By Sarah Henderson, Summersalt yoga teacher

Are you thinking about starting a personal meditation practice, but don’t know what’s it’s all about or how to start? If you’ve never been led through meditation as part of a yoga or meditation class, starting your own personal practice may seem daunting. Meditation can take many forms, but all contain conscious practices that train your mind to focus on the present and support your spiritual and emotional well-being and growth.

Meditation may help to:

– Reduce stress and symptoms of stress-related conditions

– Reduce or control anxiety

– Achieve quality sleep

– Improve feelings of well-being and promote emotional health

– Increase productivity

– Increase focus and attention span.

– Improve clarity

– Enhance self-awareness

– Increase feelings of calm

So how do you start and keep a meditation practice?

You may want to consider going to a public meditation class first, or a yoga class that contains a good meditation component to experience guided meditation firsthand. Usually studio and community center online class descriptions will mention meditation if they offer it, otherwise, you could contact the studio and inquire directly. Attending a guided practice first may help you experience the benefits of meditation in a supported setting before taking on your own personal practice. 

1) Find a time and a place that works for you

Try to find a time and place where there are minimal nearby external distractions and noises. It’s hard to find stillness if your TV is blaring in the background, or you have something cooking on the stove. It may help to use noise-canceling headphones if you simply can’t find a quiet place, or if you choose to meditate while seated on the bus on route to work.

You don’t always have to meditate at the same time every day; however, this will help you to develop the practice as a habit.  I like to do it first thing in the morning at home before the day gets busy to help me set the tone for the day. Maybe you prefer to do it at night, or on your lunch break. It doesn’t matter, the point is to try and be consistent if you want to make it a habit. 

2) Get comfortable – use of props

I can’t stress how important this one is to keep up with your practice. If you’re not comfortable, your discomfort is going to be very distracting (if not painful). For some people, a stiff body or injuries may prevent them from sitting with ease, so consider stretching or yoga before you sit to meditate, or find a position that works for you (more on this below). After all, this is why the yogis of old began a physical (asana) practice – to prepare the body for longer periods of seated meditation!

For most adults, sitting cross-legged directly on the floor can be uncomfortable and difficult for longer periods. Sit on a prop that elevates your hips to a height that is above the height of your knees (pictured below). For most people, when they sit cross-legged on the ground their knees float high and are above the height of their hips. Finding something to sit on that elevates your hips above your knees will allow your hip flexors to relax and allow you to sit up tall, supporting your spine and maintaining its natural curvature.

There are numerous meditation props available: cushions, bolsters, blocks (chip-foam, cork), wooden benches, and there are many different manufacturers. The best way to choose a prop that works best with your body would be to test some. If you can find a yoga studio that also sells props, they will allow you to try them, and can probably give you some guidance on how to sit on each prop. If they don’t sell props they can suggest where to purchase some locally.

My favorite meditation props are the cushions made by Halfmoon Yoga (they are handmade in British Columbia, Canada). I like the Round Zafu model because you can use it to sit a few different ways, and it’s soft but firm. Halfmoon also makes amazing bolsters (pictured below), which are versatile props because you can use them as a seated mediation prop, and as support during a Yin or Restorative Yoga practice. If you don’t have access to any of these items, get creative! Use a pillow, couch cushion, sweater, etc. to elevate your hips. Something with firmness will be best to help support you and sit tall through your spine.

3) Get comfortable – sitting or lying down

Find a way to sit that feels good in your body. Be aware of the pain in your knees, or tingling and numbness while sitting in certain positions. You don’t want to cut off circulation or pinch any nerves. Pay attention to and honor your body’s wisdom J

There are a few ways you can sit for meditation practice:

1. a) crossed-legged
2. b) stacking your shins one in front of the other: similar to crossed-legs, but without any crossing. I prefer this option to crossed-legs because my legs will not fall asleep in this position.
3. c) both a or b but with your back against a wall
4. d) a kneeling sit with block(s), bolster, or cushion under your sit bones for support (so that you are not sitting directly on your heels)
5. e) sitting on something more rigid, like a chair (vs. a sofa, which may not promote a nice curvature in your spine). Great if you have knee injuries and deep bends in the knee don’t work for you.
6. e) If sitting doesn’t work for you at all, there is the option to lie down. If you’re new to meditation and don’t have any physical limitations to sitting, I only recommend lying down for meditation practices targeting better sleep and fatigue, because a lot of us tend to fall asleep when relaxed in this position!

