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Meditation is a practice that has been used throughout time to find relaxation and peace in the middle of a stressful period. Certified Yoga Instructors Jenny Arrington and Mara Ingerham share the benefits of meditation and easy ways to find your center when first trying the practice.
Q: What is the importance of meditation?
Jenny: The greatest benefits we get from practicing meditation are in how we learn not to be a slave to our own thoughts. Of course we can have creative, exciting, loving, expansive thoughts, but most of us have fearful, degrading, self-limiting, “I’m not good enough” thoughts that inhibit our ability to live our fullest, most joyful life. Mediation is not about controlling our thoughts, it’s about not allowing them to control us.
The larger impact can be on a civil societal level in that if a significant number of people meditate regularly, we have more people in the world who are operating from love and true awareness rather than fear. People operating from fear create panic and violence. People operating from love and awareness choose compromise and connection.
Mara:I believe that meditation is an extremely beneficial tool to ground oneself, take a bit of time to just "stop" in the middle of a hectic day and calm down our nervous system and subsequent worrying. Meditation allows us to meet the demands and responsibilities of our life from a grounded perspective. Our nervous systems reacts in fight-or-flight mode in response to nearly anything that comes our way. We learn to control our reactions and, thereby, experience contentment and happiness in our lives.
Q: What do you do before you meditate?
Jenny: I usually practice pranayama which is breath work. There are so many to choose from including alternate nostril breathing which involves doubling the length of the exhale, breath of fire, breath retention, or a combination of all of those. There is one practice where we inhale for five seconds, exhale for five, then hold with lungs empty for 15 seconds.
Ideally, I practice some asanas before meditation as well. Historically and traditionally, asanas are preparation for meditation. That’s the whole point of them. Detoxing, and getting the body flexible enough and strong enough to sit with crossed legs in meditation. This is another point the new yogi who shows up to a Vinyasa flow class isn’t aware of. It’s not a yoga butt that we’re here for, it’s to prepare us for meditation.
Mara: I like to take a hot shower or bath before I meditate to clear off energy from the day. That act of self-care sets the perfect tone for a meditation session.
Q: How often do you recommend meditating?
Jenny: Ideally we’d all meditate for 62 minutes a day. I realize most people are not ready to carve out the time for that. Twenty minutes is a good goal to work towards for someone who wants to get some benefits, but isn’t needing major changes in their life.
Mara: I think a realistic goal would be to meditate 10 minutes first thing in the morning to get our minds in a positive place, 10 minutes mid-day to just stop (think pre-school nap time) and in the evening for at least 10 minutes as well.
Q: What is your advice to those meditating for the first time?
Jenny: I highly recommend going to a guided meditation with a good teacher if someone is just exposing themselves to meditation. A good teacher will offer many ways to meditate so a new student can see what kinds of cues resonate with them. I always make sure a new student gets to experience everything from visualizations to mantra to chanting, many different ways to use the breath as a focal point, and even my personal least favorite, counting. The key to both of these recommendations is that a first timer should go with a guided mediation rather than read a book about it and try it in a silent room. They may end up sitting quietly in a silent room but their mind will most likely be racing and no meditation will happen.
Mara: My advice for first-time meditators is to just be the observer to thoughts, fears, anxiety, sadness, joy or any emotion or thought, without trying to analyze it, fix it, or judge it at all. This is very challenging, I know. Meditation is about finding your center in the middle of chaos, to recognize that you don't have to add more fuel to the raging fire and that you, yes you, can come to moments of equanimity and peace.
Q: Do you have any tips/tricks to ease the mind?
Jenny: My favorite trick is so easy, it takes only a couple of minutes to start taking effect, and it can be done in a crowd of people with nobody knowing you are doing it. It turns on the parasympathetic nervous system and also is the most efficient way to slow down our heart rates. Just take your deepest inhale and count it. Whatever that count is, have your exhale be double that count. So if your inhale is three counts, slow down your exhale to six counts. You may find you need to gently constrict the throat to help slow down that exhale. You may also find that you need draw the belly button in towards the spine at the end of the exhale to really squeeze out every last drop and make the full count.
Mara: My recommendation is to have no expectations. Be curious, open and nonjudgmental. Remember that meditation is not about clearing our minds of all thoughts, as that is not even possible. Set yourself up in a comfortable position using pillows or yoga blocks to support you and find a space in your home that makes you happy. That may be a specific room, a window that allows the sun to come in or even a small corner that makes you feel safe.
Recommended books & apps:
- Any book, audiotape or video by Tibetan Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron.
- With the Headspace App, Andi Puddicombe leads a guided meditation.
- Try out 80 different guided meditation tracks with Buddhify App.