No Time To Meditate? Totally Cool!

Me at the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal

Are there times when you don't have to talk in a day? Got any coffee/water break from work? Get the chance to walk or sit for some time? Are you breathing? If the answer is yes, you can meditate.


I'd love to share with you how to meditate without meditating!  I'll keep this one short, and hopefully sweet.

What comes to mind, when you think of meditation? Sitting in a lotus posture perhaps, eyes closed, hands in some mudra* position, sitting still, finding a quiet space or even chanting. That, my friends, most of the time, feels like work to me! You didn't expect that, didn't you? Considering that I run an FB "The Meditation Garden" page and that my parents teach meditation weekly, that sounds a bit silly. But, am I alone in this? Definitely not.

See, it's not that I've never tried traditional meditation in my life, I have, still do (rarely) and it's quite powerful; but I'm the restless one and I embrace that. I've heard all the excuses there is in the world to meditate, such as: no time, no space or simply, can't do it. I totally get it! And I'm with you on this.

But, my mentors were and are smart. I didn't realise that for the last 20 years (before visiting India in 2000), I've been meditating almost all my life. When I was about seven years old, a Filipino buddhist monk in a robe in Thailand, who happened to be my father's best friend, told me, "Mataji, at all times keep your tongue up. Whatever you do, as long as you're not talking, roll your tongue backwards." He also told me to massage and feel the top of my head, as much as I can the whole day whenever I can make myself remember. He gave me a few more "tricks", but I will leave you with these two for today. Anyway, I did as I was told. It didn't take much to convince me to do it, after all, it did not interfere with my day to day activities. My parents of course, had their set of tricks as well. They are simply tools by themselves, because meditation can take infinite forms - creating art, dancing, walking, running, enjoying nature, listening to music etc. But the ones, I did, (and I did the others too, of course) were to my surprise, ancient Indian yoga exercises. Serious Jedi training, I got to tell you.

Many many years later, in a country not so far far away, I went to India, and for the first time attended a month long meditation camp. To my delight, I found out that most of the things that I've been doing since first grade or even younger, was what I was taught. And when I went to Thailand to attend a different meditation form, I realised that I've been doing that same thing for years as well. After all, my dad, was a monk in Thailand before he was married. Did I mention that my mom was a Catholic monastic nun in a robe, as well? That explains it, doesn't it? Cursed? Or blessed?

I'll cut to the chase and let's get meditating! Excited? I hope so!


1) Roll that red thing. Yup, that's our tongue. Keep it gentle and don't force it, it shouldn't feel uncomfortable or strained. Roll it just as much as you can, that's it.

Rolling your tongue backwards is said to activate the pineal gland. There are countless of literature online on this, so I leave it to you to do the research. My simple version of its purpose? It helps us save energy for the day.

photo source: mad4yoga

It's hard to talk and do this at the same time - obviously. You want to try talking with your tongue rolled back? You'll sound funny! But you can do this, while writing, reading, watching a movie, listening to music, even Facebooking. No one can see you doing this, because you will do this with your mouth closed. And remember, do it with love.

2) Just be aware of your breathing. 

Can it be really that simple? Yes! Be aware of your inhalation and exhalations. How does the air feel as it enters and leaves your nose, as it enters and leaves your chest or belly? Is your breathing short and fast, or deep and slow? No need to manipulate it, just be aware of it. Feel your breath. It's a cool reminder to be grateful that we are still alive.

Now, we can do this quite easily, yes?

3) Live inside your body.

Say what? Just be aware of the sensations in your entire body. Feel the weight of your flesh, the temperature, the tingling, the tightness, the relaxed area etc. and keep on breathing. That's it? Yes. 

Your body will feel listened to and appreciated by being acknowledged and spent time with.

This can be a bit challenging though, when our minds are absorbed in something else. I tried this once while painting and I couldn't multi task simultaneously, but I'd take mini breaks to shift my mind on the piece I'm working with and how I feel in my body while working in between.

Movement, such as walking, dancing, doing hatha yoga, exercising in the gym or running, is the easiest way to practice this, because you can feel your limbs or body parts easily. So to keep your awareness in your body, is almost automatic.

I'll give you an example of being in movement without being in your body. If you are on the treadmill while watching a movie on your cellphone, it is not an example of bringing your awareness to your body; because your mind is lost in watching the movie though your legs and arms are moving. 

Simply put, keep your full attention to your bodily sensations in each part of your body or your entire body as a unit.

Voila! That's it for now. Easy eh? May I add that loving, allowing and accepting every sensation and feeling you have, is very important. It is an exercise in self-love. Simple, yet very powerful.

Of course, like I mentioned earlier, there are many non-traditional ways to meditate; my favourite is being in Nature, painting, swimming or even writing, because I get to be in a state of flow. My mind stays still, focused and sharp, yet rested. Another similar experience in energy flow, is when I travel and look outside the window while on a bus or in a train, even on a plane. 

I hope you will give any of these 3 simple techniques a try! And I look forward to hear from you.

All my love,

Mataji

May this angel painting of mine inspire you to meditate.  See the link below.

One of my "Beings of Light" painting. For more, you may wish to check out the photo albums within my art page: 

https://www.facebook.com/artspiritandme

or 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/mataji-sharma.html