I won’t meditate. How can a yoga teacher trained over 20 years ago, long before yoga was the ubiquitous activity it is today say something as blasphemous as this?
Yes, that’s me. The yoga teacher and anti-meditator. Makes no sense, does it? Why not mediate? Especially when the benefits of meditation have been scientifically proven through research, and when my medical doctor in fact recommends it.
When I say, “I won’t meditate,” what I’m actually saying is that I won’t confine myself to the rigid ideas that so many of us, including myself, have when it comes to meditation. What do you think of when you hear the word “meditate”? I know what pops into my head –sitting alone in a room in total stillness, on an ugly cushion with my back so straight my spine aches just imagining it, trying to be calm, when a zillion thoughts are swirling through my middle aged, neurotic, Jewish mind.
That’s why I’ve given up on the word “meditation.” While many would argue that I do actually meditate, I had to let go of the m-word along with all of my preconceived notions about it, so that I could truly engage in a mindful practice and open myself to the healing benefits of contemplative self-observation.
What do I call this practice? Listening. What does it entail for me? Here’s a brief description.
- Location –Inside or outside; both are fine.
- Position –Sometimes I like to lie down, other times sit, or stand.
- Motion –Gentle stillness, rolling around the floor, or quiet walking outside all work equally well.
- Sound –Silence is peaceful and most often a welcome preference, though singing or chanting mantra are beautiful alternatives that I enjoy on rare occasions.
- Awareness –In this process that I prefer to call “listening,” rather than “meditation,” I am simply stay present with myself and whatever is.
Many of you may be wondering, what does she actually do?! Well, my non-mediation of choice is gentle stretching. I like to lie down on the ground (I’ve usually been on my feet most of the day cooking, cleaning, and taking pictures for this website) and I want to recharge my adrenals (lying down helps with this).
During this practice I watch my thoughts float through my head like clouds in the sky. Sometimes this actually happens. At other times, my thoughts are less like clouds and more like children shouting for attention. It can get really loud in my head. Thankfully, hanging out with this cacophony for a few of minutes calms down the veritable storm of ideas, feelings and sensations that run through me. When I slow down and listen, I can hear what’s going on inside. Listening to myself, and being heard allows my mind to come into neutral, and that is when I begin to sink into my body and feel the bliss of true relaxation.
There’s a look into my daily relaxation practice! What do you do each day to nurture your body, mind and spirit?
Ashli says
Thank you so much for sharing this. I do a lot of the same things! I would never call what I do meditating, but others would. I call it prayer, and it can be done anywhere at anytime. I only open my heart and mind to the one, same God you believe in and his Word, and invite Him to work in my heart and mind. To use meditation terms, it is very “grounding” and it “quiets my thoughts” because I am listening for His. I don’t want to just go “blank”–I want to be filled and improved when I’m done. I’ve found (and have helped others experience for themselves) this is best achieved when God is the focus because He is perfect.
Yolanda says
Beautiful.
Susan K. says
Well, I am also middle-age, have celiac and MS (Primary Progressive), but I’m not Jewish. And I agree 100%.
I’ve never taken yoga classes (yet), but I also practice my “non-meditation,” albeit in different ways and places: in the shower (10-min. limit), on the bus/train (my almost-daily 1-hour commute), or just sitting down with my sweet, old cat on my lap. (She will demand that I do so, if I haven’t spent enough time with her recently!)
Almost every year, we spend a week at the beach, doing almost nothing. I so look forward to that week, especially when things have been hectic. My husband and I sit in the sun, read and enjoy wine with dinner — sometimes we drink the whole bottle! [GASP!] We stay at a timeshare with a kitchen, so I do cook whilst on vacation, but nothing fancy and no worries about being glutened.
We’ll be there in less than two weeks, and I have “vacation-head” already. A colleague of mine coined that term, when describing the problem of trying to concentrate at work when you have a vacation coming very soon.
So I shall raise a glass of wine for all who don’t get enough of those “non-meditation” times, and urge you to find a way to make more of them. Ask for help, with the kids or your work or whatever. (Or say NO the next time you’re asked to volunteer your time, if you don’t have time to contribute. Do you contribute as much money as you’d like to your favorite charities, even if you don’t have it?)
You NEED time for solitude, both physically and mentally!
Brenda says
Try sahajameditation.org for free instructions and free meetings in most large
cities.
Lynnette says
I like the part when the named thoughts no longer hold me in a vice and I have choices instead to do and be instead of be a stuck thought manufacturer. Listening is a nice option. I like that from my theater days, to relate to others. So is skate skiing with the trees and snowflakes, my fingers savoring the daily fresh veggies in morning light, the sound of the rattling window inside my car door that I’ll miss so don’t fix, tasting the curried scallions and asparagus from first slight crunch onion pungence, asparagus juice and fiber, and curious taste buds chasing curry moments and following flavors and happy saliva down the hatch.
christine says
Thank you for sharing your own personal path Elana! Inspired and inspiring! I find that anything that has been laid down by someone else does not always allow for finding your center and relaxation necessarily. For me, I like to watch the clouds drift by while I get lost in them and eventually in myself. Daydreaming and listening is what I prefer to call my own form of meditation and I find it calms and centers me. A realignment of sorts. Whether I’m sitting in a comfortable chair, walking or lying on the bed, I search for the clouds or even leaves on the trees or the surf at the beach and find myself and my serenity. It allows me to be fully present in the moment with nothing else but my own sense of self. I find I always come away from it refreshed and renewed. I loved reading your insights into your own journey! Thanks!
Sara says
I also do not meditate but rather spend time in prayer, listening to and speaking with the one true God of the universe.
kay putty says
amen
tabihtasglutenfreedishes says
What a great post, I agree meditation is not a thing but a way and what it means to one is different to another and the key is to engage in whatever being mindful aware and connected means to you. And by connecting we can all observe, relax heal and benefit.
Elyse says
Interesting. We must all be Jewish! Even when I took yoga classes weekly and practiced at home on a regular basis I couldnt bring myself to Meditate. Or journal either. Give me nature and a calming walk in the woods either on foot or from the back of a horse. Meditation at its best.
Jim says
HI:
Thank you for sharing… So many of us , are we all Jewish, who are internalizing too much and too introspective; are not well served by a meditation practice that lends itself to more introspection . I think you are doing a positive service to many who need to tone down the rigidness of their meditation practices……
Thanks,
Jim
KJ King says
I quiet myself and meditate on the word of God, keeping my mind focused on Him!
Respectfully,
KJ
annette says
I second that Amen!
KAY says
Amen.
Maree Kniest says
No you don’t have to be Jewish to have that issue!
Susan Teague-Rector says
i’m not jewish and definitely have that problem!
Sam Pryor says
What she’s doing is exactly meditation–mindfulness meditation. Moment to moment awareness with non-judgmental and curious attention. That’s what it is. Meditation is not rigid…and it’s not something you do only in a formal practice. It’s available at any moment if you choose to be present in your own life and pay attention to what’s happening anyway..Oh yeah, it helps to breathe. That’s a rigid requirement.