Posted by Heather Urquhart on September 11, 2018

 

Hello there natural beauties!

Today we’re going to discuss meditation. There’s a lot of misunderstanding out there and a lot of “I can’t do that!” without even trying- so hopefully we can dispel some myths and inspire you to give it a shot! 🙂

 

What is Meditation?

The best definition used to describe meditation is “thoughtless awareness”. Think of it this way- most of the time our inner dialogue is a 2-way street. A thought comes to mind, we chase it, or we banter back and forth with ourselves just like in a person-to-person conversation. Meditation allows us to step back from this inner dialogue. We’re aware of it, we know it’s happening, but we choose not to engage with it.

Meditation is not necessarily about ceasing all thoughts. For the majority of us, that’s not possible. If you lead a monastic lifestyle, you probably can achieve this! Over time with practice, you may find that your thoughts become less active or quieter while you’re meditating.

You do not have to be a spiritual or religious person in order to meditate. It’s accessible to everyone.

 

I can’t sit still.

You don’t necessarily have to. Yoga, mindful walking, mindful cooking, and even colouring or other art practices are all forms of active meditation. The popularity of adult colouring books is a perfect example of the need for active meditation.

There’s no rule that you must sit while meditating. Some people find sitting for extended periods of time to be too uncomfortable for their bodies. You may find sitting on a chair to be the best choice for you as opposed to sitting cross-legged on the floor. Provided you can stay awake, lying down is a great option to meditate because you can then fully relax. What your body needs in order to relax is what’s important so you can avoid thoughts of “everything is aching”.

 

Just like most things in life, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to a meditation practice. There are so many ways to meditate!

Here are a few examples:

1. Mentally scanning your body to see how every part of you feels. You can also count how long you inhale and exhale.
2. Visualization guided meditations. These often have someone talking you through a meditation practice and getting you to envision scenarios such as being in nature, visualizing a physical manifestation of an ailment you’re experiencing, etc.  YouTube is a great resource for guided meditations.
3. Mantra meditations. Repeating a phrase to yourself either out loud or in your mind.
4. Loving-kindness. This is a type of mantra meditation which conjures feelings of warmth and love for yourself and all beings in the world.
5. Insight meditation. This is a type of meditation rooted in Buddhism. You do not have to be Buddhist in order to practice this.

 

And many more! With so many options available, it’s worth a shot. 🙂

Stay tuned for our future blog post on the benefits of meditating!

 

Written by Holly Pluchinski, Certified Yoga Instructor, Owner of Kayfabe Yoga, and Huna Operations Assistant.