Archive for October, 2010
Walking Meditation | A simple Guide
Walking meditation is a form of meditation which has been performed by Buddhist practitioners for thousands of years. It is an alternative to sitting meditation, which allows you to practise mindfulness (the art of being in the present moment) in a more dynamic way. In doing so, walking meditation arguably allows you to bring this state into your every-day life more easily.
According to Zen master Adyashanti in the book “True Meditation”, many people are capable of attaining states of mindfulness while on the meditation mat. However, Adyashanti points out that these people often lose their meditative state when they get up and return to their normal lives. He explains that “True Meditation” is to meditate in all situations, whether you are driving in a car, going shopping, sitting, or, of course, walking.
photo credit: AlicePopkorn
This means that as an intermediate step between formal meditation and being in a state of mindfulness in every moment of your life, you can learn to do meditations which have a dynamic element in them. This will help you maintain mindfulness even in the midst of activity, which is normally something that causes people to become less mindful. Several sorts of meditation are suitable for this, including Tai Chi, Qi Gong, free movement meditation, and meditations through exercise such as walking meditation.
Studies on dynamic meditations have linked them to improvements in mood and overall psychological wellbeing.
Studies have also shown numerous benefits for both exercise and meditation, which include an increased neuron density in the brain (meditation), an improvement in immune system function (exercise) and reduced cravings for addictive substances (meditation and exercise).
How To Do Walking Meditation
Walking meditation can be practised by simply taking the principles of meditation into a walk around the park or some other place that is tranquil and conducive to a peaceful state of mind.
This means that as you walk, bring your attention to things that are close to you – things that are in the real world, not just your head. That is, stop thinking and start directly experiencing your senses.
Try bringing your attention to your breath, which serves to anchor your attention in the present moment. This is a good way to start any meditation. As your attention is on your breath, allow your breathing to come naturally and without impediment; do not try to change it or control it in any way. If, while you’re doing this, thoughts come up, gently dismiss them and return your attention to your breath.
You can begin to place your attention in your body after you have “anchored” your consciousness in your body with breath awareness. As this is a walking meditation, allow your attention to flow into your legs, the soles of your feet, and all parts of your body, with special focus on the rhythm of your body and the way it moves. As you place your attention in different parts of your body, you will be able to notice a sense of tingling or aliveness in those parts. With further application of attention, you will notice a sense of general wellbeing or pleasure.
Now allow your attention to go outwards. While you do this, keep some attention in your body and movements: the sensation will be almost as if you are looking with your whole body, not just your eyes. As you do this, experience every sensation of your walk in a meditative way, that is, without placing labels or making judgments. See what you see, hear what you hear, feel what you feel. When you send your attention outwards, it will feel almost like you are “radiating”, as if your attention were a beam of light. Think of the expression “a beaming smile” to get an idea.
Indeed, a smile is the most natural way to accompany this meditation. Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Thich Nhat Hanh recommends it strongly in his book on walking meditation, “The Long Road Turns To Joy”.
In Conclusion
Walking meditation can be a powerful tool in your spiritual practise. Try doing it whenever you find yourself walking. Instead of focusing on getting from one place or another, focus on the act of walking itself. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, “If you think peace and happiness are somewhere else and run after them, you will never arrive.”
How To Get What You Want through Visualization
Visualization is a powerful technique to get what you want in life. Many people come up with a list of desires and wants, and they often wonder why they do not get what they want. More often than not, they have been unclear in their thoughts, and they fail to use visualization as a tool to achieve what they want. Many successful athletes use visualization as a technique during their training and in the competition arena. It is a simple three-step process which everyone can use.
Step 1: Decide What You Want
Having clarity in what you want is important. It allows you to make decisions on the things you really want. Some people want to be rich, but they have no idea what the new lifestyle entails. Before you embark on such ambitious projections, start with something simple, as we need to train our minds first. For example, you may want to be free of parking woes. What we need to do is to decide what it means to have problem-free parking. It could mean that you will always get a parking lot next to the lift lobby, or you will always get a parking lot in a busy shopping mall within three minutes. Once you have decided on what you want, you can move on to the next step.
