Anxiety, grief, insecurity, frustration, and anger are all very natural responses to a situation where we have lost control over much of our life and are experiencing so much uncertainty. Instead of denying those feelings, we can connect with and really allow ourselves to feel and honour them as appropriate responses.
If your thoughts are becoming negative or you have distressing and overwhelming emotions, meditation can help you clear them away and anchor you in the present moment. Breathing is an essential part of meditation because it immediately takes you to a relaxed state of being. Your breath is essentially connected to how you’re feeling so if you’re breathing slowly, it sends a signal to your brain that suggests for you to calm down and release any tension in your body. When you’re breathing properly, you are in control of how you’re feeling. This puts you in a healthy mental state — you can think properly, you can sleep properly, you can see things in a bigger and better perspective.
Meditation teaches you to locate that space within where you can transcend doubt and all the mental chatter and come into a space of radical trust and surrender. The truth is we have no control over the future, but we can master our current state of being right now. And we always have a choice to be in peace. We just need the tools to help bring us back over and over again.
How can we start a simple meditation practice?
- Sit with a long tall spine, close your eyes and start to tune in to your breath. Just be an innocent witness, without judgment or expectation. Bring awareness to the air coming in through the nose and the air exiting the nose. Notice how focusing on the breath brings you to the present moment.
- Once you feel grounded, begin a 4 part Yogic breath. Inhale through the nose for 4 counts, hold the breath in for 4, exhale through the nose for 4 counts, hold the breath out for 4. Repeat the cycle for a minimum of 10 minutes. You can set a timer to keep track of time.
- If you're feeling the urge to open your eyes, just tell yourself a little bit more. At the end of your timer, stay for a few more moments with your eyes closed. Then open them slowly and take your time. Stay a few moments here and notice the shift in your energy to a more calm state.
- When 10 minutes is easy, keep working your way up to 20 minutes. Anchor yourself in the breath. It's such an elegant mechanism that sustains our life at all moments in time.
With this technique, you are creating space and you can allow yourself freedom, this is your process and you are in control, without forcing anything and without suppressing anything. This is a practice of deep self-care, giving yourself permission to feel, and holding space for yourself as a loving act of self-compassion.
If you are interested in learning more about meditation and the different techniques, you might want to consider joining a Teacher Training. At Equal we are starting new trainings in January 2022, check out https://www.equalyoga.com/training/200hr-vinyasa-yoga-teacher-training and https://www.equalyoga.com/training/100hr-yin-yoga-teacher-training. You can use those early evenings to dive deep into your yoga books and explore your yoga practice. If you sign up before November 30th, you can still enjoy the Early Bird prices.
Contact tt@equalyoga.com for more info.
