by Nina
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| The Promise by Rene Magritte |
My confession: I am really bad at meditating. And by that I don’t mean my mind wanders a lot when I’m meditating (which I do not consider being bad at meditating). I mean that I just can’t seem to maintain a regular meditation practice. I’ve tried countless times. I’ve made a vow, started practicing short sessions every day, and then petered out.
Of course, I’ve wondered why this is. It was actually really easy for me to start regular asana practice at home. And once I get going, it is often hard to stop. Practicing for two hours when I have the luxury of the free time is really easy for me. So, the problem is not related to being uncomfortable spending time alone or anything like that. I’m guessing that the problem is that while practicing asanas makes me feel good immediately as well as after the fact, practicing meditation does not. I find it boring and aggravating during the session, and after the session I so far have not noticed any increases in equanimity or peacefulness.
Yet I still feel like this is something very worth pursuing. Did you read Ram’s post Brain Waves and Yoga this week? I found it utterly fascinating and revelatory. I originally trained to be a yoga teacher so I could help people practice yoga for emotional well-being. And when I started this blog, I had a lot of information on that topic I wanted to share. But while I had some information about why yoga helped people with stress, depression, anxiety, fear, grief, etc., for example, how about how yoga triggered the relaxation response, there were still some mysteries about how an asana session could make you feel less depressed. Then in Ram’s post, I saw this:
“Depressed, introvert people have more alpha brainwaves in the left temporal lobe, while chirpy, gregarious people have more alpha waves in the right side. Thus, yoga-associated increase of alpha brainwave in the right temporal lobe provides a natural setting to counteract stress and depression. (See Effects of yoga on brain waves and structural activation: A review.)”
Wow, it was actually mind-blowing to read that yoga changed your brain waves and that this helped counteract depression along with stress! I checked the abstract for the study, which said:
“It was concluded that breathing, meditation, and posture-based yoga increased overall brain wave activity. Increases in gray matter along with increases in amygdala and frontal cortex activation were evident after a yoga intervention. Yoga practice may be an effective adjunctive treatment for a clinical and healthy aging population.”
Two points stand out. First, they studied a combination of breathing meditation, and asana, not just asana. And second they also proposed this practice for “healthy aging,” which is probably due to the increases in “gray matter along with increases in amygdala and frontal cortex activation.”
So many benefits! And I’d really like to dig into it that all more the future. But for now, let’s look at Ram’s conclusion:
“Thus, a combination of breathing practices, meditation, and asanas is sufficient to shift the brainwave pattern to a physical and mental state involving reduction in stress, anxiety, mood disturbances, and depression and improvements in mood, focus, alertness, and an over-all sense of well-being.”
Again, we’re looking at a combination of practices, not just asana. So, I’d really like to add a regular meditation practice to my life to see what it does for me. Who knows what my asana practice will become as I age? And I expect to face many life challenges in the future. Meditation is something that would always be available to me, no matter what.
What I have decided to do this time is something different. I’m going to start my practice in the new year in a public fashion by posting a meditation diary once a week. I’m hoping that making a public commitment will help me stay on track for a good while, and maybe even help other people who want to do the same. My meditation diary will be on a different blog (not here), and I will announce its location this coming Monday, so stay tuned for that. If you want to join me in starting a practice, you can comment on my diary posts with your own weekly report. This will be a kind of virtual support group! And, of course, if anyone just wants to chime in with advice, encouragement, or support of any kind, that would also be very welcome.
What do you think? Does anyone out there want to join me?
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I go through periods of less discipline with a formal sitting practice. I think you do have a meditation practice, just not a sitting meditation. It’s in your walks, photos, writing possibly. The Insight Meditation app is a great facilitator. It has a journaling function if you’d like to try a private journal before a public one. There are also a zillion guided meditations and some cool gongs and easy to use.
Thanks, Sharon. That's an interesting perspective, and I certainly aim for mindfulness in my daily life. However, I still feel like I want to give a formal practice a serious try. I will check out the app. I hadn't really thought about guided meditations, actually.
I agree with everything Sharon O says including using Insight Timer. Guided meditations help when I am particularly edgy or easily distracted (which can be often). Lots of yoga Nidra on Insight. I’m excited to follow along.
I also love Insight Timer, there are just so many different variations you can use. It's really worth checking it out and using it for awhile. I have been so much more regular at meditation since using it. I use many of the ones that are guided for sleep which are really helpful.
I've been using the Waking Up app, with Sam Harris, daily for about a month now, and really like it. He teaches, guides and has "lessons" related to the practice of meditation. (Also a timer for independent practice.) I do find that, like with yoga, the state of being mindful begins to permeate into other areas of your life, so your practice expands, as Sharon seems to suggest.
I applaud your efforts to start a meditation practice. I meditate every morning and it helps me start the day feeling centered. Is there a particular technique that you use when you sit to meditate? I’ve led meditation workshops and can share info from them if you’d like. Your comment that you are bored and aggravated while meditating shouldn’t be happening—sounds like you need to try new methods.
I'm with you Nina! I love your blogs – I've come to notice what you write about usually speaks to me in very timely ways, and this is no exception. Lately I've been more successful with my meditation practice, and I've seen more benefits (peace, less reactivity, etc). But I'm still not consistent. And in fact, for me, it does tie into the 'worthiness' thing where others' needs are more important than mine, therefore meditation happens only if there's time around that. So sharing this commitment 'out loud', if you will, with others, with you, I suspect would be a helpful tool. I look forward to your leadership -or facilitatorsip – or whatever you come up with!
I think of yoga asana mindfully linked with breath as a moving meditation. Also I have found metta (aka lovingkindness) practice to be very powerful. I too like Insight Timer app.-has variety of options including timer with bells and many guided meditations. Tara Brach's website has a large collection of free meditations & talks. Deep bow-
I am finding exactly the same thing, so would love to read/share experiences! Useful suggestions on apps here…
Dear Nina,
Yes, as part of my own meditation practice, I would be interested in hearing about yours via your diary. After years of taking various workshops, on-line classes, listening to guided meditations and even taking the very expensive course of MBSR (Mind-Based Stress Reduction) and also as part of my yoga-teacher training, I finally found the best (in my opinion) method. About two years ago I found the course and after taking it have been a pretty steady meditator. Of course, I have days I do not, however, for the most part it is my goal and accomplishment. She is an extremely talented meditator and my meditation practice entirely changed and is even changing my life one moment and one day at a time. The teacher has a book coming out in February of 2019. You may contact me if you have any other questions, or look out for her meditation book the beginning of next year. Thank you for everything you contribute in this blog and your generosity in all you do, write and share. I truly appreciate you. Most sincerely, Dee – RYT200 and YFHA certificate holder.
Rod Stryker has an amazing new app – Sanctuary. Provides so many great guided meditations and yoga nidra practices – suggest looking into this!