We are in the midst of trying to move. We are selling our house in the northern part of the state and are planning on moving back to Indianapolis. Back to the city. The whole moving process is stressful and I’ve been pretty keyed up about the whole thing, even though we’re moving on our own terms. So I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and meditation to compensate and calm my mind down.
Tonight after my asana practice I laid down into savasana and rested for a bit, then started a mantra meditation. If you’ve never meditated before, mantra meditation might be a good place to start. I think it helps keeps the mind on track more easily because it gives you something clear to focus on other than the breath. And you can choose a mantra to repeat that really appeals to you… something you want to draw into your life or a quality you want to embody.
Here is a good site that describes mantra mediation in detail. And here’s how that site explains how to do it:
To use mantras in formal meditation, chanted out loud or internally, first of all make yourself comfortable and upright, and spend a few minutes following your breathing and letting your mind settle. You may want to slow your breathing, directing it into the belly, and deepen it. This will help to still your mind, although you don’t need to have an absolutely quiet mind before you start the mantra.
If you’re saying the mantra out loud, then let the sound resonate in your chest.
It will help if you take a deep breath into your belly before each mantra. Generally, mantras sound better if you can do each mantra with a single exhalation. But if you can’t manage that, then that’s okay.
Let the last note of each mantra linger before starting the next mantra. You’ll find that the mantra naturally falls into rhythm with your breathing. Make sure that the mantra follows your breathing and not the other way round, otherwise you may become breathless.
Don’t actively think about the meaning of the mantra (if it even has one!). If you know what some of the words mean, then they will have associations for you. These associations will have an effect on your mind, and will deepen in significance over time as you explore them outside of meditation.
Let go of any concerns that may arise about whether you are doing the mantra properly. It doesn’t matter if your pronunciation is a little off, it’s the spirit that counts.
To bring the mantra to a close, gradually let your chanting decrease in volume until it fades away as an external sound and can only be heard internally. Then let the internal sound fade away into silence.
At the conclusion of the practice, sit in the resonant silence, letting the vibrant quietness have a refreshing effect on your mind and emotions. ~ Fotopoulou Sophia for Newsfinder.org
I usually like the SoHum mantra, which means “I am” or “I am That”. But tonight I started by focusing on my breath, lengthening out my exhalations to be twice as long as my inhalations, and then found myself chanting the word “Shanti” internally. Shanti means peace in sanskrit. And that’s exactly what I need right now during this moving process. I need to be at peace and know that things are working out exactly as they are meant to. Everything is. And I found that the word Shanti was slow and drawn out with my breath. Each syllable was held for a while with my slow breathing. I let it resonate. And then noticed that I was using patience to chant peace at this slow pace. After a while the mantra started repeating itself and I didn’t have to think about it.
After I dropped the meditation completely, I imagined myself as my oldest, wisest self. The me that I am hoping to grow into. Silver hair, kind eyes, perfectly plump older body, always smiling and just emanating peace and love. I saw how she would handle this… With patience. With peace. Just smiling and knowing that everything is paced perfectly. No need to rush or fret. Things are unfolding just as they should.