I am no expert on meditation but would like to work on becoming better at it; so that I have it to fall back on in times I feel I am in need of mental relaxation. In my life I find the times I am most interested in meditation are when I am feeling the most stressed. So many believe strongly in the power of meditation and the benefits it give us.
Being what I consider a novice at meditation, I have found one major struggle for me. My mind wonders not allowing the feeling of relaxation that I am looking for. Just focusing on my breath alone so far has not been enough to keep my mind from racing.
Fortunately, I came across an article written by Allen Galbraith called Meditation For Restless People.
His suggestions on how to meditate when your mind is restless looked very interesting to me, so I thought I would share in case any of you struggle with the same thing I do.
First he suggests sitting in a quiet place if you can, then start to become aware of your breath.
Next pretend that you are only breathing in your left nostril, then out your right nostril.
On the following breath pretend you are only breathing in your right nostril, and out your left nostril.
I love how this technique gives you a little more to focus on in order to keep your mind present.
After a few times you can incorporate counting to further concentrate on the meditation. One breath in left nostril, one breath out right nostril, two breath in right nostril, two breath out left. On the fives breath in both nostrils. Loose track start over with one. Galbraith suggests paying attention to what number you get to.
The idea of being able to track improvement with my personal meditation is appealing. Slowly I hope to make it to a higher number. For now in the beginning stages of meditation I love the idea of having more to focus my brain on to keep my mind from racing.
Hopefully this will help those of you looking to add meditation to your lives but are not sure where to start.
Do you meditate? If so, have you found it to be very beneficial in your life, or do you have any techniques that work well for you?