Meditation - doesn’t have to be complicated

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Meditation is often portrayed to be something incredibly difficult and in some cases something that takes years of practice and development.?After which, you are required to sit in a cave cross legged for hours at a time.?Well maybe I am exaggerating slightly!

How many of you though have wondered what meditation is all about – and inwardly longed to be able to access the inner peace and calm that arises from it?

1. What if we could do it – without over complicating it?
2. What if I even dared to say there is NO ONE RIGHT WAY of doing it?
3. What if you could start today and find it easier than you ever imagined?

Let’s start at the beginning – What is meditation?

Meditation can be different things to different people. Many different traditions use meditation as part of spiritual practice – and each has a different form of meditation and a different narrative around it.

Fundamentally, it is around focusing attention and awareness to create inner stability. It moves focus from something external – to internal. Ultimately, creating an inner stillness and silence (with moments where there are no perceptions, no thoughts, no ‘doing’, then we find a place where we can just ‘be’). However, the more you try not to think, the more we are thinking. Over time we can create a way of ‘coming home to ourselves’ by letting go of the need or effort to ‘do’ meditation.

It can involve some form of mindful awareness and stillness, music/sound, visualisatoins, the use of voice in a repeated phrase (mantra), focusing on internal sensations (eg heart beat), awareness of breath – and can also be done while walking and moving.

It is a way to find and access the space between thoughts – it has been said “You can enter these silent spaces between your thoughts, that gap in which ego based concerns disappear and the thinker, the process of thinking, and the object of thought are revealed as one” (Deepak Chopra)

What is the purpose of Meditation?

It is sometimes portrayed as a relaxation technique, but the reality is this is just one possible purpose. While it is about quietening the mind, it is not about stopping the mind from thinking. Thoughts will continue to form and come into your awareness. Meditation enables us to let them pass by, not getting caught up in the detail of them.

Meditation enables you to move out of the head brain and into the body. For some it enables you to access spirit / soul.

Different forms of meditation have been shown over time to improve levels of happiness, reduce stress and anxiety, reduce depression, enable deep body rest, enhance sleep quality, reduce PTSD, enhance self connection, enhance confidence, improve energy levels, enhance relationships, increase creativity, enhance memory and concentration – the list goes on.

From an mBraining perspective it equips you to access the other brains (heart, gut, pelvis and ANS) and can assist you to regulate and create calm and healing in the body tissues.

A Quick Introduction

Here is a simple first step – to guide you into a simple meditation so you can experience for yourself how easy it can be.

To start with set aside 5 minutes of time. Set a timer, so you can let go of the need to keep track of time. (If you find 5 minutes very easy, extend it to 10 minutes next time and gradually increase it over time to a length that is comfortable for you.)

Find somewhere quiet, where you can sit without interruption (or fear of being interrupted). Know there is no right or wrong here – no expectations – whatever arises is perfect.

1.Breathe out – allow your body to let go of the breath you are holding and just sigh as you breathe out, sending a message to your body all is well. You can pause now for 5 minutes.

2.Close your eyes (or if you prefer to keep them open – soften your gaze and look down slights)

3.Bring your attention to your breathing. No judgment – just notice. Feel the breath come in and out for 5 cycles. Notice what you notice (eg is the pace fast or slow? – is the air warm or cool? – where can you feel any movement from the breath [shoulders, ribs, tummy]? – do you notice any muscle tension?). With each cycle count each in and out breath.

4.If you want to extend the connection with your body – now bring your breathing into an even rhythm, so the in breath and out breath are the same length – and its easy. You may find a count of 4, 5, or 6 suits you – the key is in the even breath pattern. Allow this to continue for 3 minutes (estimated – no need to focus on exact timing).

5.As you settle into a breathing rhythm, you may find thoughts come to mind. Acknowledge them (you can even say I notice I am having a thought that XXX), then let it pass by. Some people like to see it as a cloud moving by, or a leaf in a flowing river. Just notice. Smile. Be aware with no judgement.

6.You may find your awareness is taken to a bodily sensation (an itch, a tension, an ache). Smile, and bring your awareness back to the breath.

7.You may find you are drawn into a feeling – again smile, acknowledge and bring your attention back to your breath.

8.When the timer alerts you (which I suspect will feel very quick) – re-orientate yourself to where you are – What can you see? What can you hear? What are you aware of?

If 5 minutes felt easy, extend the timer next time.?You can also extend the practice by focusing in on your heart, your gut, your pelvis and your ANS (Autonomic Nervous System – right out to the skin surface)..

For the heart – imagine you can breathe directly into and out of the heart space. You may find you sense colour, movement, words, metaphors. As with head brain thinking, smile, acknowledge and bring your awareness back to the breath.

For the gut – imagine you can breathe directly into the deepest part of your belly. Again, you may sense movement, feelings, words, colour – acknowledge and bring your attention back to your breath.

For the pelvis – imagine breathing right into the pelvic floor – you can sense your pelvic floor being gently pushed down on the in breath and raising on the out breath. Just be aware of what you feel and sense. You may feel heat for example. Smile, acknowledge and bring your awareness back to your breath.

For the ANS – the ANS is not located in one spot, so as you breath imagine the air flowing round your whole body from tip of head to tip of toes, right out to skin surface. Can you feel the air flowing right through and around you??If you find yourself trying to “understand” or cerate meaning – focus back on your breath and smile – begin again.

You can see how quickly time can pass.?

As you rise to continue the day – be aware of what has changed. What is different now? If you are into journaling, it’s a great idea to jot down your experiences and over time, notice what changes and emerges.

And celebrate – starting a meditation practice.?It really can be that simple to get going.

Dr Suzanne Henwood is the Director and Lead Coach and Trainer of mbraining4success (mbraining4success.com) and the CEO of The-Healthy-Workplace (the-healthy-workplace.com). She is one of two Master Coaches and Master Trainers of mBIT Globally and is passionate about helping people to deeply reconnect with themselves, healing old wounds, letting go of unwanted stress and releasing them to do more and be more in the world. She works with organisations to look at organisational connections, working to ensure psychologically safe workplaces, to reduce unhelpful stress and bullying and ensure future focused, modern leadership that is sustainable into the new world as it emerges. If you would like to know more head over to mbraining4success.com (where you can also download a free eBook on mBraining); the-healthy-workplace.com; mbrainingglobal.com, or get in touch directly with her at [email protected].