False Statement: I Can't Meditate

How many times have you said that? Heard that from others? If you have ever sat in on a guided group meditation, it's usually not the meditative experience that makes you uncomfortable. It's the aftermath when everyone shares their experience. One person will proudly boast that they orbited Neptune while riding a space walrus. The next person brags about the 7 angels that shared the meaning of life in 3 languages. Then it's your turn. All eyes are upon you. You saw black while fighting a leg cramp from taking over the whole fricken time you wre supposed to be meditating. Then you get into your car and convince yourself that you simply CAN'T DO IT!!!

What no one is saying is that you already did. That fidgety, uncomfortable 30 minutes you spent finding a better position to sit in was STILL a meditation. Why? That's easily answered within the answer to another question: WHAT IS MEDITATION???

Meditation is simply a designated period of time where you allow your emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations to be still while experiencing them through a different perspective. Simply sitting still with the same thoughts you're driving with, working with, fighting with some anonymous keyboard warrior about a true crime case over, is STILL dealing with them through a different lens. You are still. What makes meditation effective is breathing through it. When you are upset, what is the first thing anyone trying to ease your mind says? "It's okay. Just BREATHE" If you ever spent time with a personal trainer, you are BOUND to hear them reminding you to breathe after a few reps. Women enduring the unfathomable pain of childbirth are taught breathing exercises to remain focused and calm. When you guide yourself toward a steady and controlled pattern of breathing, you are in the beginning stages of meditation.

How many excuses for why you CAN'T meditate have you made?

• My mind is too cluttered

• I get too nervous and start thinking about other things

• I can't sit still that long, I have body pain

• I'm too impatient

• I'm afraid I won't come out of it

  
  

All of these excuses are symptoms of bigger issues going on in your mind. A few minutes a day, breathing through them IS meditation. Now there are a few guided meditations on this website that can help your mind relax and help you through a brief meditation experience. I hope you try them. I also have another suggestion. Floating. Have you ever tried a Float Session? Once a week I lay in thousands of gallons of salt water and just drift in darkness. No, I am not always calm, but I am always still. No, I am not always leaving my body, but my body is always safe and pain free because I am in almost zero gravity. Floatopia in Hunting Station, NY has changed my life. James has built an incredibly warm and inviting wellness center that feels like a long vacation more than an hour in salt water. In this tank, you just have to breathe. What happens after that is a bonus. If you are in need of a float session, you probably aren't breathing enough. This world is a little crazy. We all need to breathe. It starts with you. If 858 E Jericho Turnpike, Hunting Station is too far, try a float place, a salt cave, a quiet park close to you where you can just BREATHE... and that... is the beginning of your meditation practice... Rock on