I’ve wanted to write about meditation for a long time, and have a course planned too, but today was the day for a blog around the subject! My inspiration was after a relaxing 2 hours of Vipassana meditation laying next to my beloved.
My journey with meditation started when playing music as a child. The world around me faded away and all that was left was the music and my breath (I started with the oboe age 7). At times waves of knowing would come to me, thoughts drifting in and out, these would come and go like the waves, and there was no “active” thinking.
I was lucky enough to play music all through my childhood playing the piano alongside the oboe from 7, picking up the saxophone at 9 and I played in orchestras, jazz bands and sang in choirs: my school life was arranged around after-school activities. Those times were bliss for me as I forgot the cares of the world and dropped in to a peaceful place.
At 16 I started dancing and felt the same peace moving in time with the music letting go of stress or worry about the world beyond. The stark contrast between my wildly existence and the times of music or dancing was huge and this continued when I started yoga at 16. My mother bought a yoga book for my birthday and I devoured it in one go!
Finally something that reflected my inner knowing!
I’d never had the words to describe my inner experiences, but this book spoke of them, and spoke to my soul! I was able to emulate the Asanas is depicted on the pages and ever since I practiced yoga every morning with my candle and incense, and hot water or herbal tea. My morning routine set long before I heard anyone talking about such a thing!
During such times of meditation I drop in to a space beyond time, my body softening and my breath slowing down and I felt peace, along with receiving wisdom or unfurling challenges in my life.
At times I've knowingly calls on spirit and God on guides to help me speaking away internally and resolving life challenges but earlier in my life this would happen spontaneously. receiving knowing is about life and the universe as though my internal queries inspired instant answers flowing. At some level I saw this as a conversation with God but it wasn't always chosen, it simply flowed happened. Many of the writing and projects I'm part of have been inspired by moments of meditation in the stillness beyond the physical world.
Contemplating the nature of self and differences between the wonderful humans on Earth, I’ve often wondered whether the difference between neuro-diverse and neuro-typical people is simply some of us spend more time pondering in our own world than in the physical world therefore we behave differently we see differently, and sense and feel so much?
I don't know the answers I just know my experiences and when I undertook a 10 day solo with a personal retreat in Portugal I finally understood the beautiful gift of all of those activities I’d enjoyed and why I was the way I was. Dropping into Ana-pana breathing I realised how different the breathing is in yoga. Though it’s wonderful if we control our breath through our asanas which is very possible to do, we’re not in observational meditation as we’re “trying”. In the simplicity of Ana-pana breathing you simply observe your breath: there is no trying, there is no better, there is no concentration. You simply observe.
When we move on to Vipassana part of meditation we observe our body, placing our presence within our body, moving through each segment allowing the relaxation to naturally take place as we look upon ourselves with loving observation.
Herein lies the purest healing I've ever found!
This is the practice I draw my clients to in every session: coming into the body and dropping thoughts, coming into the stillness of our own I AM presence, the presence of God and the presence of the stillness.
In this place problems unfurl and our body comes into alignment and relaxes. In this place we receive wisdom that may be considered divine, coming from a higher self, flowing from the higher realms.
In this place we become the genius, the creator, the one who channels wisdom or inspiration for the world. In this place we see things fully formed, a vision of the future. In this place we also know peace.
A stark difference from the parts of me who try and push and struggle and cry out in helplessness!
Though I know now these tiny aspects, bubbles of consciousness, rise up as we relax. We are not failing, they are not problems, more clouds on the sky of our self. As we learn to observe and allow them, we’re in a place of meditation.
There’s no hard edges as we drop in to gentleness softening every part of our body as we allow all to the surface, enveloped in the love of our I AM presence!
Benefits of meditation: Can calm the nervous system
Allows time for the body to heal and soften
Time for "me"
A restful practise in a busy world
Increased peace and inspiration
My top meditation tips to remember:
Don’t expect inner peace or silence!
Concentrate on your breath, or the nose (depending on the practise!)
Allow everything that passes through the space to be
Allow feeling that arise to arise
Allow sensations to unfurl
Have no expectations of yourself!
Remember: Your presence is the best healing you can give your body
My favourite three meditation practices.
1. Circle breathing
I found this in a book called the “Urban Buddha” or something similar years ago and it's stuck with me ever since! The practice is simple:
Breathe upwards and allow your focus to move up the back of your body to the top of your head, and breathing out, you take your awareness back down your body the front. As you get to the bottom of your feet you start breathing in again. Simple!
This may feel challenging to start, but it's an amazing practice to bring awareness to your focus, and follow along with your breath. In workshops I often invite something similar with your hands, bringing your hands up as your breathe in and down as you breathe out.