Now that you’re comfortable, what do you do?

4) Prepare your body to relax

Close your eyes, or keep your eyes open if you’re more comfortable that way, but soften your gaze. This will help you to remove external distractions, focus inward on your breath, and tune in to what you’re feeling and experiencing in your body, breath, mind, and heart. Sit tall through your spine, as though the crown of your head is reaching towards the sky. Keep your core engaged to support your lower back. Relax your shoulders away from your ears, widen your collarbones, and bring your shoulder blades down your back. Notice if you’re holding any tension in your jaw or facial muscles – gently yawn to relax your jaw and bring the tip of your tongue to touch the back of your front teeth (this will keep your teeth slightly parted, and stop you from clenching your jaw).

Let your hands rest gently in your lap, or bring them to your thighs palms facing up, or palms facing down. What’s the difference? Palms facing up is a gesture that signifies giving and receiving of energy. Palms facing down is a grounding gesture, which may calm you or bring your energy inward. Take a deep inhale in through your nose, open your mouth and exhale fully and audibly, releasing some tension. Do this a few more times. 

5) Choose a meditation

There are a great many meditation practices you can try, but below are a few great beginner meditations that involve prānāyāma and stillness. Prānāyāma? – a Sanskrit word that translates approximately to “extension or control of breath or vital life force”. “Prānā” = breath, life force, energy; āyāma = control, extension. These are simple breath observation or breathing techniques that help trigger deep breathing, mind-body-breath awareness, and focus.

a) Witnessing your breath, body, heart, and mind:

The first is to simply focus on and observe your breath and body: Inhale deeply through your nose, feel your lungs and belly expand as you take in your breath, and then exhale out fully through the nose, focusing on releasing all the stale air from the lungs so that you can fully inhale again.

Notice the responses in your body as you inhale: collarbones widening, rib cage expanding, belly expanding, you naturally sit a bit taller.  Notice the responses in your body as you exhale: collarbones soften, posture softens, belly contracts, ribs float back. Feel the air as it passes through your nostrils, down your throat and back.

Continue to observe your body respond to your breath, and if you notice your mind has wandered, just bring your attention back to your breath and the sensations you’re feeling in your body.

b) Breath counting:

There are a few different counts you can do to stay focused on the present:

i) Inhale for 4… 3… 2… 1…. Exhale for 4… 3… 2… 1…. Repeat. Do this till you’ve established a gentle and natural rhythm, then add:

ii) A pause at the end of your exhale, on empty lungs, for one full count; and a pause at the top of your inhale with lungs full for one count: Inhale for 4… 3… 2… 1…. pause and hold for one count; Exhale for 4… 3… 2… 1…. pause and find stillness for one count. Work to keep your breath smooth, steady and even. If you’re feeling any anxiety, panic or stress, do not practice this version of breath counting with the hold.

iii) You can also start to lengthen your exhales, making them slightly longer than your inhales. For example: inhale for 4; exhale for 6.

iv) In your mind, inhale and exhale as you count from 1 to 10. For example: inhale 1, exhale 2, inhale 3, exhale 4, inhale 5…, and so on. If you lose track of the count, just start again at 1 J When you get to 10, also start again at 1.

c) Any of the above with light sounds, white noise, or light music.

Experiment with gentle sounds of nature as background noise during your meditation. I love the ocean, and the sound of ocean waves is very calming for me, so I put on the sound of waves while I sit to meditate. Some people like the sound of rain, birds, wind in the trees, etc. This is something you can experiment with and observe how you feel with different sounds. Find a sound that elicits a calm and relaxation response from you. If you are experimenting with light music, I suggest something instrumental (lyrics can be distracting).

d) Use an App!

There are so many guided meditation apps to choose from. My personal favourite is Insight Timer. But there are many options (Calm, Headspace, Oak, etc). Within these apps you will find different lengths, styles, and teachers of meditation. This is a great option if you’d like to try some guided meditations before launching into your own practice, and can’t get into a live studio session.

