I cannot teach you to meditate, but I can teach you to practice meditation. I can also encourage you along in your practice. So, if you’re a seasoned practitioner or just getting started, this is a simple thing to accomplish as long as you’re not worried about being good at it.
We start in a place of no judgment. As you do these exercises, encourage yourself as you would encourage a toddler who’s first learning to walk. You wouldn’t yell at the kid when she falls down. You would’t say: Just get up. This is no big deal. Anyone can walk. No, you’d say: Try again, honey. You can do it. I believe in you.
What is a meditation sprint? It’s simply a mindfulness practice that can be completed in 5 minutes or less. These practices often focus on the one system in the autonomic nervous system we can control: the breath.
COMING TO YOUR SENSES
This sprint will take 2 minutes and may be done seated, lying or standing.
INGREDIENTS:
- Awareness of anxiety or worries
- Sense of hearing
- Try to notice when you’re sabotaging yourself away from the present by either spinning stories about future catastrophes or fretting about past missteps.
- Stop what you’re doing for a moment and notice any noises and sounds.
- You may close your eyes if that’s practical, but if not, no matter- do the best you can.
- Try to concentrate only on sounds. Don’t strain. Wait for the sounds to come to you.
- Notice how the sounds arise and then fall away.
- Welcome back to the Present!
That’s it!
