This past month I had the privilege of co-leading a yoga retreat in the Penedès mountains in Spain. During our opening circle, we asked participants to share a few things about them including how long they had practiced yoga and meditation. I was curious to find out that while yoga experience in our group ranged from a few weeks to 30+ years, only a handful named meditation as a regular personal practice.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and last Tuesday was World Meditation Day, a day that occurs annually on May 21st to advocate for and celebrate the practice of meditation as a tool that has been supporting health and well-being for thousands of years. As a yoga practitioner, I have studied and practiced seated meditation (at times with more or less discipline) since I was in college. But as we know, life gets messy, and since becoming a mom, a partner, an educator and a person navigating life with a traumatic brain injury, meditation has shown up for me in somewhat different ways.
I understand the person who says, “Meditation just isn’t for me.” The way that meditation is sometimes presented often does not feel particularly accessible. If we think of meditation as something that must be done in a prescribed way – in an uncomfortable seated posture, in perfect stillness, with eyes closed, with a “calm mind,” on a fancy meditation cushion, in a quiet room, for a certain amount of time without disruption (you get the drift)… then meditation might not feel like it realistically fits within the chaotic structure of our everyday lives. Certainly meditation can look this way, and there is a rich ancient history and science that supports the value of regular silent seated meditation for the body, mind and spirit. I have personally experienced the many benefits of classical meditation throughout my own life. However I believe it is possible for us to honor the roots and intention of this ancient tradition while also broadening our lens to make the practice more accessible.
If you wish to incorporate seated meditation into your routine, the first step in making this practice accessible is letting go of a lengthy time expectation (start with 3-5 minutes) and, perhaps most importantly, finding a comfortable posture. Consider these options provided by Jivana Heyman, founder of the Accessible Yoga School in his most recent article for Yoga Journal, “4 Accessible (and Comfortable) Sitting Postures for Meditation”.
A proper meditation practice however, does not require finding a seat at all. You might meditate lying down, standing up, in stillness or in movement. You might find meditative qualities in walking, biking, paddling, swimming, baking, gardening, making art or music, dancing, sitting by still waters, gazing up at a cloudy sky or watching a bonfire burn. The practice of mindfulness meditation can take many different shapes. It is by definition, being aware of the present moment. This might sound too simple. In theory it is. But think about how often we go about our day in a mindless state of being–on auto-pilot, thinking about what’s next rather than what’s right in front of us. When we notice that we are distracted, when we remember to draw our mind back to what’s present, over and over again, we are practicing mindfulness. Traditional meditation, even when practiced for a few minutes per day can help us develop this skill by gently directing our mind back to the breath, a focal point, a mantra, places of physical contact or to another sensory input. But you might also do this while washing your hands, rocking your child to sleep, taking a walk in the woods, or listening to a friend. This is what our meditation practice is for at the end of the day– to elevate all of our lived moments, not just our moments in quiet solitude.
On one of our day trips while on retreat, we hiked to the top of Montserrat, the rocky mountain with a 1000-year-old monastery built into its side (see the attached photo) – a pretty magnificent “peak moment” for all involved. At one point, the trail became less predictable and a few members of the group became uncertain about their footing, questioning whether they would be able to make it to the top. Our guide paused to remind us, “Hiking is not about making it from point A to point B. It is about being present in all of the spaces in between. Right now, do not think about the celebratory beer you might have in the bar later this afternoon, or even about what it will feel like to reach the top. Just be where you are with every footstep.” This is where life happens after all, isn’t it? In all the spaces in between.
While routine is without a doubt important for health and wellness, to respond to the ebbs and flows of life, our meditation or mindfulness practices might be as fluid and ever-changing as we are. So that we might live more fully, not only in the grandest peak moments, but also in the valleys, and all of the little hills and rocky roads in between. Today, on this day outside of World Meditation Day, on just another ordinary day of the year, I invite you to be where you are, whatever that means for you. Allow yourself to explore how meditation, in all its shapes and forms, might show up for you in this particular season of life.
