The Art of Meditation
How a 15 minute reboot can change your life.
In this post
A brief meditation on Meditation.
Some basic anatomy.
A short Meditation to get you started.
The ancient practice of meditation dates back thousands of years - the earliest records of which are found in the Upanishads - one of the key founding texts of Hinduism and yoga. Meditation has many benefits, especially in today's busy world, where we often feel starved of time, emotionally turbulent and more and more addicted to our screens.
Practised in small doses - say 15 minutes, once, twice or a few times a week - the effects from meditation can be as beneficial as taking a mini-holiday or better than having a massage!
Results have shown it can lower levels of depression and anxiety, increase feelings of happiness and help with insomnia and exhaustion.
Meditation is held in high regard by many. For others, it is a source of eternal frustration, mystique and more elusive than the bank manager at your local branch! It is simple, yet can be challenging in a world where we are constantly being bombarded with stimulation.
I would like to help you get started without finding it a struggle.
Meditation is essentially ‘quietening the mind’. Most of the time our brains are like the Champs-Elysee at rush hour - neurological traffic flying in from every direction. Meditation is like stopping them all single-handedly and inviting everyone to step out of their cars and sit on the pavement and enjoy a cup of tea. Can you imagine the energy shift that would happen for the fifteen or twenty minutes everyone was gently relaxing in the sunshine, supping their brew? It would surely affect all those participating and, to a lesser degree, all those who came into contact with them for the rest of the day.
How do we go about achieving this? Like anything, it needs some basic technique to get you started and then some practice.
Let’s meditate
Here’s a method I like to use often, both in my personal practice, and when I am teaching. It’s easy to access whether you’re a total beginner or more experienced.
‘Relaxing The Eyes’ Meditation
Find somewhere quiet where you won’t be disturbed.
Sit or lie comfortably - although not so comfortably you will fall asleep (this is a different, but equally important form I enjoy practising).
Gently close your eyes and bring your awareness to the eyes themselves. Notice any tension in the eyes and the muscles around the eyes. I’m talking about the eyeballs themselves! Have a look at the picture below (sorry if you’re a bit squeamish). There are muscles attached to the upper, lower, as well as sides of the eyeball. EVERY TIME YOU HAVE A THOUGHT, THESE MUSCLES CONTRACT AND THE EYES MOVE. They are either looking at something externally, or internally at a thought triggered by your brain. Imagine how exhausted these muscles become. They contract hundreds of thousands of times a day.
So close your eyes, bring your awareness to the muscles around your eyes and get them to relax and let go. Don’t be self-critical if you can’t do it straight away. Be curious. Think ‘micro-relaxation’. Take your time to become more familiar with an unfamiliar environment (unless you’re an eye doctor). Get to know the areas of your eye muscles that hold more tension than others. And then begin to develop the skill of relaxing them. The eyes are directly connected to the frontal brain - where we do most of our cognitive thinking. Relax the eyes, and the frontal brain begins to chill out. Set a timer and try it for between 5 and 10 minutes. If you can make it to 15 minutes then great…but don’t stress. Start with 5 to 10 minutes.
If you really get into it and find you’re getting better at relaxing those muscles, then begin to broaden your awareness out to your forehead, temples and facial muscles. If your mind begins to wander…bring it back to the eye muscles and start again. Develop an inner map of where you hold tension and begin to increase the skill of letting that tension go. As your eye muscles release, try to get a sense of the eyeballs ‘expanding, broadening and widening’ as they become free of those overactive muscles.
Towards the end of your meditation, imagine your eyes as two orbs, suspended in a crystal clear pool of water, in a state of neutral gravity. Cleansed of tension.
That’s it. Relaxing The Eyes Meditation. When you’re done, open your eyes slowly, letting the light seep back in, giving them time to readjust and spend a few moments noticing any different sensations you may have. You should feel more rested and alert. Ready to go again.
Try it. Let me know how you get on in the Notes. And please share with others to help me grow A Barefoot Savage