We are all aware that meditation practice will benefit your body and mind, yet so many of us struggle with the concept of meditation or simply struggle to implement a consistent practice. A great analogy which helps myself and many of our clients is relating your body to that of a car. I remember as a young child we always had to patiently wait for mum and dad to warm up our old commodore car before we could be driven to school. Nowadays cars are automatic, we start them and begin driving as fast as possible without the need to warm up. The human body requires the same warming up or idling our engines so like the car, we too can run more smoothly and efficiently.
Imagine your body is that old commodore, as the driver if you slouch it will be difficult to feel the accelerator and clutch, so important to sit up straight. The Clutch is the in breath, and the accelerator is the out breath. No thinking is required, just delicate focus on breathing in “know you are breathing in” and breathing out “know you are breathing out”.. Without the focus on the breath, it is impossible to idle/warm up your engine, just as it would be impossible to idle that old commodore car 30 years ago..
My zen meditation teacher has a joke and says when you practice meditation regularly people will say “You seem different, whats changed?” and when you stop a meditation practice people will say “You seem different, whats changed?”
Time Guide Lines for Meditation = Warming up our cars 5-10 minutes will help one run smoothly 10 – 20 minutes will prevent burnout 20 – 30 minutes will provide necessary change required for great wellbeing
Written by Jonathan Yang: Life Synergy director, Acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine.