....why do I do it

Yogis,

It’s March and I’m one week into the month long March Meditation I am leading.  This is the fourth year I have shared  this program because somehow March seems like the perfect month to look inside.   And whenever you teach, you learn.  Guiding others in how to meditate causes me to look deeper into my own practice and this year I have been asking myself………

Why do I meditate?

With the Yoga asana practice – the physical postures – many people initially begin because of an issue.  Lower back, knee or hip pain.  Trouble sleeping. The doctor recommends it, or they see how toned a friend’s body is becoming.  Age is causing stiffness and there is a desire for more flexibility.  But those of you that have been doing it a while know that all of those things will indeed be helped, but the benefits run so much deeper.  Inner changes that are unexpected and that no one mentioned begin to show themselves.  Over time with consistent dedicated practice……………

Meditation is the Yoga practice for the mind.  Like the asana practice, many are drawn to it for outer reasons.  The most common one is looking for relaxation.  Others are hoping to lower blood pressure, ease anxiety attacks, and reduce stress.  Once again, the practice will do all of those things but those are just the top dressing.  They are what initially keep you coming back.  Meditation, however, when practiced over time with consistency has the potential to change your thoughts, and therefore the way you feel.  Even the way you live. 

 Most of us don’t jump up and down with excitement when asked if we would like to meditate.  It appears boring.  Like nothing is happening.  You are just sitting there.  How silly is that? 

But it is a practice that has been around for hundreds of years so obviously there is something going on there.  Which brings me back to my question…..why do I meditate.

I have been meditating daily for 8 years so I know I am still scratching the surface, but the changes I see and feel are significant.  But the one that brings me back to my seat day in and day out, when I feel like it and when I don’t, and even when that early alarm goes off after a very late party is the clarity.  The guidance on how to live each day.

When we meditate we learn to relax the mind muscles and focus so that there is less thinking and more listening.  In the listening, wisdom pours in.  We suddenly just know.  I am finding it hard to put into words but it is as if I ask the Universe a question, listen and know. 

I use it for everything.  The little daily decisions and annoyances as well as the life changing events.  Ask, listen and know.   Sometimes it can take only moments.  Other times weeks or even months.  But I trust it implicitly and it never lets me down. 

If I find myself beginning to analyze, ‘think through’, google, worry or stress about something…… I head for my seat.  Take a big exhale, relax, empty and listen.  Waiting for the download.   Life is much simpler this way…..and more fun! 

And that is why I personally meditate……….  I am so grateful that meditation found me.  I recommend it J

Getting quiet so I can hear through life’s static,

SARAH