6) What length of time?

Any amount of time you can give to this practice will be beneficial, but I do suggest trying for at minimum five minutes a day to begin. If you are concerned about time, I suggest setting a timer so you can drop in to your meditation and not worry about checking the clock. We all have busy schedules, so any more time you can put in for yourself above five minutes will really help you start to feel the benefits. Most days all I can squeeze in is 7-10 minutes in the morning and that suffices. When I have the luxury of more time on a slower day I like to sit for at least 15 minutes, and up to 30. Making the time to sit and find stillness for 5-10 minutes in the morning somehow manages to slow down my day.

7) Keep going!!

Whether you’ve decided to start practicing at home or in a studio, do your best to make your meditation practice a habit. Set a goal, carve out some time and space, and do it every day for 40 days. If you miss a day, don’t worry and don’t give up – just keep going. But commit yourself to 40 days to form this habit. You need to devote your time, energy, and consistency to have an embodied experience with meditation, and personally feel the benefits.

As you start to develop your meditation practice, experiment with different guided meditations, which can include chanting (Mantra or Kirtan), the devotion of kind thoughts to yourself or others, or repetitive finger or arm motions (referred to as active meditations) to help focus the thoughts.

Learn more and deepen your meditation practice with these resources:

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By Lauren C. Brady, SummerSalt Yoga teacher

“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind” – Patanjali

I never really thought of myself as a particularly fiery person until I met my ex. But something in him and something between us brought out that fire in all its guts and glory. Without going into too much personal detail, I learnt a lot about him and even more about myself during our four-year relationship, including and especially, just how much anger and volatility we could bring up in each other. We knew how to push each other’s buttons and by god did we push, and push, and push.

Needless to say, my emotions were up and down like a yo-yo during that time and it was only after we broke up and I dived deeper into my yoga practice that I realized just how destructive that was. I was also then that I realized that during my then-weekly yoga class was the ONLY time that I wasn’t thinking about or analyzing what was going on in our relationship.

Taking the first step on the eight-limbed path

After that realization, I started to see yoga as more than just a physical practice, and instead began to step-up my yogini game and test out other varieties of yoga styles around London. I still hadn’t ‘found’ meditation at this point, or at least I didn’t realize that the moving meditation of the physical practice was a technique in itself – strong enough to get me out of my monkey mind and into the present moment. Or withdrawing from my senses entirely and just observing what came up without becoming consumed it. It’s only now that I realize what I was doing is what Patanjali refers to as ‘Pratyahara’ or ‘withdrawal of the senses’.

If you’re not sure what I mean by this, take your mind to the end of your yoga class, Savasana. Initially, you relax physically; your heart rate slows down, the breath becomes more steady and natural as opposed to the contrived Ujjayi breath – and then comes Pratyahara…

“In the second stage of Savasana, you’re withdrawing from the external world without losing contact with it. This withdrawal is the experience of pratyahara. When you’re in it, you feel like you’re at the bottom of a well. You register the sounds that occur around you but these sounds do not create a disturbance in your body or mind” – Judith Lasater for Yoga Journal.

So what do we do when we’re going through a bad time? Spend every moment on the mat, right?

Not quite! Because what happens on the mat, is just a mirror of what happens in life. The great thing about all that extra practice time though is that when conflict comes up in real life, you are better equipped to deal with it.

Unfortunately, just because you’re a yogi doesn’t mean that suddenly life is all sunsets and unicorns, (in fact that airy fairy childish analogy irritates me somewhat, but that’s another post for another day). And as Judith so eloquently puts it;

“I realize that life involves interactions with other people, and that often those interactions include an element of conflict. In fact, I don’t even need another person to be in conflict. I can be, and occasionally am, in conflict within myself. Sometimes I’m tempted to withdraw to avoid these conflicts, but I know that this withdrawal is not what pratyahara is about….

In other words, no matter how much I practice meditation and postures and breathing, there will still be many times when I act in response to people and situations. Responding to the world isn’t a problem in and of itself; the problem comes when I respond with knee-jerk reactions rather than with actions that I choose” – Judith Lasater for Yoga Journal.

So let’s test that theory.

