You already meditate*.
*probably.
You know that few seconds when you lower yourself into a bath (or maybe a hot tub...even a jacuzzi...) that’s just the right temperature, and nothing permeates your mind save the direct experience of the hot water meeting your body. There is no thought of needing to change anything. There is no past and no future; just the present moment of feeling the sensations as you lower yourself into the water...that’s Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the type of meditation you can practice anytime, anywhere. It's all about using your senses to directly notice what is happening in the present moment. It is immersing yourself fully into whatever your reality is right here, right now (whether that’s chopping an onion, listening to bird song or brushing your teeth). And when we practice mindfulness, thoughts and feelings about the past and the future fade away (which is hugely beneficial for our health and wellbeing as these are the 2 main causes of chronic stress).
To be transparent from here on in (in case you’re like my children who love to pick me up on saying things that are not 100% factually accurate...such as ‘Mum you lied – its 28 minutes past 7 not half past!’) I am applying a smidge of artistic license in this post, but I think that’s okay. I decided to write this, as examples kept popping into my mind of things we all do in day-to-day life that are examples of meditation. And as there is still so much mystique and misconceptions about meditation, it seems like a good place to start, in terms of de-mystifying this ancient practice that can offer up a wealth of health benefits if we’ll only open ourselves to it and realise it's been there all along.
How about when a bird or dragonfly appears overhead then lands close enough that you can see the intricate detail of their appearance. Without consciously deciding to you become absorbed in taking in the colours, the textures, maybe even the sounds of the creature. You find yourself imagining what its wings or feathers might feel like. You wonder where it’s been, where it's going, what made it land next to you. Perhaps memories or emotions arise inside you, maybe insights somehow related to the winged being you’re absorbed with watching. We could call this Contemplation, a type of meditation where we use the mind in an open and curious way, focused on a particular object (or word or idea) fully engaging our senses to see it from all angles, and allowing insights or thoughts triggered by the Contemplation to come and go. Children are excellent at Contemplation, and this could explain why they have such a curious and interested approach to things as contemplation can increase creativity and self-awareness while reducing stress.
Or there’s the one my youngest son does a lot of – he hums and repeats words or made up lyrics or sounds or a mixture of all of these under his breath (and sometimes quite loudly!). Doing this seems innate to him, and I wonder if it helps him feel calm and safe. To me, this is his own form of Chanting meditation – when you repeat a word, phrase or sound out loud. I’ve done Chanting with him and his brother quite a bit and they love it – most children don’t need much encouragement to say a word over and over (!) and full disclosure, my 8 year old does sometimes request to use the word ‘bum’ to chant! But once the silliness fades away, the vibration of the sounds can have a profound effect. I only realised a few months back that I sometimes hum on an out breath when I’m feeling anxious (like the moment I find out I have 3 minutes to get off 1 train and onto another, 3 platforms over...) There is a reason we might make these chant-like sounds without consciously deciding to – when we make any kind of ‘sigh’ or ‘humm’ like sound on an out breath it relaxes our nervous system. It strengthens our Vagus Nerve which is crucial for homeostasis; keeping everything balanced at all times in our body (like sweating when we’re hot, shivering when we’re cold). I think of it as creating a mini sound bath.
Using breath to find calm is probably the most obvious type of meditation that many use without labelling it as such. There’s those who practice yoga and experience those final minutes where the focus turns inwards to follow the natural breathing rhythm, locating the feeling of the inhale entering the body and then leaving again on an exhale. There’s those moments mid-argument or on the cusp or venting our anger where something kicks in, and we stop and take a few deep breaths. There are the moments we feel absorbed and at one with the heartbeat of a contended pet as we stroke it or of a loved one who is nestled close to us. Or perhaps we label the breath inside our mind when we’re running or walking and getting low on energy, we might begin to count the inhales or maybe even label them something motivational to keep us going (maybe ‘nearly’ on the inhale and ‘there!’ on the exhale...). Perhaps you’ve stopped in your tracks on a cold morning when your breath has turned white in the cold air – perhaps you’ve become entranced by the magic of this and everything else has fallen away until it is just you and your breath in that moment.
And finally, there are those times when we picture a friend or loved one who has been in our thoughts. Maybe they’re going through a challenging time themself or perhaps they’ve made a real difference in our life, helping or supporting us through difficult times. And we bring them to mind and send a silent message out – a message of love or gratitude, a wish for them to be happy or healthy, a simple acknowledgement that we’re thinking of them, that we want good things for them. This is one of my favourite mediation practices; Metta Bhavana or Loving Kindness. It stems from Buddhism and is all about sending well wishes to ourselves and others. And if you’ve ever noticed that feeling you get after you’ve acted with kindness, know that ‘happy’ hormones are being released – even if that's a simple wish we repeat in our mind for someone to be healthy and happy. This type of meditation improves emotional resilience and offers many benefits to our physical health.
So you see, meditation is happening all around us, it is in each of those moments where we’re directly experiencing the here and now. When we’re being open and interested. When we’re showing compassion. When we’re observing; not judging, not striving, not assuming. So next time you hear someone humming, they might be instinctively doing it to find calm or balance. And next time you feel anxious, or stressed, or like a million thoughts are bouncing around your mind, maybe take a few deep breaths and make a sigh or a hum with each exhale. Then perhaps bring to mind someone you feel grateful to have in your life, and send them some loving kindness.