I have had a meditation practice for the last five years or so. It was born out of complete chaos and stress, I was at a time in my life when I was working non-stop, newly married, and stressed to hell. I also found out I was pregnant and had a miscarriage in the same evening. At the time, I didn’t know that part of the reason I felt so bad all the time was that I had a huge fibroid tumor in my abdomen, which was the cause of the miscarriage, as well numerous other health problems, but. . . I digress.

My hubby and I were renting a house that had a little deck. We placed chairs out there, and loved listening to music- I bought him a record player as a first anniversary gift, and grilling out. We were living the good life, except that I was constantly ill and stressed. . .

I started sitting out on the deck all the time. At the time, I was learning about energy, and the manipulation of energy fields around us, and I liked to sit and try to feel the electro-magnetic fields between my hands. . . but I would inevitably get bored, and drift off. I read about a technique, where you repeat a word over and over, and hold it in your heart, I, of course, chose love. I would chant love, love, love to myself with my eyes closed for as long as I could. . .I often found that after a few minutes of this, I felt calmer, better. Fast forward to today. . . my yoga practice has led to a full blown meditation obsession. I meditate at least ten minutes a day, more if I have time.

If you have always wondered what this meditation thing is about, try out this five minute meditation, a few days a week. Drop me a comment and let me know how it worked for you. Reminder: THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO MEDITATE. Don’t be discouraged if your mind wanders. . .that’s why you’re meditating! If you find your mind drifts off toward lunch, or laundry, or your massive to do list, simply tell yourself. . not now, not now. . and place the thought to the side. Come back to your mantra. . . if your mind wanders again, tell yourself. . .not now, not now, and come back to your mantra. I guarantee you’ll look up and be shocked that five minutes have passed, and feel a lot calmer afterward. Now, to the good stuff.Try this for one minute, and slowly build to five.

1.)Find a comfortable seat, in a relatively calm environment. You don’t need to find total silence, because that may not be accessible for you. . . you may even try this standing in line at the grocery store or post office. . I used to practice this way all the time. . Like I said, there is no right way to do this. . .just commit to doing it!

2.)Close your eyes, or if you’re in public and worried about looking cray-(I don’t usually have this problem. . .but I love being a little different sometimes;-) find a stable point to focus your eyes on. Bring your mental focus inward. (I know you’re like, but how, sway? how?) Go to number 3. . .

3.)Take a deep breath. A really, really, deep breath. Inhale for a count of six. . . exhale for a count of eight. . If that’s too hard, inhale for a count of four and exhale for a count of four. Now repeat. (There’s a science behind the deep breathing. . . I’ll share later, just trust me, the breathing is key. . . especially if you are going to try a short practice.) You can repeat the breath again. . . do it for the whole five minutes, or let it go when it feels right to you. . . like I said. . .this is YOUR meditation practice. Make it yours.

Pick a word, any word. . . I prefer happy words like. . .happy. . love. . . joy. . . but if you’re tastes run a bit darker, no judgment. . do you. . . just repeat that word, over and over in your head. . .this will become your mantra.  Try it for maybe a minute.

If your mind wanders away from your word. . . just note that. . . I like to note where my mind goes also-(usually, it tells you a lot about what your subconscious is working on)- then go back to your mantra. A simple, non-judgmental response like, “Not now,” can send your brain signals that you aren’t ignoring it. . . just putting that concern to the side for a while. I promise, you can pick it up when you’re done.

That’s it. See. . I told you, you could do it. So, do it. . . Take some time for yourself and get your meditation on. Try it a few different times in different environments and see how it goes.

With Love,

Bunmi