Lately I’ve been trying to get back to a regular meditation practice. I know how I feel after sitting a few days in a row and, admittedly, I love seeing the number of consecutive days grow on an app I use. If I miss a day, it can be easy sometimes to let that become a consecutive number as well. This spring I have not let that deter me. I think that while on the app I might start over a 1, in terms of my own practice, it’s important to keep going.
While I have been working on my own practice for several weeks, after reading The Mat’s monthly newsletter for March, I thought this might be a great topic for my post because the studio has some exciting events coming up around meditation. Both events are happening in April, so there’s still time to check them out.
First is an Introduction Meditation, a Sunday afternoon series over the course of four weeks to experience different types of meditation practices. If meditation itself is something you’ve wanted to try, this might be a great way to help find a practice that resonates. Then the second event is a meditation and sound bath (with a short movement flow to start). A few years ago, I tried to write about sound baths, but I’m not sure I can really describe it. A sound bath really needs to be experienced, to see what that vibrational sense feels within one’s own body.
I am not a scientist or a researcher, so I won’t dive too much into the benefits of meditation. There is plenty of information available online and from reputable sources if you’re curious. What I can offer are my own experiences.
Certainly after the workshops I’ve taken, I feel both calm and invigorated. The benefit from workshops is that I’ve learned more about how meditation affects the brain and nervous system. That’s the invigorated part. The calm comes from the practices that might be offered during the workshops. And it’s that sense of clam that I can find again with my own practices.
Some people may find they prefer to meditate on their own, perhaps in silence. I mentioned using an app earlier, and I like those because I can find a guided meditation that may be structured for what I’m feeling, one that may just sound interesting in the “recommended for you” sections, and I also like having a timer I can somewhat personalize with music or nature sounds and then a soft bell to let me know time’s up (but love that I can continue to sit if I’m so inclined).
All of this reminds me I should go find a comfortable place to sit and get today’s session in.
This is the part of a series of posts for The Mat Yoga Studio, sharing my thoughts and observations as a student only. The views and opinions are my own experience.
