Breathe the World Away – Make Meditation Part of your Day

We live in exciting times; technological advances are exploding around us, all corners of the world are interconnected and accessible as never before, most of our ambitions have entered the realm of the possible thanks to social and political changes…all of which is simply wonderful – and also very, very exhausting.
Interestingly, it seems that while the world is speeding up around us, many people are returning to age-old practices to help them deal with their daily stresses.
Natural medicine is becoming increasingly popular and growing your own vegetables is all the rage.
However, the perhaps most telling trend of all is the resurgence of meditation.

Meditation has been around since antiquity (and possibly even earlier) and meditative practise plays a part in most world religions – yet there has never been a time as much in need of meditation as ours.

In a society as hectic as ours, meditation allows you to find moments of peace; and however brief such moments might be, they are sure to leave you feeling re-energised and ready for the next hurdle of your day.

So, what is meditation exactly?

Meditation can be practised in many different ways:

• Guided meditation, which means an instructor (or a tape) leads you through a number of breathing exercises, relaxing your body and mind bit by bit
• Focused meditation, during which you concentrate on a specific object, a word or mantra, an image or simply the regularity of your breathing
• Open meditation, following many of the concepts we associate with mindfulness, meaning you endeavour to experience every action and movement in its entirety
• “No Thought” meditation, in which you attempt to clear your mind of all unwanted thoughts until it is perfectly blank

These are obviously only a few of popular styles of meditative practise – but a general theme does stand out:
Meditation is all about finding a peaceful and quiet sanctuary within.

In many ways, meditation is perfectly suited to our busy lifestyles; current research shows that even ten minutes of mediation a day is likely to improve your emotional and mental well-being.
Anyone can find ten minutes – especially since meditation can be practised anywhere and everywhere and requires no equipment.

Most commonly, mediation is practised by sitting in a half- or full lotus position with eyes closed; however, it is not the only way.
If your life is so hectic that sitting down for ten minutes seems impossible (or you are so exhausted you fear any closing of eyes will result in immediate sleep) try practicing active meditation. Repetitive tasks like chopping veggies for dinner, weeding the garden, hanging out the laundry or ironing, are perfect for meditation. Simply concentrate fully on the task at hand; appreciate the soil between your fingers, the crunch of the carrots, the smell of clean clothes, the sizzle of the iron…and block out all the little voices reminding you of the upcoming to-dos.

In many ways meditation is about finding the practise that is right for you and stick with it; you will be amazed how quickly meditative practise will become a part of your day you look forward to.

If you want to kickstart your daily meditation in 2019, check out the New Year Mini Retreat at Brisbane Yoga Space. We offer a day of blissful yoga and relaxation that will set you on the right path to unleash inner peace in the New Year!