Four Easy Ways to Meditate — You’re Probably Already Doing It!
Does the thought of meditation make you roll your eyes, groan, sigh, or switch off completely? Why is that? Meditation has a stigma of being too hard, boring, or even a waste of time. And so we look for a reason to avoid it, something like,
“I tried it, but I‘m just not the meditating type.“
The thing is, we all meditate in our own kind of way, often without realising that we are actually doing it. I learnt only later in life that what I had been doing habitually since childhood was actually meditation.
To demonstrate how easy it is to meditate, here are four everyday kinds of meditation that you may be able to identify with. You might be surprised to find that these examples of relaxation are meditation, and you may be happy to know that none of them involve sitting cross-legged under a tree chanting “Om”.
Meditation doesn’t have to be sitting in lotus under a tree and chanting “Om”.
As you read through these techniques, ask yourself,
“Am I already doing this?”
1 – Mindfulness
It’s 5 am. Bright moon beams reflect on the diamond white snow in the mountains near our house, making Thomas‘s head torch redundant. The only noise echoing through the valley is the click of his skis. He looks up to the peak and scans his route through the pine trees. Their needled arms stretch out in greeting, weighed down with fresh snowflakes. It‘s -15‘C, but the climb has raised his temperature. So he takes off his jacket and stuffs it in his rucksack, his warm exhale puffs a tiny cloud into the crisp air. Thomas sets off again and finds his rhythm. Plant left pole, slide right foot. Plant right pole, slide left foot, With ease he glides up the mountain, skate and push, skate and push, the effect is hypnotic. He concentrates on the movement and continuity, keeping his breathing calm and in time with his steps: left, right, left, right. In doing this, his attention and actions synchronize, as he zigzags up towards the moon.
For my husband, Thomas, this natural state of flow – where brain, breath and body become one – came through the rhythmical effort of ski touring. But this is something that can be experienced through other physical activities too, like jogging, swimming, biking, lifting weights, and doing yoga. When your movement links to the timing of your breath and your thoughts are lulled into quietness, you have entered a meditative trance. These instances of physical presence, even for just a few seconds, are known as ‘mindfulness’. And mindfulness is a type of meditation.
2 – Trataka Meditation
Three triangular blocks of pinewood forge an open pyramid in the centre of the cast-iron, glass-fronted log burner. The flames dance outward, their heat gently heating the grey, marble top. My ten-year-old daughter, Matilda, runs towards me, excited by the fire, and her energy lifts me like a thermal wind as she crosses the wooden floor. She approaches and snuggles her little bottom on my lap, her back nestled into the softness of my breasts, her knees tucked into my lap as I spread my soft cardigan around her like a blanket and sink back into the chair. Matilda watches the red embers, floating up and disappearing into the chimney. Every cell in her being quietens to stillness as she stares at the dancing blaze. Her pupils reflect the glow of the fireplace, and I notice that our lungs now expand and fall in unison. Matilda sits still without blinking, lost in time, her imagination vacant, unaware of the past or the present, the images of the hearth mirrored in her green eyes. She gazes at the everchanging burnt-orange ribbons of colour escaping the blue blaze.
The type of meditation Matilda was doing is ‘Trataka’ meditation and involves staring at an object, unblinking, and bringing the mind into awareness. The element doesn’t have to be fire. Have you ever concentrated on rain fall, felt mesmerised by waves crashing on the shore, watched water pour over rocks in a little stream, or even paused to look at sunbeams flickering through the canopy of a forest? These are all beautiful moments of Trataka meditation.
If you watch waves crash on the shoreline and let their rhythmical movement and sound quieten your mind, then you are practicing Trataka meditation.
3 – Anapanasati Meditation
Samantha lights the scented candles around her bath and steps into the foaming lavender bubbles. She submerges into the slightly too hot tub. This sacred daily ritual is her luxury, her gift to herself. She closes her eyes and relishes the sense of lightness in the water. As she breathes in, her lungs fill with air and her chest rises to the surface as she becomes more buoyant. As Samantha breathes out, her lungs deflate and she sinks down under the water. She repeats this, gently lifting as she inhales and lowering as she exhales, her ears dipping below the water line, muffling the fizz of the popping bubbles.
What Samantha experienced is a meditative technique called ‘Anapanasati’, which is a type of Buddhist meditation with a focus on the breath and the sensations caused by the journey of the breath in the body. Any moment when you are sitting or standing and you are focusing all your attention on the breath, feeling the air enter your nostrils, noticing the expansion of your chest as you fill your lungs, this is Anapanasati meditation.
4 – Transcendental Meditation
It’s midnight and all is dark and quiet in my grandmother’s house, apart from the tick, tock of the wooden cuckoo clock in the lounge downstairs. My thirteen-year-old self rolls over on the bottom bunk and pulls Grandma’s orange, bobbly bed throw over my cold shoulders. The pulse of the clock reminds me of that night when I was only seven. I remember his beard itching my neck, his beer breathe, his fat belly pinning me down, “You like it don’t you?” he kept asking as he forced himself between my legs... “No!” my mind screamed inside. ”No.” Rocking back and forth in the bunk bed to the rhythm of the cuckoo clock, I whisper in silence, “No, no, no.” This secret mantra helps me block the memories, the chant overriding my thoughts.
What I was doing to move away from painful memories is known as ‘Transcendental’ meditation (sometimes referred to as TM), which is an approach from the Vedic tradition in which a word or sound is repeated to calm the mind and avoid distracting thoughts. Perhaps you too have repeated a word in your mind to focus your thoughts?
The Benefits of Meditation
If you have ever experienced anything similar to the examples I’ve mentioned above, then you are already an advanced meditator.
It doesn’t need to be a difficult task you struggle through. You don’t need to set aside hours to practice. Meditation is about finding those minutes and activities during your day when you can tune in and synchronise the body, breath and mind.
There is no single formula or way to meditate. Rather, there are many ways and techniques to suit everyone. Find yours and enjoy it. Really let yourself get lost in the occasion, forget your schedule, and nourish your soul.
Meditation is proven to reduce depression, relieve stress, lower blood pressure, improve sleep, and more. Research has even shown that meditation can increase your immunity against illnesses. You can see why it’s worth giving it a try.
If you’re interested in trying a meditation, click the link here to unlock a free meditation.
Happy meditating!
Light & Love,
Heidi