The Sound of Silence
The benefits of getting your daily “OM”
Cape Town can very easily be dubbed a “Yogi-bear” city. You’ll see people walking around doing their day to day in an exotic pair of yoga leggings, AKA their active-wear. This city is absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to meditation and yoga studios. Meditation is not, however, something everyone is particularly convinced of. Yes, some of you may think that ‘it’s just some millennial fad’ or a “complete a waste of time” but there are many benefits associated with setting aside some you time to reflect.
For those of you coming to ETHCapeTown, we’ve got you covered with meditation intervals for when you need a break from your hardcore hacking.
Here’s why you should seriously consider sitting with your eyes closed and indulge your daily “OM”.
The benefits are endless
- Improved concentration & enhanced attention span
- Reduced stress & anxiety control
- Improves sleep
- Lower blood pressure
- Lower heart rate
- Improves blood circulation
- Increased sense of well-being
The newbie’s guide to the different types of meditation
There’s no correct way to meditate. It’s all about finding what works best for you.
Encourages awareness in current surroundings and promotes a lack of judgement.
A seated, slow breathing form of meditation where individuals repeat a mantra determined by the teacher.
Uses mindfulness of breathing to gain insights into the changes of the mind and body.
Cultivates an attitude of love and kindness.
Where do I begin?
You just have to dive straight in. Generally, the easiest way to begin meditating is by focusing on your breathing. Allow your thoughts to flow through you without resistance. Begin your daily meditation with 2 minutes and gradually increase your time spent meditating from there on out.
A great way to begin meditation is by joining a guided meditation class.
In the Mother City, there are tons of various meditation centers like the ones we’ve listed below:
Diamond Way Buddhism: Vredehoek
Tushita Kadampa Buddhist Centre: Observatory
Shambhala: Weekly meditation classes in Rondebosch
If attending a physical meditation class is not your thing, you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your home (or AirBnB) these days.
Like most things in our life, there’s an app for that.
A few of our recommendations include:
Headspace: Free Trial
Calm: Free Trial
MindBody: Free
Breathe: Free
Stop, Breathe & Think: Free
Why it’s important to set time aside for meditation at hackathons
When you’re hacking away over those 24 hour periods, setting aside that one hour for a meditation session is not something that should be overlooked. Shifting the focus from the task at hand and allowing yourself a moment to take that much-needed breath, will most definitely result in a “fresh set of eyes” and perhaps even give you that “AHA!” moment that you’ve been waiting for.
Happy meditating!
If you have any further insights about your meditation experiences, please share in the comments below — we would love to hear from you!
Thanks for direct, indirect, and inspirational input from Alexa von Geusau.