Last weekend at a festival I stumbled into my ex along with his new girlfriend and a bunch of their / my friends. We chatted, we caught up and then I said my goodbyes and walked away.

He followed.

We sat down in the grass and in that moment, no one else mattered. We talked of our love for each other and how no one else could compare (all this from the guy who could never talk about his emotions) and I was overwhelmed with how much I still loved this person despite everything we’d been though.

Two days later I received a text to say that despite everything he had said, he was staying with his girlfriend. I wasn’t surprised and in fact, I hadn’t wanted or even suggested that anyone break up, the whole situation had come out of the blue for everyone after all. But what surprised me more than anything was how I felt. I should have been angry, sad, furious even for saying all this to me and then just expecting me to forget it all in the harsh light of day when he realized the weight of what it all really meant. But instead, I felt fine.

Well, not fine exactly, but compared to the range of extreme emotions this guy used to create in me, I was expecting something more significant.

I sat. I waited. I analysed my reaction and thought to myself, ‘oh you’re just suppressing it, it will come out soon’. But no, nothing. As I carried on my week, I realised just how far I’d come and just how much my practice was helping me. Yoga isn’t just something you do on the mat for a few hours each week, it’s what you take off the mat and into the real world that is of true benefit.

So I got up on, threw on my yoga clothes and busted out some sun salutations under the guidance of my friend and fellow yoga teacher Frankie.

“Slow breathing is like an anchor in the midst of an emotional storm: the anchor won’t make the storm go away, but it will hold you steady until it passes” – Russ Harris.

Our favorite yoga books to dive deeper into the yoga philosophy and living yoga:

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By Vanessa Fleming, Summersalt Yoga teacher

Meditation. It’s everywhere you turn – people talking about it, people trying it, people saying, “Am I doing this right?” or even “I can’t stop my thoughts and sit still, so I can’t meditate correctly.”

First off, asking the question of right way or observing that one’s mind is completely all over the place is the absolute first step in cultivating a beginning step towards meditation.

So often, I am asked about meditation from students. How do they start? What’s a good source? I get it…there are so many things out there to get you on the path, but how do you know?

But before the practice even starts, I’d like to recommend a handful of resources to get you on the way, or at least get your curiosity started.

The Authentic Life: Zen Wisdom for Living Free from Complacency and Fear

by Ezra Bayda

I find this book so incredibly helpful. I read passages from it over and over again. Ezra Bayda is a meditation teacher in San Diego, CA. He has a very intricate way of putting concepts into practical and attainable terms, particularly for Westerners.

In the book, there is one recurring passage that stands out for me. Ironically, it’s in a chapter labeled, “The Eternal Recurrence.” The passage says:

There’s an old Zen saying: “Realizing the Way is hard. Once you have realized it, preserving it is hard. When you can perserve it, putting it into practice is hard….When we realize how hard a spiritual practice is, the initial honeymoon phase usually ends, especially if we believed that practice was going to save us from ourselves–from our fears and our distress. When we realize that our practice is not, in fact, going to ensure that we’ll permanently feel a particular way–such as calm or clear or compassionate–it is very easy to get discouraged. Some students leave the practice at this point. But for those who stick it out in spite of the discouragement, there can gradually come a dawning realization….

Gems of wisdom are planted throughout this book. It reads easily and touches on points of our basic understandings about ourselves, and deep-seeded beliefs that we are “fundamentally not okay.” (Chapter The Misguided Quest, p.86), which cause unnecessary suffering within our minds. Through this awareness, understanding the “Dilemma of Anger,” how to work through these, and what is beyond the seeing eye, Bayda paves a path towards understanding with his simple yet effective technique of writing about practice cultivation.

Bayda also refers to concepts Personal Love and Big Love, while recognizing the complete difficulty of unpacking what defines personal love. He refers to attachment and letting go, the Great Awakening, how to keep sight of the path, expectations and aspirations, and saying yes to fear.

The Authentic Life is broken down into 4 parts: The Territory and the Map, Awakening the Mind, Emotional Awakening, and Awakening the Heart.

Each comes with segues into the next section, and the all encompassing idea of this book is this: Letting it be. You’re merely a human in an human world, don’t get so hung up on trying to be anything else.

Towards the end, Bayda provides a “Letting it Be” Meditation practice. I won’t spoil it for you…go find it yourself!

