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Meditation explained
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This is my second article in my meditation series. The first one was Why are kids meditating in California?
How does one meditate?
I think you can visualize what it means. You may think of someone sitting looking at a candle in a lotus position with both feet on their thighs or someone in a chair listening to soft music. You probably think you should have no thoughts in your mind.
I am going to tell you how I learned to meditate and what I learned. Going to Canyon Ranch and Kripalu taught me what meditation really is about.
It is not about the absense of thought. It is about watching your thoughts flow by. We constantly have thoughts. You want to acknowledge them perhaps by thinking "thought" or "sound" if you hear a sound, or "sensation" if you feel something uncomfortable or itchy. When you think one of those words let it go and get back to your breath. Meditation is about breathing and being in the moment.
It is important - but it happens to us all- to try not to let yourself get into a conversation with yourself. You may see or feel a thought go by and want to grab hold of it and work on it. Don't - recognize what is happening and get back to focusing on your breath. In the event you do get into a conversation then as soon as you are done recognize what happened and again focus on your breath.
Meditation is not about having a mantra or a word that you say over and over again though it may very well help you focus on your breath. My mantra is "Who am I? Only don't know." This is from the book Only Don't Know by Zen Master Seung Sahn. My husband and my son-in-law both count their breaths.
It is not about sitting still for an hour or even 5 minutes. If your foot falls asleep then move it. You can sit in a chair, the floor with or without a cusion, or use a backjack which is what I use.
I learned a little trick last time I went to Kripalu. Before you start your meditation lower your face and reach your hands out in front of you. As slowly as you can bring your hands back. Slowly..slowly...slowly. You will find that by the time they reach you lap you have relaxed enough to start your meditation.
Ending your practice
You may want to end with your hands to your heart (The picture on the right is from Yoga Journal. It is explained like this, "ON-jol-ly MOO-drah)
anjali = a gesture of reverence, benediction, salutation (from anj, "to honor, celebrate")
mudra = seal (The gesture "seals" energy in the body and "seals" your relationship with the Divine.)
This gesture is also known as Hrdayanjali Mudra (pronounced hri-DIE-ahn-jah-lee, hrd = heart), the Reverence to the Heart Seal, or Atmanjali Mudra (OT-mon-JAH-lee, atman = self, derived variously from an, "to breathe," at, "to move," or va, "to blow"), Reverence to the Self Seal"
We often end our practice with words such as these with our hands to our hearts:
Om Shanti ( Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world, Peace for all beings) Peace in your lives; peace in your heart; peace in the world. Namaste (The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you- Peace), According to Buddhism, the key to ending suffering and achieving nirvana is to follow the 8-fold path: right views, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
We then bow to our teacher, shrine or just to our inner selves. 
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