Never before in life have we ever needed meditation more than we need it now. Our human obsession for certainty and security in life has been turned upside down by Covid-19 – creating a gaping hole of ‘the unknown’ which has created fear and anxiety at unprecedented levels. This ‘situation’ has stopped us in our tracks as we now re-evaluate our lives, re discover what is truly important and re-engineer it to provide us with fulfilment and connection.
Meditation is a tool I have been using for 20+ years and it has saved me in more ways than one. Quite simply, I am a ‘better’ person with it, than without it. I dedicate 20 minutes to it 2 times per day to allow myself to use the vehicle of ‘breath’ to connect to something greater than myself and to find calm and contentment within the silence. Meditation is a tool that is easy to practice, available to us 24/7 and is for absolutely everyone.
If you’re new to meditation and would like to incorporate it into your practice, here are my top 10 tips:
- Create a nice comfortable meditation area
- Have a pre- set up routine (light candles, get blankets, light incense etc) to allow you time to settle and slow down before you meditate
- Before you start, take a moment to ask yourself – ‘why am I meditating?’ the answer will set your intention and will allow you to be more present
- Ensure you are warm enough – you slow down during meditation, so allow for this prior
- Communicate – I like to put a friendly sign on the door so I don’t get disturbed J
- Thoughts – cannot be stopped – so instead have a positive relationship with them – acknowledge them when they come up – and let them dissolve away and come back to your breath
- Distractions – often lift us out of our meditative state, instead ‘acknowledge them’ and then use them as an opportunity to go deeper into a more relaxed state
- The jaw and mouth area is a great indicator of stress – turn your attention to them regularly during the meditation and allow them to relax completely.
- During meditation sessions that are full of thoughts – I continually tell myself to ‘just let go’ or ‘just surrender’
- Just like anything in life – the more you practice the better you get
To combat the unease and stress that’s been created due to COVID-19, Making Meditation Mainstream in collaboration with Lifeline Northern Beaches are bringing to life, The Lifeline Breathing Room, to bring awareness that meditation is a very effective tool to manage mental health. Lifeline has been experiencing a 25% increase in crisis calls (nearly 3000 per day) since Covid-19 started. Making Meditation Mainstream and Lifeline have teamed up to host a FREE mental health event that will bring awareness to this situation and we want to give the whole community a way to connect, take a moment out to reflect, relax and re-centre.
We are inviting you to join The Lifeline Breathing Room anytime during the 24 hours and take part in some simple breath led mindfulness meditation. A new session will start every 30 minutes, so you can find a window that suits. Around The World & Around The Clock, 24 Hour Live Breathing Room Is A Space to Help You #ComeHome.
When: Sunday, 31 May 2020, starting at 6:30am AEST, for 24 hours.
Where: Live streamed via Facebook Live and Linked in (@MakingMeditationMainstream)
By Jason Partington, entrepreneur and founder of Making Meditation Mainstream, a not-for-profit from the Northern Beaches of Sydney that provides free community meditation Australia-wide.