A Still Forest Pool: The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah

(compiled by Jack Kornfield & Paul Breiter)

“Try to be mindful, and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful, rare animals will come to drink at the pool, and you will clearly see the nature of all things. You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go, but you will be still. This is the happiness of Buddha.” — Achaan Chah

A Still Forest Pool is a deeper look from the interpretation of Buddhism. Achaan Chah was a Thai Forest Monk. He wandered the forest for many years before he settled and created two monasteries.

While his teachings are not as simply put as Bayda’s, the message is still clear.

Achaan Chah dives deeper into the teaching of Buddha and references his message throughout. He spent his entire life dedicated to understanding the elements around Buddha’s enlightenment and insight.

This book is more suitable for someone who is ready to take on a deeper understanding of the practice of meditation, but it’s not so far deep–it’s still readable. I recommend this book for the “next step” after the practice begins.

Guided Meditation Practices by Jon Kabat-Zinn

http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/

Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of the leading modern-day Western practitioners in Mindfulness. Let’s face it, most of us can not just pick up and go sit in a monastery or a forest for months or years to learn how to quiet our monkey mind.

His method, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, is a highly popular technique for finding ways to de-stress and meditate in everyday, fast-paced life. Through the essence of adopting mindfulness, we can begin to achieve moments into the present.

Kabat-Zinn’s book, Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment – And Your Life, explores a range of techniques to begin, to deepen, to enrich and to continue a mindfulness based practice.

His website also includes a variety of resources, other books he’s written, MP3s available for download for meditation, and the like.

Alan Watts

Alan Watts was basically an Eastern man trapped in a Westerner’s body. The only problem I find with Watts is that because he’s Western, he over explains yet tries to simplify very heavy content and concepts of the practice. Watts follows the teachings of Zen Buddhism. I am currently reading The Spirit of Zen, and to be honest, I’m having a hard time with wrapping my head around it. Ironically, I’m off to a forest and have this book with me to see if I can concentrate on it, without the modern-day distractions.

Here’s a little taste of his lectures, referring to “Waking Up.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMRrCYPxD0I

I’ll report back once I finish The Spirit of Zen. For now, enjoy the dive into the next step! The hardest part is getting started…you’re more than halfway there.

In the words of my Thai Massage teacher, Pichest, with a fist over the heart and then raised to the sky….

“Gooooo!”

The post Meditation. De-mystify The Practice, One Resource At A Time appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

In talking to surfers who spend a large amount of time on the water riding the waves, for some of them the magic is in the catching of the wave, the surge of adrenalin and excitement that comes with gliding along the water. But for some, it’s also the spaces in between the waves, where they are sitting and feeling and looking when they feel most at peace, they feel the magic. This is when they are most connected to the largeness of life.

This is how I feel in those pauses on my yoga mat when I come to the top of my mat or rest my forehead on the ground into a child’s pose. When everything is able to integrate, to be absorbed, to settle into my bones. My nervous system is soothed, my breath slows down, my thoughts dwindle, returning to that feeling of just feeling, and being.

The ebb is the outgoing phase when the tide drains away from the shore; and the flow is the incoming phase when the water rises again. Both are equally necessary for a balanced sense of health and vitality. To release, and then refill. We need the balance between push and the pull, the effort and the ease, the yin, and the yang.

In fact, we create space in our bodies and our minds by moving in both directions. We inhale to lengthen and create space in our physical bodies, and we exhale to sink further into a pose, to twist deeper, to fold inward, to open outward. Mentally, we push in both directions when we struggle with our thoughts, when we feel positive than negative, frustrated then uplifted, emotional then clear-headed. Then we start to see the equalizing space between the push and the pull, or the positivity and the negativity, and we notice that we have the choice to rest in that space for a little longer each time, and this is our practice. When we discover that we can be at ease with ourselves in this present moment, without looking forwards or backward.

