Meditation for me will forever be a learning process. Like most people, I find it difficult to sit still and let my mind relax. I often find myself throughout the day with a million thoughts running through my head all at once. This can be exhausting and can lead to many problems like stress, anxiety, and an overall sense that I'm not experiencing my life but rather worrying about it. So every now and then I like to find a quiet corner of my apartment, grab a comfy pillow, light and few candles and tune into my breathing. I wrote down some of my favourite meditation techniques below if anyone else has trouble with meditation. Of course you can adapt these techniques however you like, doing them for whatever duration of time you see fit, and in whatever environment you can find the most peace. Enjoy!
Flame Meditation light a candle in a darkened room and place it on the floor in front of you. Sitting cross legged, rest your gaze onto the flame of the candle. Notice your breath and how it moves in comparison to the movement of the flame. Switch your focus between your breath and the flicker of the flame whenever you notice your mind drifting. If you look at the flame long enough soon everything around you will disappear and you will be able to focus much better on the flame as well as the present moment.
Water Droplet Meditation close your eyes and envision yourself as a single droplet of water falling from a rain cloud in the sky. Imagine yourself falling into a large body of water, it could be a dark and stormy lake, a spot in the ocean off a tropical island, in a quiet stream, wherever you want. Imagine yourself as a droplet of water falling into the body of water and slowly drifting to the very bottom. Whenever you have a thought come into your mind imagine it as another droplet of water floating beside you. As you release the thought from your mind imagine the droplet of water bursting and disappearing into the surrounding water around you. Continue to do this until you are the only droplet of water.
River Meditation imagine yourself sitting beside a river or a stream of water. Every time you have a thought come up in your head, instead of analyzing it, simply imagine that it is floating down the river until you can no longer see it. Watch your thoughts float and move in the water and rather than analyzing why they are there just watch them float on by.
Storm Meditation whenever you are feeling angry, sad, anxious or any other kind of feeling that is unsettling the storm meditation is a great technique to deal with these emotions. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in an outdoor scenario. Whether it's on an island, in the countryside or on a mountaintop, just choose an outdoor landscape. Now imagine a storm brewing over your head. What does the storm look like? What does it feel like? Imagine all of your senses picking up on the storm. Now imagine the storm coming to life. How does this storm look in comparison to your emotions? Sit through the storm for the entire duration until you can see it clearing up. The storm is a metaphor for the storm going on in your mind and once you imagine the sun coming out again you should feel a lot lighter.
Cup of Tea Meditation imagine yourself sitting in your living room at home sipping a cup of tea. You are alone in this room until someone knocks on your front door. When you open your front door you see yourself standing outside. This version of yourself standing outside carries one emotion, anger, happiness, sadness, disappointment, resentment, whatever it may be you invite them in to have tea with you. No matter how uncomfortable it is to sit with yourself and the emotion that you have brought with you, you will sit with this version of yourself for however long they decide to stay. You listen to their problems and keep them company until they are ready to leave and then you can invite the next version of yourself inside for a cup of tea.
Have you ever tried meditation before? Do you have specific techniques that you follow?
xo Sara
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