FITTING MEDITATION INTO YOUR LIFE
(adapted from magazine article, The Meditation Diet, Mindful – October 2014)
If you think of meditation as one-size-fits-all, it can seem hard to fit in. Consider different options that you can then adapt to your current life circumstances. Often we’re waiting for the perfect schedule to magically align with our desires e.g. after my job is less demanding; or when my kids are grown and I have more time. Yet we may need the benefits of mindfulness even more when we think we have the least time to pursue them.
A healthy meditation practice mixes some daily practice with pauses throughout the day, something else we do weekly and/or monthly and, if possible, something longer and deeper that we do once or more a year. There is no single right way to do it. If you struggle to artificially jam meditation into your day, it will become an unpleasant tug of war. In the end, marrying meditation with our life is a matter of balance.
What’s the right mix for you?
MINI PAUSES (Stop. Take a breath. Full inhale & exhale. Repeat three times.)
- Life gives us lots of chances to stop, breathe, and refresh. Learn to respond to the opportunities.
SHORT DAILY (A five-ten minute practice: once, twice or three times daily.)
- This will refresh your awareness.
LONG DAILY (A half-hour to an hour, once or twice a day.)
- This can make the mini-pauses more powerful.
WEEKLY (Sit with a group one day a week)
- Many groups hold a weekly sit and a talk. See if that works for you. If needed, alternate with your partner.
ANNUALLY (Enrol in a silent retreat)
- Look at your whole year and see if you can take off a longer stretch of time for a silent retreat.