The Sweet Spot of Meditation
Have you ever sat down to listen to a meditation, but you can’t seem to get into it? Your body feels restless, your mind keeps wandering away and you realise you have drifted to a conversation you had earlier that day, when the meditation invites you to imagine a forest!
Well, if you have felt like this, perhaps a traditional meditation is not what you need in that moment. You may be surprised that I say this, given I am a meditation teacher myself. However, sometimes we need to work with the energy of our body first, before we find the optimum place of pause for us to meditate. You know your own body, it is OK to be aware and respond to your needs.
Often we have a stereotypical image in our mind of someone meditating, cross legged on the floor, eyes closed and hands on our knees. Actually, there are many different ways to meditate, I believe movement can be one of them.
If you are feeling a build up of energy within, how about going for a walk first to transform this energy in your body, or dancing to your favourite tunes? Simple stretches found in yoga can work wonders to release tension and move stagnant energy in our body.
In fact, one of my favourite alternative forms of meditation is the movement of my hand as I write. Every morning as I wake, I write for approximately 10 minutes, free writing, no judgement, no filter, I just let the words flow onto the page, observing and fully immersed in the process. I then rip these pages up, a physical act of release for my mind, creating space for new insights and creativity throughout the day.
I don’t believe we should force our body to be still in meditation, for many of us, movement helps us to focus. It’s like feeling a rush of energy in a school lesson and being told to sit still and in silence, well this will absolutely block our ability to listen clearly and focus. The best thing we can do is to take a short movement break, in order to be able to feel much more comfortable and attentive.
What is meditation anyway? As the wonderful Eckhart Tolle said;
“One conscious breath in and out is a meditation.”
Even in breathing our body is moving. Some see meditation as a tool to help us focus and be more productive in life. Others view it as a way to calm the mind and create space for creativity and inspiration to flow. Those more spiritual among us may view meditation as a way to connect with a higher power.
Ultimately, I see meditation as a way of calming the logical, thinking mind and tapping into the whispers of our heart, our inner truths. This may, simply put, be a way to navigate through the noise of life, in order to think and feel more clearly.
For me, the essence of mindful meditation is to bring our awareness to a point of focus, awareness here is the key, awareness to our environment, a way of dropping into the present, observing almost from a distance, our thoughts, feelings and presence. In the words of Sharon Salzberg,;
“Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively.”
There is absolutely a place for quiet contemplation, sitting in stillness and listening to a guided meditation, the peace we can feel is dreamy, but perhaps we begin by checking in with the energy in our body first and give ourselves permission to move if called to do so.
If you would like to try a meditation of movement, check out my Walking Meditation on Insight Timer here, along with many other meditations to try.
Happy meditating!
With love
Sarah x