I’ve had 3 meditation classes now and it’s working out surprisingly well. I guess it’s not really an unfamiliar topic since yoga is very much “moving meditation”. What I particularly like about Eric’s teachings is that it’s very practical. He doesn’t push his students to do 1 hour meditations, instead, he encourages us to do mini meditations throughout the day.

These mini meditations really help relax the body and mind. It constantly reminds me to bring myself into the present, something I had struggled to understand in yoga until Eric explained it in class. It was like all of a sudden, “click”, I got what books and yoga teachers were talking about when they refer to stillness and being in the present.

I love that meditative feeling. I use to love it in shavasana, and now I can enjoy it without specifically doing yoga. Not saying I don’t want to get back into ashtanga, I do! My ass is expanding recently and I wouldn’t mind keeping it in shape and incorporating both yoga and meditation regularly in my life.

I have been starting to stretch more and I can feel some of my flexibility come back, although I still have a long way to go since it’s been over a year since I have a regular practice. Oh well, life is still good at the moment, despite the constant stresses.

Namaste.

Hmm… so the yoga isn’t going anywhere yet as is evident in my highly, highly infrequent posting on this blog. I still don’t have a regular practice and I can probably say I’m back to square one or close to it. I could give many reasons for this, yet they don’t really matter, point it, yoga isn’t happening.

But at least I’m trying my hand at meditation. I was recommended Eric Harrison from the Perth Meditation Centre and he’s very good at giving practical classes on meditation minus any religious or fancy jargon.

I had my first class last night and what I realised was that I was already familiar with meditation. The techniques I had used in shavasana were the same techniques we learned last night. We used 3 different meditation objects, listening to sound, body scanning and breath count. I remember being guided through a body scan and being told to keep my mind on my breathing during shavasana, but I also incorporated breath count and listening to sounds to my own shavasana practice. I would slip into a meditative state without consciously knowing it.

So now I’m aiming to incorporate more meditation into my daily life while things settle down and I can get back to some sort of routine that includes yoga.

By the way, Eric’s book “The Art of Awareness” is very good, practical guide to learn how to meditate.