Daily Meditation Practice

The Importance of a Daily Sitting Meditation Practice

I find that it is becoming more important with each passing day for me to have a Meditation practice. With my days getting busier, rushing from one class to the next or eating snacks on the go so I am not late for my next appointment, I find that the quiet time that I can grant myself before leaving home is increasingly essential to my well being.

When I started practicing Yoga, I was more interested in the physical aspect of it: the relaxation I felt in my body, the elated experience that arises from discovering what my body can do. However, almost immediately I notice that it brought along some very pleasant and most appreciated side effects. When I left class, I felt less stressed, my mind was less cluttered, and I somehow achieved a mental clarity that I didn’t have before entering the room. Pretty soon I was hooked, not because of the asanas that the teacher would challenge me with, but for this stress-relief and mental clarity. Later, I learned that this came as a result of the power of the breath to integrate the body and mind in a way that is not possible when we are bombarded by the demands of our daily lives. This was happening all on its own without my effort.

It was only later that I was introduced to meditation as part of a Yoga class, and then as a stand-alone practice. This strange and unfamiliar territory felt amazing and I found myself wondering why this was not taught to us in schools. I learned that with a concerted effort at paying attention to the breath while sitting absolutely still, one can enhance the awareness of oneself. One can learn the nature of one’s mind. One can start to understand the unconscious patterns of behavior in his own life. The art of Meditation empowers you to start living the life you want to live consciously, instead of letting life happen to you.

Some people turn to meditation for peace and calm in a hectic and sometimes seemingly chaotic world. Some people turn to meditation because they feel that there is something more to life than just living from paycheck to paycheck in order to pay bills. They are in search for the meaning of life. Some people turn to meditation because of a major event that happened in their life and someone told them that it would help. Others simply stumble upon it and are curious to find out more. Regardless of the motivations that people have in coming to it, the practitioners I have talked to have express that what they gained when they stuck with it was more than what they ever expected to gain. That being said, meditation is a practice that requires strength, courage, determination, perseverance, discipline, faith and focus. It is not an easy path.

A lot of people get discouraged because they come to the experience with specific expectations and a timeline already set in their minds. I learned very quickly to approach each sitting as a completely new experience, with a child-like curiosity, and without expectations about what I will experience. In other words, I learned to approach my sitting without an agenda. Once I learned to do that, I started to learn a lot about my mind, myself, my behavior patterns. It did not suddenly make meditation easier.

Each sitting will always be different. Some days are great, and others are not so great. Some days you can sit for 30 minutes and it feels like 5 minutes, other days you will sit for 5 minutes and it will feel like an hour. Some days the mind will be calm and peaceful, other days it will feel like there is a tornado whirling around in your head. Some days the body will feel open and yielding; other days, you will have aches in places you have never ached before.

It does not matter how long you can sit for, or whether you consider the sitting to have been a “good” or “bad” experience. What matters is that each and every day, you return to your cushion, chair or mat. When discouraged, simply remember this: You are making a commitment to yourself to awaken to your true nature. It is easy for us to forget who we are. It is extremely difficult to remember yourself as loving and peaceful, especially when you are mad at yourself for losing your calm at the driver who cut you off and almost caused an accident. That’s why you have to return to your sitting practice and observe the weather of your mind each day.

Writer’s Biography:
Bridgit Gooden is Owner and Director of Core Transformations, LLC, a company that is dedicated to helping people discover their life purpose and to courageously live an authentic, happy and fulfilling life. Bridgit has been practicing Yoga and Pilates since 2003. She believes in life-long learning and continues to explore studies foster mind-body-spirit connection. She can be reached at 708-466-9821 or at bridgit@ctransformations.com.

For more information, you can visit her website at: www.ctransformations.com