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I've meditated for at least 2 hours every day for 35 years. I started the practice when I began martial arts, thanks to my first instructor. I do one hour twice a day, or sometimes a single two hour sit. My wife and all 5 of our kids sit as well, though the youngest aren't as consistent and that's okay. My older kids do it without any prompting. It's cool to spot them sitting quietly somewhere, all on their own. The pro fighters I coach know they are expected to sit at least an hour a day. If they have a bout, we sit together for 2 hours that morning, and for one hour after the fight win or lose. Even with all my experience, I still get anxious about Life, and that's okay. Sometimes it's hard to sit when things go off the rails, but I just remind myself that it ain't nothin' a little breathing won't make better. Thoughts aren't anything but; it's our reaction to and investment in them that cause problems. If you're stuck on "I can't clear my head!", you're approaching it the wrong way, imo. Trying to empty your mind is futile; our brains don't like a vacuum. It's better to treat meditation like any exercise- one breath, one acknowledgement is a single rep. You don't stop a dumbell curl halfway through the motion, so don't try to stop your mind from thinking. Just notice the thought and move on. For racing thoughts, I like to treat each thought as a balloon. I observe it for what it is then let it float away. Or I think of myself sitting in the median of a busy highway, and treat intrusive thoughts as cars passing by. After a while, the traffic stops. Don't judge your thoughts or your session. That's the key. Nowadays I don't use any mantras or focus my attention on an object or a sound, though I have before*. I just sit and simply exist from one moment to the next, not judging the merits of each. Neither good or bad, each moment just is, and they are equally divine and appreciated. * usually during my evening session, one of our cats sits right in front of me and grooms himself. I'll watch him as he does and that adds a little something special 
isaboo fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Jul 1, 2023 |
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Jul 1, 2023 21:08
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 11:58 |
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Yeah, there have certainly been lapses in my practice because of the kids and other distractions. That's half of the trick, isn't it? To find the time, with the other half being able to sit while things are stressful. It's easy to do when things are good, but another thing altogether when poo poo Is Going Down. That's when you'll find the most benefit, in my experience. It'll take time to get to that point, but it will come if you're diligent. I've seen my wife sit stone cold and calm while any number of kids scream in her face for something. Even 30 seconds can make a difference. Hell, it usually calms the kids down too since they see that Mom is unflappable in that moment. I got really good at it when I used to commute through Atlanta, LA, and other places like those. Stuck in a car and can't move for 5-10 minutes and you're stressed about all the morons around you actively trying to kill you? That's the perfect time to practice while under duress! Conversely if you're somewhere that you're waiting for something to happen - on public transit, sitting in a waiting room, or just waiting in line to check out at the store - take 2 minutes to breathe. It may sound cliche, but 'wherever you go, there you are'. You just have to remember that the you is not the thoughts banging around in your head at any given moment, and take the time to connect with your body/breath/external world however you can. The worst thing you can do though is think "shut the gently caress up, brain!!!" That's a surefire way to encourage the unwanted chatter to intensify. There may be a proper term for it, but another technique I've used is the '3 senses method''. Pick something to visually focus on for a minute, then a sound, then something you can touch. e: lol, I guess the video above said the same thing only much simpler - 'anywhere, anytime' isaboo fucked around with this message at 16:26 on Jul 2, 2023 |
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Jul 2, 2023 16:04
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Halisnacks posted:Does anyone have perspectives on the appropriate age to teach kids meditation? What about the ethics of requiring a kid to try to meditate (or at least sit) if they don’t want to - should they be completely free to decline with no resistance, or is it more analogous to “eating your vegetables”? I started teaching my kids at around age 10. We tried a little earlier - around 8 I think - but no matter how we explained it to them, they viewed it as punishment. We didn't push it and if they declined, we'd accept that and just tried to be good role models and showed them that we enjoyed doing it ourselves. They eventually saw sitting wasn't used for discipline. Also, I have 5 kids and by the time the youngest had seen the older kids do it for a while that helped them realize it was a cool and normal thing to do. Setting was important, too. Instead of telling them to 'go sit in your room', we'd take them outside during sunset. Or we'd go to the barn and sit with the animals for a while then start breathing exercises. My youngest are now 11 and have been doing it fairly consistently - 4 or 5 times a week - for probably 3 months or so. Ten or fifteen minutes twice per day is their limit at the moment, though. We encourage them to do it before school and before any after school activities but if they're around other kids they wait until they're home. Most people in our unfortunately conservative area think we're the weird hippy family but we're also where all the younguns want to hang out. There's always a billion local kids running around and playing on our farm, and even a couple of them have tried it.
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Jul 16, 2023 17:51
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