Why everyone has to practice meditation

There is a great saying I heard recently. “Everyone should meditate for twenty minutes. If you don’t have time to meditate for twenty minutes, you should meditate for an hour”.

How busy are you?

How much “stuff” are you juggling in your life?

How busy is your mind?

If you are like most people you will answer that you are super busy, you are juggling a ton of stuff in your life and it is extremely difficult to calm your mind down because so much is happening in your life?

Sound familiar, probably because that is extremely common in this day and age.

It has been proven that we have over 60,000 thoughts a day. That’s a ton of processing going through our minds every waking moment. Honestly, with the fast paced society that we live in now, I wouldn’t be surprised if the number has dramatically increased. Fact is, there is too much mental processing going on too fast and it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay calm, focused and present.

Thankfully, there is a solution: Meditation

What is meditation?

For those who do not know, meditation comes in many forms. To keep it simple, we will divide meditation in two ways; moving meditation and stationary meditation. Both methods are effective so let’s touch base on each.

Moving meditation: A meditation that engulfs your mind, body and spirit into a single activity.

Have you ever performed an activity and lost yourself in what you were doing to the point where nothing else in life mattered? A moment where your mind is completely captivated and your body is working effortlessly and masterfully. Perhaps it was a sports activity you were engaged in or a moment at work where everything just went right.

I remember being a Taekwondo competitor at the US Team trials back in 1989 (Seems like a lifetime ago) and someone threw a technique at me and I responded and blasted them. I recall taking a step back and thinking “Holy cow, what just happened”. I had reacted so instinctively that it was way beyond physical effort, it was as if an energy flowed through me easily and effortlessly and I responded without thought. It seemed I was watching from above the match instead of in it. Has anything like that ever happened to you?

Many runners refer to this as “Runner’s high” or professional athletes refer this as “The zone”. It is a moment in time where your mind and body work as one and creates a spiritual experience such as the one mentioned above.

Most importantly, moving or active meditation gives you a mental escape from reality and gives you a respite from everyday life. That is why so many people feel mentally better when they leave a gym, go for a run or engage in some kind of activity.

Some moving meditations that are highly beneficial and know to have meditative benefits are:

Basically, any physical activity could be extremely meditative if you are mindful in the activity. It is when the mind is able to focus solely on the activity at hand that you are experiencing meditation. If a thought unrelated to the activity comes in, that’s ok and expected as long as you don’t put too much emphasis on it and waver from what you are doing. True engagement makes any activity meditative.

Stationary Meditation: Being still for time with eyes closed, deep breathing and calming the mind.

Stationary meditation could be performed a number of different ways. Most common is sitting meditation with many practicing meditation lying down and standing. Positioning is very important and it is best to have your back straight and erect when practicing so all of your energy points are aligned. (More on that in a later article)

Breathing: Most important for stationary meditation is deep abdominal breathing. Many people breathe improperly utilize only their lungs and not their diaphragm. We have to allow the oxygen to go deep into our system through the diaphragm to drive our breath. When doing so, you are able to oxygenate your system which in turn oxygenate your cells which will energize your body. Also, breathing is the avenue that moves energy throughout your body.

Relaxing: Another key element to stationary meditation is relaxing your body. Having a relaxed body allows the energy to flow effortlessly. When and where your body tightens up creates a blockage and the energy will not flow. That is why we must practice meditation so we are able to release the stresses of life and allow the mental energy to flow freely.

Internal energy, “Ki” or Chi” even known as “Prana” energy is like a garden hose. When there is a kink in the hose, the water cannot flow and will only likely trickle out. When we have stress, pressure and a mind full of endless thoughts and distractions, it is like a kink in a hose. When the garden hose is clear the water is able to flow at it’s maximum capacity. The same with our own internal energy, when the body is relaxed, energy flows without resistance.

Think about, this is especially evident when you take a shower. Do you get your best ideas in a shower? Probably yes. I hear that all the time because you are alone with your thoughts with the warm water nurturing and relaxing you.

We could experience the same thing through sitting meditation on a daily basis.

One last thing to note, when practicing any meditation, whether it be stationary or active, thoughts are going to come to you. The way to eliminate or decrease the entering thoughts is by not paying attention to them. If you focus on the incoming thoughts, you will create more activity in your mind. The goal is to allow the thoughts to roll in and roll without giving them any attention. As time goes on, the thoughts will be less frequent and you will be able to slow down your brain waves and calm your mind.

Now for the exciting news! Over the next few weeks we will dive deeper into effective meditation methods to help you live a calmer and happier life. Meditation is more important than ever and I am excited to share with you simple and effective ways to start.

Mark October 18th on your calendar as Empowered Mastery will be hosting the first ever “Quick Start to a Healthy You” Virtual Summit where we will have an array of expert speakers to share with you effective ways to live healthy and fulfilled lives. More to follow!

In the mean time, next article we’ll discuss on how to practice sitting meditation so sit tight and we’ll see you next article.

If you would like to get started on easy and effective ways to practice meditation,  Sign up for the FREE “Quick Start to a Healthy You Virtual Summit” or send me an email at cberlow@empoweredmastery.com and I’ll throw some tips your way.

All the best!

Sincerely,

Chris