Think about your breath. When you breathe in deeply, is your breath smooth and rhythmic, or is it jagged and ragged? Notice the pauses at the top of your inhale. Notice the pauses at the bottom of your exhale. Rest easy in these spaces for a brief moment and enjoy them, without thinking about what comes next. The fullness at the top of the inhale. The emptiness at the bottom of the exhale. There is a space of stillness and quiet at our very center, and when we get very quiet we can see it, hear it and feel it, and then we start to realize that it is always available to us, behind all of the external pressures and stress, beneath any transitory emotions or sensations in our bodies or minds. The foundation of all of these things is stillness and silence, and it is always there if we can get quiet enough to hear it. The fluidity of our emotions and our situation is inevitable, but there is an earth-like quality that lies beneath it.

Find ease in your breath. Ease in your practice. Ease in your daily life. To go with the tide doesn’t mean to give up, it means to flow with the natural rhythm of life without forcing anything unnatural – breath, movement, words, actions. It means to do what comes naturally and to do what comes from our very center. To ebb and flow, to go fast, then slow, and to rest in the spaces between.

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What is meditation to you? How would you describe it to someone who has not had much or zero experience with it?

For me, meditation is a pathway to connecting with the present moment. Historically, my mind has always darted around constantly, jumping from the past to the future, and taking the highway right passed the present. So meditation doesn’t mean a perfectly quiet mind. Stillness doesn’t necessarily mean sitting still. It means tapping into something that works for you.

How do I meditate – that is a number one question people ask when suggested to try it. What key pointers could you give? Maybe a few different techniques? How often, how long, where should one meditate?

The idea of sitting still for a period of time is what most people find extremely daunting and seemingly impossible, which is completely valid and true. A person would not run a full marathon without training first. A person also would not train for a marathon without preparing the body properly, such as diet and prep exercise. Meditation is the same. Immediately going in to sit is just not going to produce results if you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve.

– Start off small. Anything can be meditation.

– Try sitting in a room with no TV, no phone, no computer, and bring your breakfast, lunch, dinner with you. Or even a snack. There is no distraction, just you and your food. Take a bite, and feel that bite. Find the flavors, the texture. How does your tongue react. How does your throat feel. This is the beginning process known as mindfulness.

– Another quick technique to start the process (it’s just a start, by no means will this bring all the answers) – bring your gaze to the tip of your nose. This is called Drishti in Sanskrit. Just stare at this point, see how long you can hold it. Start small! There is no reason to go sit right away. That will come.



Meditating is hard!! That’s another familiar sentence. How to not lose motivation?

It is hard! Know that. And know that there is no right or wrong. Acknowledgement is the first step. I once had someone say to me, “meditation is like sitting on a frozen lake with a fishing hole cut in the ice. You sit on the ice, sliding and sliding, trying to land on the hole. You come short, you overshoot. And then one time you’ll get to the hole and land it, and then you fall through the hole.” Acceptance is key to not losing motivation. It will always change shape and form. Some days are easier, some are harder. Find moments to embrace, even if it’s just 2 minutes.

When do I get to reap the benefits of a constant meditation practice?

There is no formula or time-frame. You can witness the effects after your first attempt. There are many different factors going in to your practice. From your body, to health, to the mental mind stuff. And unfortunately, you can’t be told when it will start to make sense. For me, it was like the light bulb turned on. It was so simple to see, once that light bulb came on. But I can tell you to try this or try that till I’m blue in the face. It will not create a timeline. The only thing I can say is this. The faster you can begin to unlearn what you know and start to let go of a goal, accept there is no goal, you’ll start to see what unfolds. 

How long did it take you to master meditation? Can you actually measure if you are good or bad in meditating?

I am far from a master. I am merely a practitioner. I don’t know that I’ll ever “master” meditation, but it’s a practice that can not be ignored or not taken seriously. I wouldn’t even say that I’m good at it. It’s immeasurable for me. I don’t always commit to the time. I have overshot and come short to the fishing hole many times. I often let my own ego get in my way and it hinders my meditation because I simply don’t do it when my ego is full on. So I’m working on shedding my ego. And I take moments to just be. I look at flowers, or I listen to birds, and in that I find meditation. I dance. Dance is my meditation. Will I ever be an enlightened being? It’s not my goal. But I am on the pathway to empowerment. To be the arbiter of my own destiny. To be…here. Now. And only right now. The past is fabricated and the future isn’t real. I feel my feet, I feel my face, and I feel the breath, and I’m alive. Only right now. 

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