Meditation Demystified. Sort of.
“I can’t get my mind to shut off.”
If you have ever found yourself saying this, there is something seriously wrong with you.
This is obviously not true, but it’s always my first response when meeting with an anxious new meditation/yoga student. Saying this does a few things — it puts them a bit on the defensive and ignites a desire to prove me wrong and it breaks the ice of what can be a really confusing and intimidating time for people wanting to explore a meditative practice. NO ONE has a definitive answer on meditation and it is something we must practice if we wish to make progress. Monks can devote their entire life on this planet to a meditative practice — not so much in order to learn the “hows”, but because once you’re in it, it never ends. Our minds are a reflection of the universe — infinite and expanding. I teach meditation and have been practicing for 12 years and remain fairly confused about the whole practice most of the time. What I do know, is that I feel better when I’ve set aside time to “do” it for even 2 minutes.
In my inquiries into several schools of meditative practice and philosophy, I have isolated and lumped together methods that work for me. I will be using references to both yoga and meditation, as yoga is considered by some to be a branch of meditative practice and at its very least, should include elements of meditation. I have always incorporated the two in classes I have taught as “yoga” and I feel that most teachers do this, but not everyone — especially a beginner student— is aware of the close relationship between the two.
“Meditation can be defined as a practice where an individual uses a technique, such as focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity, to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state.” (Wikipedia, with help from Meriam-Webster)
“Control of thought waves in the mind is yoga. Then [when the thought waves are controlled] the seer is established in his own true nature. In other states [when the seer is not established in his true nature], the seer appears the same as the thought waves in the mind.” (Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, 2, 3 & 4)
Observing the effects of meditation has aroused suspicion among academic groups that the practice may yield quantifiable results — though it is important to remember that scientific validation isn’t really the goal here, it just seems to be important to us humans to justify our curiosities and valuable time. In 2012, the Harvard Gazette published results of a study that showed the act of meditation training could produce the same beneficial response in the amygdala (decreased emotional activation) as the actual act of meditating/being in a meditative state. In another study, a group of Harvard-affiliated researchers found that meditation produced “measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress.” (The Harvard Gazette) Meditation is also the gateway to the visualization process I touched upon in my previous article, which prompted this piece in response to the frantic “I can’t do it!!!!!!” emails I received. Everyone can meditate. Or no one can. I haven’t quite figured it out — but meditation is beneficial and just the act of trying can yield positive results.
Here is how to meditate:
SET UP. Decide how you want to approach meditation. For some people, it is super undesirable to sit cross legged in a silent space. You can start with something as simple as becoming absorbed in a task like giving your dog a bath. You can find a spot in nature to sit quietly and absorb your surroundings. You can clear out a space in your home and plop down on a meditation cushion.
BREATHE. Bring your awareness to your breath. I once heard somewhere that we only use about 60% of our lung capacity when engaged in unconscious breathing. I don’t know if the number is exact but I do know that when I take a deep breath a few things happen: I drop into my body and my mind achieves a sense of calm. There is a reason people instruct us to “take a deep breath” when we need to be reminded to regroup. The breath is a powerful tool. Begin by simply taking deeper breaths. Eventually you may feel inspired to experiment with one of the dozens of breathing variations practiced in yoga and meditation. I like the Ujjayi method, and you can learn about it here. But again, you don’t have to choose a fancy breathing technique — you can simply deepen your breath. Slow it down.
OBSERVE. This is where most people get hung up. It is crazy to come face to face with our thoughts if we’ve never done it before. Allow yourself to feel the sensations, locate the sensations in your body as you breathe. This is when our mind becomes the loudest and it is a gift.
DETACH. Simply watch the flow of endless thoughts with — and this is a tough one — non-judgmental awareness. Imagine your thoughts are like one of those scrolling marquees where words just appear, roll though and disappear. Let your thoughts scroll through your mind. Ponder the crazy part where you are watching your thoughts but also having the thoughts but who is doing the watching and who is doing the having??? Do not seek answers. You are not your thoughts. That’s why you’re creating space to observe them and start to learn how they influence your behavior. You also want to let them flow without having them influence your behavior, which is why you are sitting or standing still. Thoughts are like puppies. They just need to run around until they pass out. But if they don’t get exercise they will rule your life.
(At this point, you are either a few minutes into your practice or a few decades or anything in between. There is no pressure, as there is no where to go.)
FOCUS. This is a shift from the detaching and emptying. Once we begin to observe our thoughts, we find that over time, they slow down earlier and earlier on in our practice. At this point you are sitting in nature or your meditation space or doing the dishes or whatever task you’ve chosen. Meditation is not a practice of silencing the mind — it is the art of controlling the thought waves. With your mind emptying and your breathing deep, start to focus on something. You can find a photo or meaningful object. You can be sitting still with your eyes open staring at a flower. If you’re washing dishes, you can focus on the temperature of the water, or the sensation of water on your hands. If you’re eating, slow down to focus on the texture of the food, contemplate it’s journey from origination to your belly. Experiment with different scenarios and find what works for you.
REPEAT. Somewhere in the detach and focus phase, the mind will carry your thoughts back to your awareness. The goal in meditation is to return to the breath. Over and over. Reel in the thoughts and focus your energy on what YOU want.
