This month in our classes we are focusing on meditation.  And, while I’m excited about it, I’m also a little daunted as I’m not a meditation teacher. That said, I thought this the perfect opportunity to explore this theme right along with you.

So here are a few things I’m thinking about for myself and my classes:

• Finding a comfortable seat and what that means to me:  you can meditate in a chair or sitting on the ground in sukasana or even in a supported virasana.  And honestly, you could meditate lying down – just try not to fall asleep!
• Taking time to move my body a little before I begin my meditation practice so I can sit with ease – mobilizing the hips and the spine a bit.
• Making the practice sustainable and not asking too much of myself. I’m realizing that it’s okay if I only have a 3 minutes to “sit" and breathe.  I’m aiming for consistency, which for me means shorter practices on a more regular basis, rather than longer practices every once in a while.
• Conditioning myself to sit.  Much like when I was training for marathons and needed to slowly and consistently build my running capacity, so I believe it is with meditation.  I need to give my body and my mind time to adapt to longer practices of sitting and focusing on my breath.
• Realizing that the practice of meditation doesn’t have to live only on the mat.  I can pause and breathe before each bite of food, or at a traffic light, or even when Soupy decides to stop and sniff on our walks.  Anytime I can consciously pause and breathe is a chance to practice.
• Being okay with changing my practice from time-to-time.  While I believe it’s important to commit to a particular practice (for me, it’s focusing on my breath), I think it’s also okay to change things up when I need to, like weaving in mantras or practicing a loving-kindness meditation.

If you’d like more meditation resources, here are a few of my favorite teachers:
- Jack Kornfield
 - Cyndi Lee Yoga 
 - Sharon Salzberg

And please enjoy this video that focuses on mobilizing the hips so we can sit with more ease and includes a 5-minute meditation practice.

Check out my classes here and let's move together!