Perhaps you know a few meditation techniques, but you haven’t really begun to practice them because you can’t sit still for more than a few minutes, let alone 5, 10, or even 15.
Maybe your back or your knees start hurting, and you worry you may be doing yourself irreparable harm. Or your body starts itching in the oddest places, and you can’t resist the urge to scratch. Or every sound reaches your ears magnified a thousandfold — in Dolby stereo, no less — and you start imagining burglars or leaky faucets behind every door.
Perhaps you had a teacher (or a mother or father!) who made you sit at your desk until you finished your schoolwork, and now even the thought of having to sit without moving makes you squirm uncomfortably.
Yes, the simple act of sitting still is guaranteed to flush out every ounce of restlessness you never knew you had. And, yes, meditation works best when you can keep your body relatively motionless and your back relatively straight. So what to do?
In my next posting, you will explore the topography of meditation and find out what sitting still has to teach you. You discover some great techniques for straightening your spine without hurting your back. And you have an opportunity to practice some dynamite yoga poses for lengthening and relaxing the muscles most involved in sitting — so you can sit still longer, and enjoy it more!
Thursday, 9 October 2008
How Can I Find the Time to Meditate in My Busy Schedule?
Ah yes, the perennial issue: time! Well, the great thing about meditation is that it doesn’t really take all that much time. You can begin by practicing for five or ten minutes each day. Mornings are generally best, at least to start. You may want to sandwich a little quiet time between brushing your teeth and taking a shower. Or if you’re an early bird, you can enjoy the precious moments of stillness before the rest of the family wakes up.
Whatever time slot works best for you, the most important thing is to meditate regularly — every day if possible, give or take a day here or there (and some time to sleep late on Sundays). The reason for this recommendation is not to turn you into an automaton, but rather to give you an opportunity to enjoy the wonderful benefits of meditation, such as reduced stress and greater focus. Like lifting weights or practicing a musical instrument, meditation doesn’t really have an impact unless you keep it up and keep it regular.
As you meditate consistently over the days and weeks, you may begin to notice little changes in your life — moments of ease or peace or harmony you may not have experienced since childhood, if ever. And the more you benefit from your meditation practice, the more you’re going to feel motivated to carve out the time — and perhaps even extend the niche from 5 or 10 minutes to 15 or 20.
Whatever time slot works best for you, the most important thing is to meditate regularly — every day if possible, give or take a day here or there (and some time to sleep late on Sundays). The reason for this recommendation is not to turn you into an automaton, but rather to give you an opportunity to enjoy the wonderful benefits of meditation, such as reduced stress and greater focus. Like lifting weights or practicing a musical instrument, meditation doesn’t really have an impact unless you keep it up and keep it regular.
As you meditate consistently over the days and weeks, you may begin to notice little changes in your life — moments of ease or peace or harmony you may not have experienced since childhood, if ever. And the more you benefit from your meditation practice, the more you’re going to feel motivated to carve out the time — and perhaps even extend the niche from 5 or 10 minutes to 15 or 20.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Meditators Live Longer and Age Better
In another of the many studies to emerge from the TM (Transcendental Meditation) movement, researchers reporting their results in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Alexander et al., 1989) found that older people who practiced meditation had improved cognitive and behavioral abilities and lived longer than those who did not. Seventy-three residents of eight homes for the elderly, with an average age of 81, were randomly assigned to four different groups. One group received no treatment; the other three received one of three treatments that were quite similar in structure and expectations:
- The Transcendental Meditation program
- Mindfulness training in active distinction making (not to be confused with mindfulness meditation)
- A relaxation (low mindfulness) program
On measures of associative learning, cognitive skills, mental health, aging, and behavioral flexibility, the TM group fared significantly better than the other three. And after three years, the Transcendental Meditation group had a survival rate of 100 percent, compared with 87.5 percent for the mindfulness training group and lower rates for the relaxation group and the non-meditating group. Not only will you live longer if you meditate, this study suggests, but your mind will stay sharper and you’ll be less prone to depression and other mental-health problems.
- The Transcendental Meditation program
- Mindfulness training in active distinction making (not to be confused with mindfulness meditation)
- A relaxation (low mindfulness) program
On measures of associative learning, cognitive skills, mental health, aging, and behavioral flexibility, the TM group fared significantly better than the other three. And after three years, the Transcendental Meditation group had a survival rate of 100 percent, compared with 87.5 percent for the mindfulness training group and lower rates for the relaxation group and the non-meditating group. Not only will you live longer if you meditate, this study suggests, but your mind will stay sharper and you’ll be less prone to depression and other mental-health problems.
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