Many jokes are told among those who practice meditation. We feel like we should be reaching epiphanies, realizing our relationship with God and a list of other tall, noble orders. What makes us laugh are the experiences that we really have a large percentage of the time that we are in meditation: “I have no idea what I’m making for dinner tonight,” “My feet are cold – I should have put socks on when she told us to,” or “Someone just dropped a weight way too hard.” We also have plenty of meditation sessions that lead us right into sleepier conditions. This can happen to anyone no matter how long they’ve been practicing.
Luckily, we have a lot of slack to use during meditation. It takes years to train the mind and body to go into a meditative state with ease, and then there are still obstacles at that level. In the meantime we can just follow the steps and be patient with our progress.
When you’re wondering what you’re supposed to be doing during the beginning or end of your yoga class, or any other kind of mind/body practice, remember first of all, that you’re just trying to let go of some of that chatter in the mind. In essence, we are trying to open the mind up to what is good and release it from worries and unnecessary patterns of thought. We should also be breathing slowly and deeply without turning it into a chore. We should be as comfortable as possible so that the nervous system can take a break from sending signals all over the body. This is why meditation can be done on your back or side, in a chair or in a crossed-legged position. Most of all, we should be finding what works for us best; whether it’s imagining ourselves in a beautiful landscape, picturing a screen of our favorite color behind our eyes, or just patiently listening to our breathing.
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