Meditating without ‘Meditating’
Meditation is often described as listening to an app or video for a desired amount of time to relax and be in the moment. I have tried to meditate many times using an app and sometimes it helps, depending on my mood and how stressed I am.
There are many times when I have fallen asleep which is fine, or gone into an avalanche of thoughts, which is also fine. Or I just don’t enjoy it or feel like I have benefited from the outcomes of meditation.
So how can you incorporate meditation into your day without it being a chore or something you feel you must do every day? I have taken meditation into my own hands and here are some of the ways I meditate without using an app.
Going on a walk and smelling the roses. When I have a chance to go on a walk by myself (without my son) I like to keep my ears free of music or podcasts, so that I can process my thoughts or decompress for the day. I like to smell flowers that I pass by whether that is a rose, frangipani or some exotic-looking flower.
Stopping. Stopping during a task to breathe or even stopping on a walk to breathe helps me relax. I like to inhale to 4 counts, pause and exhale to 6 counts. This promotes activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, inducing a state of relaxation and reducing the body's stress response.
If I feel a sense of panic coming on, I learned a technique called feel, hear and see. I look for an object I can see e.g. a building, feel something near me e.g. the ground, and listen to the sounds around me e.g. the birds. It makes my sense of reality come back to reason.
Reasons to be grateful. If I’m ever feeling negative or worn down, I like to re-cap what I am grateful for in my life. Some things I am grateful for are my family and my son, my health, my home, the delicious food and drinks I have access to and my job.
These are just a few ways I try to calm myself during a normal day and can be incorporated into everyday situations e.g on the bus, a walk at lunch or even if you’re in a busy crowd of people, you can always step out and use any one of these tools.
It’s handy to know that these tools are available anytime, anywhere and can help make your day just a little bit brighter.