“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes everyday - unless you're too busy; then you should sit for an hour.”
― Dr. Sukhraj Dhillon
Meditation is an important mindfulness practice that can bring many positive things to our lives. For some of us the classic form of meditating, mindfulness meditation, as in sitting still and not engaging with our thoughts, is an incredibly difficult endeavor.
Not moving for so long, letting go off our thoughts and actually settling in to reap the benefits seems to be a thing of impossibility.
At least for me, mindfulness meditation has always been an unattainable goal. I’m too impatient, too fidgety and too much in my own head to actually enjoy and get much out of it.
There are however many different ways of meditating, from mindfulness meditation to focused or movement meditation among many others. I truly believe there’s something for everyone.
Check out this video by the channel “How to ADHD” which gives a great summary of the most common ones.
Those of us with ADHD in particular often suffer with stress and anxiety so finding a way to calm ourselves down is integral to avoid melt downs and panic attacks.
Meditation is a great way to do that.
The ones that work best for me personally are focused and movement meditation, both of which I try to incorporate into my day to day life.
For me that manifests as trying to do yoga for at least 10 minutes a day and or doing even just 5 minutes of breath exercises which are mostly incorporated into my yoga practice.
When I attended my first yoga class in 2011 I looked at it mainly as a fitness exercise. I completely disregarded the mindfulness aspect and the importance of breathwork that is so integral to the practice.
It took me a solid 10 years to be able to stay in Savasana for more than 5 minutes and it is still one of the hardest parts of yoga for me.
In the beginning I practiced very irregularly, I switched from doing it daily for a month or two and then not going back to it for 6 months at a time. I got bored with it, didn’t have the space or didn’t have/ take the time for it.
I was also pretty put off by the spiritual part of yoga as well which was a bit too in your face for me and the talk of chakras just didn’t jibe with my scientific world view. It still doesn’t necessarily, even though I’ve gotten a bit more open to it.
In 2020 during the endless lockdowns and not being able to go outside I started following along with this 30 day yoga journey and for the first time I actually let myself go deeper, focus on the breath and embrace the mindfulness.
This went in conjunction with me starting to take proper care of my mental health as well, with listening to myself more, allowing for breaks and learning to be alone with my thoughts. Something I’m still not very good at.
Then in 2021, after having established a (nearly) daily yoga practice for a full year, I decided to attend a yoga teacher training course. I really enjoy teaching and am excited to share the benefits that yoga can bring.
Yoga is my form of meditation. The conscious movement and focus of breathing helps me to stay present.
How often in life do we move consciously anymore?
My default is to dash from one place to the next, from one task to the other and not stop in between to avoid losing track and getting stuck in my thoughts.
Through regular practice I've been able to rewire myself a bit and come back to the present, every now and then at least.
It's no miracle solution to my scattered brain but it definitely helps to keep me a bit more centered.
A big part of yoga I have started to embrace lately is Pranayama. It's a big component of many yoga practices and comes from the sanskrit words "prana" which means life energy and "yama" which means control. So essentially its all about different breathing techniques where you focus on controlling your breath. This is something I increasingly incorporate into my practice, both in the sessions I teach as well as in my own.
Another really useful for of meditation for me is hiking. Being out in nature and simply putting one step in front of the other while immersing myself in the beauty our little blue planet has to offer, is another wonderful way to disconnect and recharge. I often listen to a podcast or audiobook while I walk, but if I'm honest I don't really listen. It's just background noise to quiet down my mind. I am trying to go without it sometimes but I'm not the best with silences. I nearly always have a podcast / audiobook / music or YouTube video running. Whether that's while walking, cleaning or even in the shower. I don't like being left alone with my own thoughts. In the end it's all about practice.
Practice being alone.
Practice being in silence.
Practice meditation.
I am still in the process of learning all of this but those different forms of meditation, whether thats yoga or hiking or breathing exercises.
Most importantly however, I have already learned that, as hard as it is, it comes with many benefits to my mental and physical health which motivates me to keep at it.
Maybe one day I'll be able to hike in silence or lie in Savasana for more than a few minutes, who knows.
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