In yoga most Asanas follow this “up and down” flow with the breath: it helps the body expand as we breathe in and relax as we breathe out. You can start with just five cycles and remember, you can do this anywhere! If you're in a queue, feeling anxious or in traffic! It's perfect!
2. Grounding down and reaching up
I first enjoyed this meditation during my Ecstatic Awakening Dance teacher training and loved it! During the training I realised I love guiding people through meditations and little did I know in the years to come I’d guide most of my clients and groups to do similar in our sessions. Here’s the practise:
As your breath out and down, move your focus down into mother Earth, through your heart, torso, hips, knees, feet, down, down, down we go to the centre of mother Earth breathing out, breathing out and relaxing.
Then we draw in the beautiful Earth energy and come back up. As we reach our feet we move all the way up through our body, up through our spine to the top of the head and we keep breathing in and all the way up, up, up, reaching our higher Self, moving through the realms of angels and guides and moving up all the way to Source, Creator. We then breathe out and come down, moving through the body and all the way back down to Earth. Again we breathe in and come up all the way back through your body and up to Creator and all the way back down again.
You can continue this expensive meditation for as long as you like and I guarantee you'll feel amazing afterwards! One thing I will say here is to remember to come back to your worldly self by releasing your breath and looking around the room you're in willing fingers and toes before continuing with your day.
3. Vipassana/body scanning/yoga nidra (or Re-chi-ing as I called it before I knew the other two names!)
Here is my favourite meditation for sure. I first practised this when in lived in Hereford, a sabbatical period in which I spent a lot of time in nature and meditating. I realised I was literally re-chi-ing myself hence my name, but little did I know that for thousands of years people have called this practise Vipassana!
When I finally did a solo Vipassana 10 day retreat by following along with the official teachings (I used the online app), I chuckled to see I’d being doing something similar for years! I also chuckled at Mr. Goenka’s description, that this mediation was like psychic surgery!
Now I understood why some of my friends who’d been on this course had left after just few days, having finally seen some of their “inner stuff”!
The practise really does epitomise meditation, and is exactly like body scanning. Please note, it’s recommended to do the Ana-pana breathing for a few minutes before and after, as it acts like an entry and exit to the deeper mediation of Vipassana.
Starting at the top of your head, move through your body at your own pace, taking one section at a time:
Top of head, sides of head, back of head, middle of head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth.
Front of neck, middle of neck, back of neck, tops of shoulders, back of shoulders, front of shoulders.
Top of arms, elbows, forearms, wrist, back of hand, palm, thumb, first finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, whole arm.
Top of chest, lungs, back, top of spine, stomach, lower torso, pelvic girdle, hips, top of legs, knees, lower legs, ankles, top of feet, heel, soles of feet, toes, whole feet, ankles, lower legs, knees, top of legs, hips, bladder, pelvic girdle, lower spine, lower torso, stomach, lungs, top of chest, top of spine.
Hands, wrists, forearms, elbows, top of arms, shoulders.
Front of neck, middle of neck, back of neck.
Face, ears, back of head, middle of head, forehead, side of head, top of head.
You have just completed one round!
If you want to you can go into every single organ, or, in the way that I use this, if you have a huge pain, you can hone in one one part of your body and be present with it until it for as long as it needs.
This practise is deep, and deeply healing. It takes you into a liminal space and is profound! When I practise this regularly, I feel at peace with the world and move smoothly through my tasks. It feels great!
To me, meditation is sitting in the presence of God, of our own sacred presence, beyond the physical. In this place of peace and love, things unfurl as they will, things that have been trapped, pushed to the side, or suppressed, and in this place, we simply allow them to unfurl.
To me, this why so many people are confused that they don’t always access instant silence!
So, I hope you’ve learnt something, or confirmed your own practises! If you’ve any comments or questions, please do reach out, as I love to hear people’s experiences if meditation and the huge self-healing benefits there are from such practises. Of course, I’ve only covered some of the basic tips and techniques, but perhaps it’s inspired you to continue or start your practise.
With so much love in my heart to yours,
Caroline Mary xx
For more details of vipassana or to find a centre and retreat near you, you can go do:
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified meditation teacher, I've simply been meditating for a long time and know the benefits of it! I simply wish to share these practices with you to inspire you. If you have any questions or queries please don't hesitate to contact me or find a qualified meditation teacher near you, or even your medical doctor for any medical assistance or questions you have! Meditation may evoke strong emotions as we release trapped tension so please reach out to your support network if you struggle during your meditation practise.
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