Step 2: Put Images In Your Head
Most of us think in terms of pictures. Visualizing an empty parking lot is a good step, but for this to really work, make the still image into a moving picture. Imagine yourself driving in your car, reaching the place you want to go. Think of how effortlessly you spot an empty lot, and then run through the image of how you reverse your car into the parking lot. If you know the place you are heading to is always very crowded, then think of a car coming out of the lot just when you enter the car park. By running a movie in your head, it helps to make the process real and believable.
Step 3: Attach Feelings
When we want something, we need to make sure we really know what we want. Some people want to be rich, but they are scornful of rich people, thinking that these people must have made their wealth through depriving others of their money. Such conflicting feelings are not helpful in your visualization. Continuing with our parking example, you should think of how happy you are to get a parking lot near the lobby.
- photo credit: Alex E. Proimos
You are extremely happy because it would mean that you have more time on your hands. Less frustration is felt and instead, you feel relaxed. It is also easier for you to manage all the things you have in your hands, such as your groceries and a smiling baby in the pram since you do not have to walk a long distance. Once you are able to get a good parking lot of your choice most of the time, it means you have succeeded in your visualization technique. It is time to apply the technique to other matters.
In conclusion, the visualization technique is a simple process that takes a few practices to get it right. On some occasions, you may have interfering images that may threaten to derail you from achieving your goals. It is important to be able to spot them, and quickly replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. Once you are able to use this tool constantly in various areas of your life, you will find that success comes more easily and you can get what you want.
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Managing Stress in the Workplace with Yoga Techniques
Stress in the workplace is something most people have to deal with, particularly if they work in a hectic environment with quick deadlines, long hours, and competitive co-workers. Although this kind of corporate stress is perfectly normal, it can have detrimental effects on a company’s overall productivity once it soars to higher levels. This is the reason many companies today are starting to take a very proactive stance against the rise of stress in the workplace.
photo credit: stevensimbox
For many years, companies tried to relieve corporate stress by holding regular team-building seminars and other similar activities for their employees. These days, however, such activities don’t seem to be enough. Many big companies today have taken corporate stress management to an entirely new level by installing recreation and relaxation facilities for their employees right inside the office building. Take Google, for instance. If you visit the Google headquarters (nicknamed Googleplex) in Mountain View, California, you’ll see things such as massage chairs, pool tables, foosball, ping pong tables, volleyball courts, and gyms where employees can attend dance and yoga classes. The funny thing is that with all these amenities that seem to encourage laziness, Google has some of the most productive employees in the world today, according to BusinessInsider.com. The lesson is simple: if employees are allowed to work in a stress-free environment, their productivity levels will rise considerably.
If you are running a company and you want to see such results in your own workplace, a great way to begin is to encourage your employees to take part in regular yoga sessions. This age-old meditative practice is one of the best ways to combat stress, whether in the workplace or in other areas. Instead of taking your entire staff on time-consuming and potentially expensive out-of-town team-building workshops, hire a yoga expert to instruct them on the best techniques they can use to conquer work-related stress instead. You can even have one of your conference rooms converted into a yoga center where your employees can relax and de-stress anytime they want during the workday.
photo credit: adifansnet
Even if you can’t provide your staff with a separate room dedicated to yoga and meditation, the concepts and techniques you can introduce to them will still be useful in helping them deal with their own work-related stress. This is because most yoga exercises can be done practically everywhere — while sitting on an office chair, standing in the elevator, or waiting in line at the office cafeteria. The most useful yoga techniques that can be used to relieve corporate stress are breathing exercises like Vinolum and Anulem. When done properly, such yoga exercises can help clear up an employee’s thinking process and enable him to focus fully on the task at hand regardless of how many distractions there may be around. Other popularly used techniques include the Hatha yoga and the Yogic Kriyas.
In addition to being an effective stress reliever, yoga also brings a lot of advantages to a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. So by introducing your employees to yoga, you will not only be increasing their productivity but boosting their overall health as well.