Time for Exercise

Meditation may not fit into your personal definition of a fitness and exercise program, but there are definite advantages to taking a little time from your day to meditate.

I personally don’t follow any particular form of meditation. Instead, it is a time to relax, refocus myself and get away from the stresses of the day.

You may feel that you don’t have time for meditation, or that it would just be a waste of time. I would suggest you give it a try. If you are having trouble carving time for meditation out of the middle of your day, try meditating at bedtime. It’s a great way to wind down from a hectic day.

Do you need to do anything special to meditate?

That depends on you. You might enjoy having candles lit, or incense, soft music or a special place to meditate. You don’t have to have all those things, but many people find them to be quite relaxing.

To meditate, find a quiet, comfortable place to sit and get into a comfortable position. Trust me, meditation doesn’t work too well if you have screaming children running all around you or the television on. You want to minimize distractions. Breathe slowly and evenly, and let the stresses from the rest of the day go. Let your mind wander.

I won’t say make your mind a blank, because I can rarely manage that myself. Let your thoughts wander, and if stressful thoughts intrude, deal with them calmly. I get some of my best ideas when I just relax.

You’ll hear people talk about tapping into a higher consciousness by meditating and other beliefs that may not be for you. They aren’t for me either, but they aren’t why I meditate. For someone like me it is simply a nice way to relax, destress, and let my thoughts order themselves.