When you think of meditation what comes to mind?

I don’t have time.  I can’t sit still.  I can’t seem to calm down or feel relaxed.  It is not possible for me to sit for forty-five minutes.  I get distracted, irritable, agitated, heavy hearted, restless.  I do not think it will work for me.

If any of these reasons have crossed your mind, you are not alone.  Many people feel very challenged about sitting meditation because they feel they lack the ability to do it “right”.  Either we think we do not have what it takes or we lack sufficient motivation.

Meditation is a practice similar to physical exercise and it also takes time and repeated practice to make it  a habit and to become part of our daily lives.  We are accustomed to thinking, planning, imagining, and gathering information.  We are not often in the non-doing or non-reactive mode.

When we practice a meditative mode, we will usually encounter various levels of resistance.  This is true for beginners as well as very experienced  meditators.    The best way to start is to do a little every day.  You can try by practicing a three minutes check on your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations before you get out of bed or before you go to sleep for the first week.  When you feel more comfortable you can increase from three minutes to five minutes or more.

By practicing a little each day, you will be gently introducing your body and mind to a new way of being.