Mindfulness Meditation - it's easy!
- My journey and how I got into it
- Why breathing is the key
- How to start meditating
- The benefits of mindfulness
- Continuing the mindful journey
My journey and how I got into it
I'd never really thought about meditation, let alone considered actually doing it, until about a couple of years ago when a good friend mentioned an app that they'd started using. Now, we all go through phases and it may well have been a simple passing fad for my friend, but it was my good fortune that he mentioned it as it was a conversation that changed my life - literally.Before our conversation, over a beer in sunny Cambridge one summer's day, meditation had never really entered my conscious thought nor seemed like something normal folks did to me; it had somehow been off limits, only for monks and 'new age' folks and certainly not for the likes of me. However, one thing led to another and I never looked back - I'm so glad I only had a couple of beers and could remember what we discussed!
Starting by spending a few minutes every now and again, just following the simple guided meditations in the app, I have now fully embraced the concept and regularly undertake both mobile and formal meditation each and every day - and I'm able to fit it around my non monk-like busy life. I'm calmer, more focused, more aware and generally happier as a result in every aspect of my life - and you could be too, if you give it a go. If only I'd heard about meditation when I was younger - and had the openness and self confidence to actually try it - my life would have certainly been much happier.
Everyone should take time out to be selfish, indulge and focus on themselves every now and again; time to reflect and do nothing. It doesn't take long to be conscious and present, and to be honest most folks will spend longer checking their phones each day than they will being mindful, but if you can get into it, it's wonderful.
Why breathing is the key
Have you ever consciously considered your breathing, really concentrated on where you can feel your breath - likely in the belly, chest or nose - or the mechanics of it - the expansion and compression of your body, the cooler air coming in and the warmer air out? If not, all I can say is that you should. If you do, it will be the first step on one of the most rewarding journeys you'll ever likely take. Why? Because our breath is always presents, is easy to focus on and reflects our moods - long and relaxed, or short and stressed. As such, focusing on our breath is something we can all do, at any time, and it helps us focus on the here and now, the present - which is what mindfulness is all about.On average, we take 16 breaths per minute, so that's 23,000 or so every single day, way more than the steps we take (which is another activity worth focusing on) - but how many of these life giving actions have you ever really noticed? Not many is the usual answer, why bother thinking about something so trivial after all, right? Wrong! Make the time, make the effort, and see what it feels like. Likely, your mind will wander when you start to do this, but hey, that's just what minds do - but stick with it, give it a go, try to focus, be present and enjoy being conscious for a while.
How to start meditating
There's no need to try and overdo things at the start, just a few breaths, then a few minutes, then... well, you'll be on your way to consciously improving yourself and you'll explore and try new ideas. Being mindful and meditating doesn't have to be religious, or spiritual, in any way, it's just about being a conscious living person.The video below is a great little introduction; it's less than two minutes and is worth a watch.
The real beauty of meditation practice is that we can learn to be more present in ourselves and the world at large. You will soon start to better understand your feelings and emotions because you will be able to hold your attention in the here and now rather than where we spend most of our thinking time, either reviewing the past or planning the future. The more we can practice holding our attention on something in the moment it happens - the breath in this example - the more we will appreciate the details of our life.
The benefits of mindfulness
Life is precious, so don't waste even a single second. Meditation leads to mindfulness and mindfulness is the ability to be present, to be aware of where we are and what we're doing rather than what's around us. So, meditation leads to mindfulness, but mindfulness is achievable even when you don't meditate - the meditation is the approach used to train your mind to be able to hold attention (on the breath for instance). Technology is great, but an unintended consequence (unless you work in marketing) is that we are forever being distracted, flitting from one thing to the next (emails, adverts, news articles, text messages...) and are losing the ability to focus.When we learn to hold our attention in the moment, we will appreciate life more. If you give this a go, not only will you be happier, as you will be able to identify and understand your emotions better, you will likely be less stressed, as you can actually focus on the task in hand rather than multitasking, and you will also feel more alive as you'll notice things around you more - when you're walking somewhere, rather than dwelling on the past or thinking about what you'll do when you get to your destination, you'll be more present in the moment and notice the buildings, flowers, trees, wild life, people and find beauty amongst them. Learning to hold your attention will also improve relationships as you'll really listen to folks and engage better - something both they, and you, will appreciate and benefit from.
Continuing the mindful journey
However, whilst starting the journey is easy - sitting and just focusing on your breath to start with - it will take time to recognise the benefits. Unfortunately, instant gratification is not part of the mindfulness journey, it will take time and you'll undoubtedly feel frustrated at times. You'll likely question whether you're doing it right and berate yourself because your mind will wander. Just keep going and don't worry - you will be doing it right as you can't do it wrong, it will just feel more natural over time; and don't beat yourself up about losing focus every now and then, just accept that's what minds do, and when your mind wanders just refocus on the breath when you can.Try and meditate every day - either formal meditation (finding a quiet spot by yourself and indulging for however long you want/ can) or mobile meditation (like focusing on the feeling in your feet when walking, being aware of the water running over your body when showering, feeling the wind on your face when out and about etc). Give it a go, I promise it is worth trying - join the mindful-club and discover the secret of being present in the moment!
The benefits are considerable, so why not give it a go and see what it's like - a few moments can't hurt! In future articles, I will outline some of my preferred approaches, but there are lots of resources available about meditation and mindfulness on the internet; a simple search on Google reveals over 37 million links alone! So, if you're interested, have a look and discover a technique/ approach that's right for you - remember, there is no wrong way to start your journey into mindfulness, so tuck in!
Try it - even my cat likes to sit and reflect, so it's nothing new or weird!
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