March Week One:
Meditation and mindfulness.
To kick off this month I have chosen to tackle my relationship with myself. As an introvert, I need time alone to recharge my batteries, otherwise I get overwhelmed and cranky. Normally I try to avoid spending a lot of time alone with my thoughts, as it tends to become a slippery dip into depression, so I escape myself, and reality, by reading books.
To me, books are magic. They transport you into the lives of other people, you get to experience things you could never dream of, you hear the voices of people long gone and of cultures completely different than your own. You can ride a dragon, overthrow a government, discover new worlds, become an athlete, or fall in love for the first time.
I’m the type of person who carries a book with them everywhere. It comes in handy when you’re waiting at the doctors or for your chronically late friends to show up for coffee dates. when I was younger, I was (hopefully affectionately) given the nickname Slug, because I was always curled up with a book and left a trail of finished books behind me wherever I went. I currently have three book quote tattoos. Yeah, I’m that person. I’m not a monogamous reader either. I have anywhere between 3-5 books on the go at once, between fiction and non-fiction, because I can never gauge what I will want to read at the time.
The Challenge.
So, when I say that for the next month, I will be avoiding reading books to focus on myself and becoming more mindful of my everyday reality, understand this is huge. I am allowing myself the ability to do research about this month’s subject and to read one book for my monthly book club. In conjunction with this, I will be limiting the amount of tv I watch as well. I have no idea how I will fill my spare time, but we shall find out together, faithful readers.
The reason I chose both meditation and mindfulness for one month is because to me they go hand in hand.
The Cambridge Dictionary meaning of the word Meditation is this:
The act of giving your attention to only one thing, either as a religious activity or as a way of becoming calm and relaxed. Serious thought or study, or the product of this activity.
The Cambridge Dictionary meaning of the word Mindfulness is this:
The practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, thought to create a feeling of calm.
If you are anything like me, you will understand why this is a challenge. We are rarely ever present in the moment. There is always the past or the future in our thoughts. How often have we caught up with friends or family, and spent the half the time on our phones, endlessly scrolling through social media feeds, or the other side, having conversations to the tops of heads and not even given the decency of pretending like they are listening. We watch tv shows or do chores while on phone calls. When was the last time you were having so much fun you forgot to check your phone to see if you had missed a notification or message? Is it just a case of FOMO or are we now incapable of forgetting the future and the pressure it brings?
The last few years have not been kind for us. Between a global pandemic, natural disasters, threats of war and now actual wars breaking out, it has been a rollercoaster of emotional hits. The constant worry and stress have gotten to all of us and made us all jaded about the future. Therefore, it is important to reflect on the moment and learn to live in present as much as possible.
Hustle culture, the overwhelming pressure to be always pushing toward goals or filling every day to the brim with endless tasks in order to be your most productive, is a curse. When was the last time you decide to take a day off and do no chores, no jobs, and just do what makes you happy? Were you able to do that without feeling guilty? No? Not just me? What’s the point of being productive to the detriment of your happiness?
I always have that little voice in the back of my mind saying, you’re being lazy, you should be doing this, that, blah, blah, blah. It’s an annoying lil thing. Yes, that voice has its good points too. It stops my house looking like a whirlwind has been through it, it makes me finish projects, but it takes away some of the enjoyment of spending an afternoon catching up with a friend, or enjoying a morning lay in. Not saying that we shouldn’t have goals or try to achieve set things during our day, but I’m saying we should also be open to spontaneity and fun too. Life is full of curveballs and humans are nothing, if not adaptable.
This is why I want to focus on going inward this month. I will be using guided meditation apps to help get me started and find which style works best for me. Ill leave reviews of the ones I use and the books I have read so you can follow along if you wish. I’m also going to start keeping a journal to keep track of my progress.
Why bother?
Here is a list of the benefits of meditation and the different types, taken from the Mayo Clinic website. I’ll leave a link to the website below if you would like to look further.
Benefits of meditation
Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can help both your emotional well-being and your overall health.
And these benefits don’t end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and may help you manage symptoms of certain medical conditions.
Meditation and emotional well-being
When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.
The emotional benefits of meditation can include:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
- Increasing imagination and creativity
- Increasing patience and tolerance
Meditation and illness
Meditation might also be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress.
While a growing body of scientific research supports the health benefits of meditation, some researchers believe it’s not yet possible to draw conclusions about the possible benefits of meditation.
With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as:
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Chronic pain
- Depression
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Sleep problems
- Tension headaches
Be sure to talk to your health care provider about the pros and cons of using meditation if you have any of these conditions or other health problems. In some cases, meditation can worsen symptoms associated with certain mental and physical health conditions.
Meditation isn’t a replacement for traditional medical treatment. But it may be a useful addition to your other treatment.
Types of meditation
Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to a relaxed state of being. There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques that have meditation components. All share the same goal of achieving inner peace.
Ways to meditate can include:
- Guided meditation. Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization, with this method of meditation you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing.
You try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures. You may be led through this process by a guide or teacher.
- Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.
- Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment.
In mindfulness meditation, you broaden your conscious awareness. You focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath. You can observe your thoughts and emotions but let them pass without judgment.
- Qi gong. This practice generally combines meditation, relaxation, physical movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance. Qi gong (CHEE-gung) is part of traditional Chinese medicine.
- Tai chi. This is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts. In tai chi (TIE-CHEE), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing.
- Transcendental Meditation®. Transcendental Meditation is a simple, natural technique. In Transcendental Meditation, you silently repeat a personally assigned mantra, such as a word, sound, or phrase, in a specific way.
This form of meditation may allow your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace, without needing to use concentration or effort.
- Yoga. You perform a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises to promote a more flexible body and a calm mind. As you move through poses that require balance and concentration, you’re encouraged to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.
I have previously tried a couple of the different types before, mainly yoga and tai chi, but I wasn’t a dedicated student. I dabbled, instead of deep diving, like the plan is now.
Well, dear readers, I am off to try my first guided meditation for the month. Leave me a comment down below if you have any pointers or recommendations for me.
Until next time,
Kay
Mayo Clinic Article:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858