Meditation for Dummies

My choice of words for this title is more about grabbing your attention than it is about disrespect or name calling.

Sometimes we are so busy moving, planning and doing that it takes something sort of shocking to just stop us in our tracks. For many of us its a word or something we hear.

I want to share some of my Meditation journey with you.

I have been aware of Meditation since H.S. when a classmate of mine and now a longtime friend bought it to my attention and shared her and her families journey using this practice.
I found it interesting but being 13 or 14 years old I was not into clarity or calmness or being in the moment.
I was more into go go go and my way is the right way.

About 3 years ago a had a life changing experience that basically forced me to stop and slow down.
I had a major change in a relationship that at the time I thought was building on a strong foundation when in fact it was building on very rocky ground.

Sometimes things are right in front of us and we just refuse to see them.
Anyway so as I was saying, I was bought to a halt a place I had never been at before.
After about a month and a half of asking myself all the why's I could possibly ask myself I decided to stop questioning and start doing.

I began to work on myself and really get to know who Mari was. Who I wanted to be and how I wanted to live my life moving forward.

One of the things I turned to without hesitation (finally) was Meditation. I went on Google and researched tons of stuff.
Centers, Music, the History, its Purpose etc...

I found out that many community centers, especially in NYC through a program called Shape Up NYC offer many free classes through our Parks and Recreation programs one of them being Yoga which includes Meditation.
I immediately found one and joined.

I then set out to make a space in my home where I can practice and be committed to my new journey.
This is what I came up with...

One of the most eye opening moments for me was during one of my Yoga classes when at the end my instructor said "let's prepare for Corpse Pose".

I was like "what?". I looked around to see if anyone else was as shocked as I was apparently not.
She instructed us to lay down, our hands to our sides, palms up, eyes closed.
She said some other things but only thing I heard was death and rebirth.
That was a moment I will never forget and that is one of my favorite parts of my practice. I am including links with info if you wish to explore further.

mindbodygreen.com
artofliving.org
myyogaonline.com

Asian and International rituals Coffin ceremonies for the living

thaiworldview.com
thaizer.com

Meditation is many things to different people.
It is indeed a practice not something casual. It is a way of life.
I started my practice with barely making it through 5 minutes of stillness, I am now up to 30 minutes.

My practice brings me a joy and peace like no other.
It is mine and I don't have to share that space with anyone or anything.
It centers me and brings me clarity. It allows me to be accountable for my actions and to be present in what I do and who I choose to interact with in my daily life.

Meditation has even bought my daughter and I closer as if that was even possible :). We discuss it, we practice it together at times and we respect and appreciate what it has done for the vibe in our home.

As a parent I suggest it as an alternative to Time Outs.
Sitting in a chair or bench because you behaved poorly doesn't teach a lesson.
If we instead sit still with our kids and ask them for a few minutes of reflection, eyes closed, hands on their laps maybe at the end of those few minutes they will come out of it calmly and with better attitude to be more cooperative.
Sure little ones lack focus for long periods of time, but even 1 or 2 minutes of sitting close to mommy and or daddy with eyes closed can teach a lesson.

What other alternatives have you found in place of Time Outs?

Always  stress free xo