This week I decided to try out the practice of meditation. To be completely honest, the idea of meditation always seemed a bit strange to me. I didn’t get the point of sitting quietly to “regain focus” or “reconnect” with yourself. I think a lot of those feelings were due to the fact that it was unfamiliar to me and something that I was for whatever reason uncomfortable with. However, recently I have learned a lot about the importance of meditation and mindfulness practices, so I thought I would give it a try.

The first thing I had to do to start this was actually figure out how to meditate-a pretty important piece when attempting this. There are a few different ways this can be done but I found a helpful website called “Mindful” that broke how to mediate into seven simple steps.

Step by Step Meditation:

1) Take a seat
Find a place that is quiet and where you can sit down and relax

2) Set a time limit
In the article it explains that it is perfectly okay to meditate for only a short time (5-10 mins) when just starting out

3) Notice your body
Sit in a position that you are comfortable in and that doesn’t require you to move around.

4) Feel your breath
Notice how you are breathing. Is it quick? Slow?

5) Notice when your mind has wandered
Again, the article says that as a beginner it is perfectly normal to lose focus and begin thinking of other things. When this happens, try and recollect your thoughts and begin focusing on your breathing and body.

6) Be kind to your wandering mind
It is normal to feel uncomfortable or have trouble meditating at first so don’t be hard on yourself if this occurs.

7) Close with kindness
take a moment after you are done mediating. Notice the difference in your breathing and body. Notice the sounds and the environment around you.

My Thoughts

After trying out mediation, I can say that a lot of my previous assumptions were based on my lack of experience. The first time doing it, I was really skeptical. I found it really hard to just sit in one spot in silence for even a short time of 5 minutes. The first 2 mins I realized how many thoughts I had in my brain when trying to quiet it. I felt like my brain was moving at a rapid speed even though I was trying so hard to reduce the amount of brain chatter I had. In the last few minutes I was able to quiet my mind and focus on my breathing. It was weird to be in complete stillness and connect with place and body.

I am still in the process of practicing meditation. So far I have only done it 4 times and I still have trouble initially getting into complete silence. I hope that this continues to become easier the more I do it but I am working on being more patient with myself throughout the process. I have seen a lot of mindful practice inside of the classroom that have really helped student settle into the day and self regulate. I have never seen the formal practice of mediation take place in schools but I do think that this is something that could be incorporated in some aspect. Have any of you seen mediation take place in school and if so how did you feel it worked? If not, do you think meditation should be used in school? Why or why not?

Reference:

Staff, M. (2022, October 3). How to meditate. Mindful. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.mindful.org/how-to-meditate/