Meditation is something that I find extremely useful in my everyday life. Although I think meditation can be different for each person or even depending on the day, I will try to take you through some of my methods and how they came to be.
As much as I would like to claim that my ongoing journey to find inner peach was a conscious effort, it really was not. My ‘meditation’ began as five minutes after a workout at the gym where I listened to music and stretched. Working out was almost as calming as this post-ritual habit of stretching since it was something I used to clear my mind. When I was working out, I wasn’t thinking about my personal problems or when my next assignment was due.
LinkedIn does a great job about further investigating this idea in their article ‘The Secret Connection Between Stretching and Meditation.’
Then, I found a shift in my meditation process. Instead of just a five minute stretch, I wanted something more concrete. Living on a hectic college campus, it’s not exactly easy to escape the anthills full of people. I turned to mindful walks with my favorite headphones so at least I could feel some sense of privacy. One of the struggles I ran into was: What exactly do you think about when you meditate? I used to think meditation was a way to work through every single life problem you were facing. A set time to tackle all anxiety and controversy that was crowding your brain.
A few months ago I had a major shift in my meditation practices. Instead of viewing it as a time to work through all mental struggles, I started viewing it as a mental cleanse or a moment for pure relaxation. This is when my processes started to resemble the more classic definition of meditation as can be further investigated on Mindful.com. They also offer a great beginners guide to meditation along with some of its benefits.
I began to focus more on my body’s current existence and breathing. I was aware of my surroundings but not in a way that could bother me. I enjoy feeling my presence without the nagging of other stressors.
Now, I would say that my meditation journey is far from final. I have found plenty of ‘zen spots’ around campus as I’ve become more comfortable with staying in once place and ignoring the environment around me. Now, I am working on staying focused for more time and making sure I try to do it everyday. It’s easy to let daily life take over and overcrowd our brain, but this is a practice that can be individualized and done by anyone at almost any time. I hope this post shows that meditation doesn’t have to be the same concrete ritual for each person and should be viewed as a journey rather than a destination.
For more information on the overall usage of meditation and some simple steps on how to get started I recommend checking on our folks over at self.com where they offer all sorts of information on mental fitness and mindfulness. Happy meditating!