Celebrate Earth Day with Some Meditation

A National Survey of Americans reports 14.2% of adults practice some form of meditation (2017). Meditation is a mind-body practice that helps to focus the mind which increases calm, physical relaxation, coping mechanisms, and overall health & well-being.

How to get started?


Meditation is easy to start and hard to master. Like Yoga, Meditation is a practice. You need to let go of expectations and embrace the process. Many types of meditation exist, below we will describe one of the most common.

Seated, Quiet, Meditation

Step 1- Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit or lie down. Step 2- Close your eyes.Step 3- Release. Your first meditation will not be perfect. Focus on a mantra (phrase) or word. Repeat the Mantra as a means to focus your mind on the present, not on the list of things you have to do. If your mind wanders, bring it back to the word, or mantra. An Earth Day Mantra suggestion:  om shanti shanti (om= universal sound, shanti=peace; spoken like it reads).  You can also focus on:• Your own breath,• The sound of your heartbeat (you can hear it if you focus, in complete silence),• The sound of a clock ticking• Smells (Incense or a Scented Candle).
You are now meditating.

Common Questions

How long should I meditate? As long as you would like or are able. In the beginning, we suggest a 5-minute meditation. As you work on calming your mind (practice), that time can be lengthened. Setting a time helps you from constantly "watching the clock".
Can I move? Ideally, you will sit in stillness, but if you have tried to mediate in the past, this is not easy for most. The goal is stillness, but if in the process there is movement, accepted it with kindness.

Who does it help?

Meditation has been shown to benefit the following conditions: stress, and anxiety, cancer treatment, pain, menopause symptoms, blood pressure, smoking cessation, and pain management. Meditation is generally considered to be safe for healthy people. However, people with physical limitations may not be able to take part in certain meditative practices involving movement.
Meditation is a practice to support us in slowing down, allowing space for introspection and is the opposite of multi-tasking (which you cannot, really, do, but that is another blog post).

Have more questions? Want to give it a try, in a supported environment? 

Come to our Meditation 101 Seminars. April 22 @ 6pm & May 17th @ 10am at Newton Park.  See you on the Mat.

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