Meditation

Q:My first attempts at meditating are laughable. I have increased my meditation time from 4 seconds to 7 seconds but I know that if my brain still races much of the day I haven’t really achieved anything like the peace I’m hoping to get. Suggestions? G.L., Michigan

A: The benefits of meditating are written about a lot lately. Mostly by folks who have been meditating for years. It is not easy so be kind to yourself and even if you add one more second per week, keep sitting down and closing your eyes.

It sounds like you have a routine of sitting already in place which is big—-give yourself a hand! And you have already almost doubled your meditation time—good job!!

This next baby step will move you quickly to increasing the time and quality of your meditation. If you add some strenuous exercise right before meditation, it helps to calm the mind. For instance, do 27 jumping jacks or push ups or sit ups, sit down, close your eyes, Notice. See if this doesn’t increase your quality of meditation. Let me know.