Take a Meditation Wherever you Are

Meditation is a practice that can be extremely beneficial to mental as well as physical health.

Meditation is a form of body–mind interaction. Research shows that practicing meditation regularly helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

With many illnesses being caused or exacerbated by chronic stress, finding ways to reduce it in our daily lives is incredibly important. Meditation can change your relationship with stress.

When we are able to calm and relax our body the parasympathetic nervous system is activated. This is the function in the body that slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, aids digestion and allows for restoration. When we meditate, we allow the body to seek its own recovery and healing process.

So how do we start? When I begin working with clients to develop a meditation practice, I set a home practice of just 5 minutes a day. This helps set the foundation for meditation as a regular practice in your life.

Let’s give it a try now.

Just stop what you are doing, sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your eyes closed if this feels good.

Begin to focus on sensations in your body. Roll your shoulders slowly a few times, Roll your neck gently to the right. And then to the left.

Bring your focus to the soles of the feet and slowly work up.

Move up the body to your legs, your sitting bones, your abdomen, lower back, upper back, shoulders, neck and throat, eyes and top of your head. You don’t need to get into a dialogue with yourself about each body part, simply just observe the sensation.

You can also check in with where your mind is in the same observational way. Are you having lots of thoughts, feeling mentally tired or sluggish? Just notice. No judgment.

Now begin to notice the sensation of breathing. You may feel your abdomen rising and falling. Begin to breathe out (exhale) a little more than usual and gently slow your breath down.  You are focusing on taking slow full breaths into the body and then exhaling all the breath out of the body.

Your mind will wander off and that is no big deal—it’s what minds do!  As soon as you notice this, just guide your focus back to the sensation of breathing in and breathing out.

Continue this for a full five minutes and notice the difference.

Beginning a meditation practice can be quite eye opening at first. You might realize how much your mind races, and how you have little control over it. Meditation is a practice, and it takes time, but the benefits are profound and many.