If meditating is difficult for you, perhaps it is because the challenge of stilling your active mind seems daunting. After all, it sometimes seems that just as you sit yourself down to meditate, that’s when you suddenly realize that’s when the phone rings, or you realize that you must enter that appointment into your appointment book before you forget it… you get the picture.
You don’t have to sit for hours like a Buddhist monk, although that certainly has its benefits.
Sometimes when a task seems too daunting, the answer is to break it down into bite-sized pieces.
If an hour of meditation a day is too much, try for 30 minutes. If 30 minutes is too much, try for 20, or 15, or… 10 if that is all you can muster.
But I like this technique for restless minds filled with chatter. Developed by Yanni Maniates, it’s short, sweet, and you can do it just about anywhere.
I call it 10 breaths. Your goal is to still your mind for the time it takes you to breathe in and out 10 times. Even a person with attention deficit disorder can probably handle this one and it only takes 5 minutes.
Here is how it works.
Ideally you want to sit in a straight backed chair or yoga position in a quiet place although you can perform this meditation standing in line at the bank, walking down the street, or sitting in a doctor’s office.
Begin by taking three deep breaths. As you breathe in, breathe all the way down past your lungs to your belly and down to your abdomen. Hold the breath for a few seconds, then exhale.
Then resume a more normal pattern of breathing. Focus your attention to each breath and begin to count. Count each time you breathe in and out as one breath until you reach 10. If you become distracted, just calmly begin counting again.
While you do this you want to gently push away your mind chatter; that is thoughts, emotions and distractions. Instead, focus on your abdomen and the rhythm of your breathing.
After you’ve reached 10, you can go on. As you do, your breaths become deeper and your heartbeat slows. When you’re ready slowly open your eyes and enjoy how good you feel.
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