benefit you’ll get cannot be compared to the little training you have to put in.

Simple Mindfulness for School Teachers

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What are some mindfulness tools that could work for teachers?

I think one of the most effective ways teachers can bring mindfulness into their classrooms is to integrate it into things they already do. Mindfulness is about being present, so think about ways you can get kids to be grounded in a moment.

Are you walking through the hallway after lunch? Try to get your students to notice 3 things in the hallway. Is your class in the middle of having a snack? Have your students think about what flavors they taste in their food. When you’re doing this, leave room for silence, but call things out. Guide them in noticing the details around them and what’s going on in their heads.

Another important concept to remember when practicing mindfulness is to hold space for resistance and discomfort. Acknowledge that there are stressful factors around you and create space for them as you ground your mind and body in the present moment. Be aware that the tension between your mind and body might be uncomfortable. Not doing this would be disingenuous, and being honest with what is in your head is part of being mindful.

cairn of rocks by the ocean