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Sunday, January 25, 2009

Do Not Disturb the Water

We see the mirror of ourselves in still water, not rushing water. I view my mind as the surface of a lake. Sometimes, it is as busy as prime boating season, with ski boats racing everywhere, and jet skis buzzing around. At other times, it is rippling endlessly, courtesy of a perfectly cast skipping stone. And still, there are those precious, wondrous times when the surface of that sapphire lake is a looking-glass mirroring the endless sky above. It is in those moments that I catch a glimpse of my soul...and smile at its beauty. May your meditation lead your mind to this unstirred water.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Meditation is hard!

I smile patiently and understandingly when I get that response from non-meditators. Ahh, patience. There's a simple, non-threatening word that most of us need more of. After all, everything we learned required some amount of patience. We didn't learn to tie our shoes in one day, although most of us don't remember that far back. Of course, kids today just Velcro their shoes. Meditation is no different than learning any other skill. It requires perseverance, patience and focus. We are re-training our minds to not think or judge. Notice I didn't say "stilling" the mind. I believe that is too lofty a goal when beginning to meditate. Let's just aim for not thinking or judging for now. That should be enough to keep your mind doing something. Because your mind wants to keep busy, have no doubt about it. As a test, try to stop thinking right now and aim to still your mind. The Buddhists call this "monkey mind". As soon as you've made the decision to stop the mind's fluctuations, it starts jumping around like a monkey from tree to tree. The most bizarre thoughts may come into your head, things you haven't thought about in years! I'm pretty amused with my mind when that happens.
Just tell yourself "Oh, just judging again" or "There's that monkey mind" and see where the mind takes you. It's called noting and is quite useful at consciously becoming mindfully aware. Try this for 5 minutes, aiming for once a day or at least 3X over the next week.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Just Breathe!

One of the first stress management techniques I teach my students is breathing. It's easy to learn, can be done anywhere, anytime and is extremely effective. Diaphragmatic breathing involves the upper & middle chest and abdominals. Separate the breath in thirds on the inhale and the exhale. One third for abdominals, one third for middle chest and one third for upper chest. Keeping the mouth closed at all times (unless you have sinus issues), inhale through the nose and into your belly. Place one hand on your belly and feel it rise with the inhalation. You will notice your middle chest expand as it fills and last, your upper chest. Hold the breath for a count of three. Exhaling through the nose, exhale from upper chest one third of the breath out, then move to your middle chest and feel that collapsing, and finally squeeze all the breath from your belly. Hold the breath for a count of three at this point and then inhale again and repeat the process. If possible, shut your eyes and focus on body awareness and where the breath is moving. A good rule is to inhale to a count of six, hold for a count of three, exhale to a count of six or eight, hold for a count of three and repeat. Continue this breathing pattern for five to ten rounds.
When we slow down the breath, we send a message to our brain that we are not stressed. This stops or slows down the stress response.
The more you practice this technique, the more immediate your relaxation response will be.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Keeping those pesky New Years' resolutions

One of the best tips I heard recently about keeping a resolution was to commit to it until Valentine's Day. Seems like a reasonable time frame, and gives me a goal to reach for. The other tip was to be very specific and realistic about that resolution. It's not enough to say, " I'm going to exercise more" or " I will lose 20 lbs. by spring". Set a smaller goal for weight loss and be specific about how many days per week to exercise. As a lifelong exerciser, my way of keeping myself on track is to keep an exercise calendar. After every workout, I write it down. Towards the end of the week, I can see if I need to throw in an extra cardio or yoga day in. I keep the calendar somewhere visible so I can't ignore it :). Life happens, so cut yourself a break if you falter once in a while on that resolution. Happy New Year!