How 40-Minutes Of Meditation Can Change Your Life
Do you meditate to relieve stress?
BY ILAN MOCHARI (inc.com) – Holidays can be tough.Stressors include travel, family, and the early onset of all that year-end noise. Daily exercise can help you feel better, but a recent injury has limited what I can do.
So about one week ago, I started meditating before work each day. Friends from my yoga community had been encouraging me in this direction for years. I finally tried it. And I’m so glad I did.
Here’s a brief description of my meditation ritual, followed by a short list of benefits I’ve already noticed. As a disclaimer, I’m far from a meditation expert. I’m just a dude who’s tried this stuff for one week.
The practice
I take off my shoes. I empty my pockets. I take off my headphones. I sit on the floor in a comfortable position.
That last part isn’t easy.
It can change from day to day or minute to minute, especially because of the injury I’m dealing with. While experienced practitioners might be able to sit in the same position for the duration of their practice, I simply can’t do it. So I do what I need to do to be comfortable. All this takes place either in a dedicated room at my co-working space, or in a nearby meditation center with a free, 40-minute morning session.
Sometimes I sit against a wall. Sometimes I use cushions and blankets. Once I’m comfortable, I close my eyes. As thoughts enter my mind — work stress, holiday stress, injury stress, financial stress — I acknowledge them and let them pass. I know I have the rest of the day — even the rest of my life — to think about thoughts such as these. During this 40-minute window, I want my mind to be blank.
When you’re stressed out, you carry tension all over your frame. Your jaw clenches, your breath shortens, your midsection tightens, your shoulders stiffen and lift. At various points during the 40 minutes, when I notice these things happening, I do what I can to loosen up. It’s usually just a matter of body awareness.
Of course, it’s hard to stay oblivious to everything around you: noises from outside of the room, phones buzzing, even your own curiosity about how much time is left in your sit. It’s not the end of the world if you disrupt your sit to open your…
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