BE IN THE MOMENT.
I’ve been told to meditate. It will help “calm my brain”. It will help me slow down. It will get easier.
Spoiler alert: I can’t meditate. It’s not my thing. My brain doesn’t like it. And, I find it tough to get jazzed to work hard on something I don't really care about achieving.
Do you hear my denial yet? Ha! Look, I see it. If I were my mediation coach I’d be calling me TF OUT! But I will still say this: not every thing has to be YOUR thing.
So, maybe I am not into the meditation scene. But here’s the thing. I think what meditation really boils down to is staying present in the moment. Not allowing our brain to wander and create alternate activities.
Staying in the moment... THIS is something I do all the time. Every day, in fact! Specifically, I do this while I dance. In ballroom, there are lots of time when I am following my partner – and I am not even thinking about what step may come next. I am just allowing it to happen. When that happens, the feeling is pure bliss.
I also “meditate” while I teach. I introduce a movement and allow my clients to execute it according to their own ability. I observe and make corrections or adjustments. While I watch I am only present there, in that moment. I am noticing if they are engaging the right muscles, in the correct order, breathing in the most full and beneficial way. I am hyper-focused, yet I lose myself in those moments.
I guess my bottom line is: find your happy place and visit it. Often. It may be on a yoga mat, at the water's edge, or lying quietly in a room. It might also be in the center of a large crowd at a rock concert. Whatever it is for you, you'll know it when you no longer feel your body and you only know your presence exists because your spirit feels joy.
Ok…that just got all sorts of “woo” and I’m not a big one for that…but I think you get my drift. Meditate, don’t hesitate, yo. ;-)