This morning my mind refused to meditate for 15 minutes. It had other plans. It wanted to know if the plant had enough water and if my cat was watching me.
Breathing in… breathing out… my back feels uncomfortable. I stretched a bit from side to side. Small crack here, small crack there. I breathed into the new space. A moment of clarity.
Hungry. Small gurgling sounds came from my stomach, and I realized I hadn’t eaten yet. The feeling of hunger suddenly increased.
Ok, I thought, I’ll sit with this — I welcome these feelings and breathe with them.
And then the uncomfortable back and hunger seemed to fuse together in a feeling of impatience. A sense of urgency surged through me to get up, open my eyes and look at the time! It almost felt torturous.
And right then — at that moment — that was the practice.
Mindful Practice in Mediation
I felt like a frog who wanted nothing more than to hop from my lily pad! But I remembered the practice of “froglessness” as introduced by Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh and thought – Don’t jump, work with it.
If you experience this froggy feeling, here are some tips that might help:
1. Come back to focusing on breathing. Feel the breath around your nostrils… watch over it with care like a mother watching her child. Stay there for a few minutes.
2. Let your focus expand to what’s around you — sound, smell, temperature. Check in with your body sensations, recognizing what’s there.
3. Allow and welcome the experience of body sensations. (You’re part of me. I may not like you, but here you are.)
4. Check the body — has any part tightened up? Relax.
5. Return to breathing.
As you practice the above five steps, you might realize that it isn’t that the mind refuses to meditate. Mindfulness meditation requires gentle awareness and observation without judgment — it’s not exactly about the “mind” really. The experience involves the full self on all levels — known and unknown.
When the alarm finally went off, I felt relief, but also strength. And though my cat had fallen asleep during my deeply intense 15-minute challenge, I realized that every day brings a new surprise with meditation.
Please share your tips and experiences!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Jen -
Great post girl. And what a beautiful site - I adore the WordPress Thesis Theme.
Yes, I too feel froggy sometimes…especially first thing in the morning. I’ve trained my mind and body to awake to a to-do list: “email client”, “cook breakfast”, “pack for weekend trip”…even “go to yoga” and “meditate” have made there way on the list from time to time.
I have found, like you said, that it is all about the Practice. Just as I learned to walk, write, eat, and cook, I must learn to recondition myself to welcome stillness, slowness, solitude. And actually, sometimes the hardest part is realizing that practice doesn’t make perfect…everything already is. Perfect!
Thank you for sharing your experience - what an inspiration!
Great meditation tips for beginners over at RelaxMeditateSmile.com. This article in particular helped me (with links to others) after writing this post: http://relaxmeditatesmile.com/2009/03/20/1-tips-for-beginners/
These are helpful tips! Some of the things that I have found to be helpful right after meditating are stretching, sitting and writing.
Gently stretching helps in releasing extra energy. Sitting and listening for about 5 minutes aids in my awareness. I also have found that this is usually the time when creative ideas flow for me, so I spend a few minutes writing down the thoughts that find their way into my conscious mind.
Namaste,
Susan