Mindfulness Part I: Learning to Meditate

Recently, I came across an article in Time Magazine's Feb. 3 Issue called, "the Mindful Revolution".  In it, journalist Kate Pickert explores the movement which is helping people reconnect to their center and reclaim their sanity while living in a world where constant information overload is an understatement.

Being mindful is a simple concept, but one that is very hard to understand and access for most people.  The idea of doing nothing is one that most Americans just can't wrap their heads around.

Though I've been practicing yoga for over ten years, I've never had a dedicated meditation practice until a couple of months ago.  For some reason, I woke up one day and decided that I would attempt to meditate every single day for fifteen minutes.  Without checking my email or texts, I grab my phone and command Siri, "Set timer for fifteen minutes."

At first, it was TOUGH.  I fidgeted, my thoughts were all over the place, and I thought the time would never end.  But after several sessions, I noticed something.  As the days went by, my thoughts started to slow down.  Sometimes, I begin with a question or intention; maybe a seed of something that has been troubling me.  I have the thought, but then let it go.  Next, I simply pay attention to my breathing and my body and the sensory stimulation from my environment.

When I meditate regularly, my mental beach transforms from Panama City on Spring Break to something closer to this little piece of God's country. 

After doing THAT for a several days, not always, but often, these light-bulbs would come on with great clarity, often as an answer to the question I asked at the beginning.  And sometimes, almost like clock-work, if you will, the timer would go off just afterwards.

Since I've been meditating, my life has just begun to slowly but surely streamline, and now if I don't get to meditate in the morning because I wake up late or something, I definitely feel like I'm missing out and carve out a time later in the day to make up for it.

In the Time article, Kate Pickert discusses different people, companies, and Apps that are making meditation and mindfulness more accessible to people.

My personal favorite from the bunch is an App called "Headspace", which I will discuss in Mindfulness Part II: Get Some Headspace.

Mindfulness Part II: Get Some Headspace

In Mindfulness Part I, I started to discuss the ideas of Mindfulness and Meditation, and my own personal experience with discovering the benefits of Meditation.

Over a gab-session at Starbucks with a good friend of mine, the subject of meditation came up. We were both discussing the usual drama in our lives, and I mentioned that since starting to meditate, mine has begun to subside.

She responded, "I know I should meditate, but the idea of being quiet and alone with my thoughts is just...scary!"

That's when I told her about an App that I discovered recently in Time Magazine's "Mindful Revolution" feature by Kate Pickert.

The App is called Headspace and is the brain-child of Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist Monk and the holder of a Circus Arts degree, who founded Headspace with the mission, according to the website, "to make meditation accessible, relevant, and beneficial to as many people as possible."

Here's Andy's Ted Talk, from YouTube:

The Headspace App, which can be downloaded onto your mobile device or tablet from the iTunes or Android App Store, or accessed from your computer via , features short, daily meditations that are easily incorporated into your life.

Headspace is perfect for those people who cannot yet justify doing "nothing" for a short period, but are willing to discover the benefits of meditation with the guidance of a pro.

The website, getsomeheadspace.com, features several animated videos explaining the concept of meditation in an adorable, understandable way.

The videos and mediation are all narrated by Andy, whose English accent is inviting and unpretentious

The "Take 10" introductory program features ten days of (free!)10-minute guided meditation. During the program, Andy introduces the concepts of mediation, as he leads you through.  Each day, he revisits the concepts from previous days, building upon them.  During this ten days, listeners not only are getting the benefits of a ten-minute time-out, but also are getting a crash course in Meditation 101 almost by osmosis.

After the ten days, users can subscribe to more advance programs for about the price of a Netflix account, and get a years worth of meditations of different levels to help continue their personal journeys.

I just finished the Take 10 program and have loved my 10-minute recess every day.  Each day, after completing my 10 minutes, I've come away feeling refreshed and relaxed, with a great quality of breath and more clarity going forth through my day.  I could not imagine turning back at this point.

Check it out!