A Mental Break

Not just a mental break, but a break from P90X. I'm not really taking a break from the work out, of course. I'm just taking a break from boring you with the details. Last night was Cardio night and there just isn't that much to talk about. It's a fairly easy routine to get through. I can't think of anything interesting to say about it, so instead I'm going to slip in a yoga-related blog posting.

Today I attended my first real meditation class at a yoga studio. I've been trying to mediate at home and I set my goal very low. All I try to do is sit still and mediate for five minutes a day. It sounds easy, but it's really not. Lately I've been so tired from all the P90X work-outs that I fall asleep during my five minutes. I break my session into: 3 minutes of affirmations, followed by one minute of my "things that I'm grateful for list," and the final minute of calming and blanking the mind. It is during this measly ONE MINUTE that I fall asleep. Pitiful.

Because of my tendency to fall asleep during less than 60 seconds of doing nothing with my mind, I refused to let myself get too comfortable during the meditation class. Some of the ladies laid down with pillows under their heads and blankets wrapped over them. I wouldn't have lasted 30 seconds like that. So I sat on a pillow in crossed legged pose. I got through about 10 minutes when I couldn’t take it anymore. The class leader explained that we should breathe through any discomfort. Can somebody please explain this concept to me? How to you 'send breath to the pain' to make it go away? It just doesn't work for me. The more I focus on the pain, the more it hurts.

So I adjusted into a more comfortable position and after I got over the fear of having to clear my throat and the annoying tickle of my wool sweater on my face, I did manage to clear my mind. In fact, I was quite proud of myself at just how much I was able to focus on my breathing with all the things going on in my busy day. I'm excited to continue this class and hope that it helps me with my at home meditation too.

Where is Your Peaceful Place?

When you meditate, where do you go? Do you have your favorite peaceful place? Is it a real place . . . somewhere that you have been do . . . something that you already experienced? Or do you go to an imaginary place? Do you even have a special place?

My husband told me about his special meditation spot and it made me realize that I don't really have one. When I meditate, I try to clear my mind. I try to see nothing but a blank white canvas. This is very challenging for me, so I imagine that I'm surrounded by snow. Then to make it more interesting, I pretend that I'm sliding down a never ending hill on a white inner tube. There are no trees (of course) so there is no need to be concerned with obstacles. I just slide and slide down the hill of snow.

I was happy sliding down my snow covered hills until my husband explained his special spot. He told me that his feelings, when he goes there, are more powerful and peaceful than when he originally expereinced it. His special spot is 3,000 feet above the ground with his hang glider. He can perfectly describe, in detail, what this flight was like for him . . . what he saw, what he felt, what he was thinking about at the time. He explained the difference between the real thing and his meditation spot. During the real flight he still had to be concernded about the real dangers - where would he land, turbulent air, the commercial jet that was flying below him. But when he goes back there now, there is no stress. He just relives the longest and best flight of his life and he will never lose that.

So I'm jealous. I decided that I also need a peaceful spot. I don't have anything that compares to my husband's flight and now that I think about it . . . I have very few quiet and peaceful times to go back to. A favorite peaceful exerience that comes to mind is our lazy hours on the swing in our backyard. So many weekends we would go out and bike for 30 or 40 miles on our hill training rides and then come home to lounge in our swing and watch the sun go down. The feeling of complete exhaustion and complete relaxation (and relief to be off the bike), together with the warm sun on my face and the gentle glide of the swing. Ahhhhhh, that is about as relaxed as I have ever been. So this will be my new meditation spot. That is where I want to go when I need some tranquil time. So do you have yours all picked out?