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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY Ideas for Your Yoga Practice |
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Basic
Meditation This
practice is an extension of the basic
breath awareness. Begin by practicing breath awareness for a
few minutes. Then begin to soften your awareness, resting your awareness
on the exhalation. What
does this mean? It means that you are not focusing your attention
exclusively on the breath. In basic breath awareness, you had an object of
concentration. You focused your full attention on the quality, sound, and
feeling of your breath. With this meditation, you are expanding your
awareness to allow yourself to also notice your thoughts. That is
the main difference between breath awareness and awareness meditation. What
does it mean to notice your thoughts? Simply notice every time your mind
starts to wander. You may find yourself planning your day, or recalling a
memory, evaluating how "well" you are meditating, or even having
an imaginary conversation with someone. At first, we fail to notice our
thinking because it is such an unconscious habit. We simply follow our
thoughts as if our thoughts are all there is. We think we are our
thoughts, and that there is no way to distance ourselves from them. But
awareness meditation cultivates an awareness that transcends the push and
pull of our habitual thoughts. Rest
your awareness on your exhale, and notice your thinking. Don't get pulled
into the stories, the planning, the evaluations. Don't criticize yourself
for thinking. Just become aware. Use the exhalation to keep you
connected to the present moment. Its helps to ground you and keep you
awake. But don't put so much attention on the breath that you fail to
leave space to notice your thinking. How
will this meditation help? It is the first step to understanding how we
can direct our internal experience. It is the first step to understanding
our unconscious habits. There is no way to do this meditation wrong. You
are not trying to achieve some transcendental state of bliss. You
may find that this meditation produces a mental clarity and a sense of
well-being. Sometimes it will, and sometimes it won't. That is not the
point. The point is to practice noticing, and to begin to understand your
mind. Suggested
practice time: At least 5 minutes,
daily. 5 minutes may seem like nothing, but make sure you can actually
commit to 5 minutes before you set grander goals. 5 minutes is much better
than nothing. You can practice meditation independently of your other
practices, or practice before or after asana and relaxation. Commonly
Asked Questions About Meditation I
can't ever clear my thoughts completely. What am I doing wrong? You're
doing nothing wrong. People often think that the benefits of meditation
come from ridding oneself of all thoughts. However, that is not the
object of this simple awareness meditation. The object of this meditation
is simply to become aware of your thoughts, so that you can begin to
distinguish the content of your thoughts from your ability to 'witness'
your thoughts. That's all. Thoughts will inevitably appear. Just notice
them. Say to yourself, "thinking" and rest your attention
lightly on the out breath. If you happen to notice a pattern to your
thinking ("criticizing myself again", "planning lunch
again", "worrying about money again", "thinking about
sex again", or whatever), tuck that away for consideration later.
Don't get carried away thinking about your thinking during the meditation. But
I really enjoy thinking. It's nice to have some time to sit quietly and
just think. Can I do that instead? If
you find yourself using meditation time to solve problems, daydream, or
engage in any other interesting pleasant mental activity, give yourself
more quiet, alone time. These forms of thinking are distractions from
meditation, even though they can be quite productive and enjoyable.
Meditation is fundamentally different from these other activities, which
all can pull you out of the present moment. Meditation is an attempt to
remove the distractions that let us identify solely with our thinking. Set
aside separate time for meditation, even if it's only 5 minutes a day. Return to Ideas for Your Yoga Practice
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