Meditation isn’t always easy
“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.” ~ L R Knost
Quite often, I have people telling me, “I tried meditation once, but I couldn’t do it”. When I probe a bit more, I find they thought they thought they had to completely silence their mind, which of course is an impossible task – the mind is designed to process the stimuli messages that come via the sensory system into our nervous system in order to keep us safe.
Meditation didn’t come easy to me at first. Well, I almost didn’t even start a practice due to my preconceived idea that it was for people who wore kaftans and beads and sat cross-legged with their hands out to the side chanting OM. They looked like they were the type of people who had been born calm and peaceful, which was the opposite to me – I felt like I was a born worrier and I had already reached burnout and was now dealing with a M.E diagnosis.
This was in the early 2000s and I had read about it in a book. There wasn’t any meditation classes near me, and in the yoga sessions I attended, there was just a short amount of time at the end to lie in something called corpse pose at the end! So I just followed the instructions in the book and had no idea if what I was doing was right or wrong. I just persevered with the practice.
Meditation isn’t about silencing the mind. It is about training your attention on something which is happening in the present. This could be your breath, your body, a word, something you visualise or even an object (I have even done this type of practice with a stapler!), but it could easily be a a cup of tea or a piece of chocolate.
When we train our attention in this way, the nervous system recognizes we are safe and starts to unlock the tension from our muscles. Our breathing and heart rate can slow down and our digestive system can unlock. Not only this, but our brain waves begin to slow down. When this takes place, we are able to see that there are silent moments between our thoughts, and when we realise this we can start to see how we can choose how to respond to what is going on in the moment we are in.
Meditation is not about living in a pink fluffy wonderful world. It is about learning to be with “what is” in the ups and downs and twists and turns of life. At times it can feel easy, and at other times it can feel hard, but even in the hard moments we can learn about the meditation practice and the ourselves too.
In a world where we are bombarded with so many psychological threats via the media, social media, the cost of living implications, the wars in other countries, our own warring politicians, in meditation we can learn that whilst everything might seem awful, there are also mundane moments and certainly lots of amazing things too. This allows us to see things with equilibrium and know more easily where we must place our attention and energy.
The Dalai Lama has been famously quoted as saying “If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation”. I believe that we shouldn’t leave it to the 8 year olds and we can all play our part now. Whatever age, it is never too late to train your mind to let go of the sad feelings we often feel about the past, to release the worry and anxiety about the future and to come from a calmer mindset when choosing your response to the here and now.
If you would like to start or reconnect with your meditation practice, you don’t have to learn from a book or watch videos on youtube. You can be with a real life person who will hold your hand as you take steps to learning a life changing skill. Ever since I recovered from M.E. I have felt committed to help those who are going through a tough time, utilising everything I have learned along the way, and I would love to support you.
BEGINNERS MINDFULNESS MEDITATION – this course is designed to help you explore different types of meditation to help you find your best fit, whilst also setting down good foundations for your practice. It is a 5 week course which is available to you in-person or via zoom on Tuesday evenings at 6.45pm or Friday daytimes at 1.15pm. As well as worksheets which detail what was included within the sessions you will also receive videos so you can practice the techniques.
INTERMEDIATE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION – this is to cement the foundations laid within the beginners course . In these sessions you will learn how to dissipate the stress around your emotions whilst also curbing the inner critic. We will dive into the traditions of meditation to open your knowledge and experience to a deeper basis. It’s a 5 week course available in-person or via zoom on Tuesday evenings at 8pm (some Friday courses are also run throughout the year). Worksheets are also provided weekly along with meditation videos.
ADVANCED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION – this is where you can continue to practice meditation in a group setting either in-person or via zoom – for many this is a way of committing to their practice and to themselves. Sessions are run on Friday mornings at 9.15am, 10.30am and 11.45am. You can either pay a weekly attendance fee, or a monthly subscription where you not only attend the session but receive a weekly recording of the session so you can practice the techniques at home.
MEDITATION IN YOUR HOME VIDEOS – this is for people who have attended both the beginners and intermediate courses but are unable to attend the Friday morning advanced sessions. A weekly video can be sent to your inbox and so you can watch at time to suit you. You can either pay for a one-off video or a monthly subscription so you can receive the videos each week.
If you would like to find out more, please get in touch at info@sarahpresley.co.uk.
