"I can't sit still that long.", "My mind just won't stop running." "Meditating makes me angry." These are several things I hear when teaching meditation. This is normal when you start a meditation practice. You can't become a master of meditation overnight. Don't give up, but don't get frustrated either. Be patient with yourself and create a daily pattern.
It takes practice, but so many give up so quickly because they think it should be simple. Nothing is simple and due to the nature of our current society, it makes it more difficult to succeed with meditation, Our mind is so use to having so many things going on at once.
Meditation practice means just that, practice. As we learned growing up, practice makes perfect. Start with just 5 minutes a day for a couple of weeks, then gradually bump it up by 5 minutes. Meditation works.
Let's talk about the science. Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist from Harvard, has an article in The Washington Post. Sara was one of the first scientists to take the anecdotal claims about the benefits of meditation and mindfulness and test them in brain scans. She learned that meditation actually changes your brain.
The goal is to get to a point that you can do it in complete silence. But, having some relaxing music in the background and some of your favorite calming essential oils diffusing in the air can help put the mind at ease. The true key to meditation is deep rhythmic breathing patterns. When you focus on the breath, that is when your mind begins to release its hold on you.
Once again, remember practice makes perfect. Give yourself permission to be patient. That is when you will realize your true meditation potential.
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