What is meditation?
From the heart
You don’t have to be a Buddhist monk or religious in any way to meditate.
You also don’t have to sit in the lotus position, punishing your knees; for 30mins attempting to be Zen.
That said, if you want to become a Buddhist monk and if you are lucky enough to have knees capable of sitting in the Lotus position… then go for it!
My journey started by sitting on my bedroom floor with my legs out in front of me, closing my eyes and doing some deep breathing exercises that I created myself. If I am being completely honest, I had never meditated before and I did not know what I was doing!
What I thought was just going to be a bit of quiet ‘me-time’, turned out to be so much more!
I know now, after months of research and training; that my brain waves changed, I flooded my body with Oxytocin and Lowered my Cortisol levels significantly…quite the trio of amazingness and an amazing rush!
Since my first meditation I have been meditating at least twice a day and I have taken it upon myself to learn as much as I possibly can about the process and what benefits it has, if you want to know more on the benefits and the science behind meditation then click on the links below….
Friends & Family
With a healthier physique and a brighter outlook on life, I am often quizzed by my friends and family as to what has changed in my life to have sparked these changes. When I tell them that it’s meditation, the typical response I get is…
”I have never meditated before, what is it?”
My answer is always the same. Meditation can be whatever you want it to be!
I suggest that you give it a try today.
Set your intention for it to be a moment of calm, for yourself; in this busy bustling 24/7 world.
If that is all that meditation ever is to you, then this alone will be a wonderful thing!
Meditation has developed into so much more than this for me, after a very short time!
Why don’t you start things off by trying out some simple breathing exercises and see how you get on from there.
My Truth
It doesn’t matter if you have been meditating for 20 years or only 20minutes profound things can happen in an instant whenever you ready, so be open to be amazed.
What I can tell you about my meditation journey is that on the very first time I sat down to meditate; I had such a profound experience; that it changed the way I live my life ever since!
The changes I have implemented into my life since that first little meditation event have all be extremely positive. I believe that they have all stemmed from an understanding I developed that day of the ‘interconnectedness of all things’ which has given me a deeper respect for life.
Enough about me and my journey. How can I help you?
Meditation Courses
This website has been designed to allow you to start your meditation journey. If you wish to, you could take a 4-week course to really help you develop a proclivity in meditation.
Meditation is primarily about taking time for yourself. Giving yourself a little respite.
This may sound selfish at first, but if you truly think about it, the first step to helping or loving others is helping and loving yourself.
If you are a busy person with ‘no time to spare’ you can start with 5 minutes.
5 minutes is all that you need to give you self at first. You are worth 5 minutes of your time, aren’t you?
I can assure you that if you give yourself just 5 minutes every day for 1 week you will want to give yourself more!
Living in the Present...
Is what life is all about, when you meditate you should give yourself respite from procrastinating over the future or rehashing your past…you do this by noticing thoughts that come into your mind and allowing them to dissipate, safe in the knowledge that they can be thought again and dealt with after your meditation session.
Clearing your thoughts like this can be a challenge for some people and that is OK. As you get better at this you will be able to spend more time in the present moment.
Without the pain of the past or the fret of the future, what are you left with?
YOU! NOW!
When you take those uninterrupted minutes for yourself you are shifting your awareness into the now.
You can learn to appreciate how precious you really are, how connected you are to everything then maybe you too can start to live your life with a greater sense of purpose.
Ok… so you are ready to spend 5 – 10 minutes on yourself, what do you do now?
Breathing Techniques
The next step is to focus on your breathing, this is the most important part of your meditation when you inhale focus on your breath feel the way it enters through your nose and into your lungs, feeling any sensations that you may have, then on your exhale really allowing yourself to feel the breath leaving your body and how that feels.
When focusing on your breath you will notice different sensations around your body and this if perfectly normal just relax and let your breath guide you.
Conclusion
If you can manage to allow yourself 5-10 minutes a day following the above guide for at least a week you will see results.
If you struggle to start your journey it is always great to connect with a qualified meditation teacher to help you along your way.
Meditation courses we are fully trained and qualified to teach you meditation, we run half hour sessions for those who are finding it hard to make a start, or if you would like some variety in your meditation practice.
We run 4-week beginners courses, by the end of that course you will be able to have a regular meditation practice.
I hope that this has answered the question of what meditation is.
If you want to know more please contact us or on the link below or join a class and get involved.
All the best!
Jennifer@meditationcourses.co.uk
We hope you enjoyed our blog on: What is meditation?
