“Your mind is your instrument. Learn to be its master and not its slave.” ~ Remez SassonI recently returned from a 6-day silent yoga and mindfulness meditation retreat. For people who know me, they know that for me to be quiet for 6 days, itself, is a miracle. But, actually, the silent part wasn’t the most difficult. What was hard was getting my mind to be silent. Boy, if you think I’m noisy, you should hear all the voices in my head when they get together! But, I managed to survive and I learned a lot about myself and meditation too.
What I realized at the end of the retreat is that you don’t have to become a Mediation Master or attend a 6-day retreat to reap the benefits of meditation. The retreat instructor, Bhante Rahuna, talked of the simple task of having a few M&Ms every day (Mindfulness Minutes). And who doesn’t like M&Ms? These M&Ms melt in your mind, not in your hand.
First a definition. Meditation is a practice used to relax the body and calm the mind by becoming more aware of the present moment. T
here are many types of meditation, but mindfulness meditation (the form I will be discussing here) focuses on becoming present to your thoughts; acknowledging and observing (but not judging) those thoughts as they arise. Mindfulness meditation is generally done in a seated position with your eyes closed, focusing on your own slow, natural breaths. The next step is to be mindful of what your body feels, what you hear, maybe even what you smell (if the windows are open or if someone is baking cookies).The reason I’m writing about mindfulness meditation on ThoughtLink’s Cyber Tiger Blog is that I believe there are many benefits for students who practice mindfulness meditation. The benefits of meditation are long and it is easy to see how these relate to students. A few of the benefits include:
- Lowering stress
- Improving memory and learning abilities
- Bettering sleep
- Improving concentration
- Reducing moodiness
- Increasing self-esteem
- Developing a more optimistic/positive outlook
- Enhancing confidence
What’s not to like about these benefits?
Meditation started thousands of years ago. Some researchers believe meditation was first practiced by primitive hunters while staring at a fire. There is also evidence of meditation from Indian scriptures 5,000 years ago. One of meditations most famous evangelists was Buddha who spread the teaching of meditation across the Asian continent around 500 BC. Over the years, meditation has grown away from having a religious connotation and focused more on the benefits from quieting the mind. Today, anyone with any belief system can benefit from mindfulness.
With the plethora of technology, from television to computers, from cell phones and texting to Facebook and Tweeting, it’s a good idea to “unplug” and connect with ourselves for a while without all the lights and noise.
Meditation is simple. Just take a minute, close your eyes, breathe deeply and be aware of your body and surroundings. The easiest way to focus is to be aware of your breath. Breath slowly and deeply and be aware of the thoughts that come to mind. Just taking a minute or two to slow down, breathe deeply and relax your mind and body can do wonders.
