Finding ways to relax and unwind seems to be a running theme lately.  I see it on Facebook, and even in Newsletters that are emailed to my inbox.  For many people, including myself, this time of the year can be quite stressful.  My own mind is constantly racing, wondering if I am forgetting to buy a gift for that special someone.  Or the thought of having not cleaned my house in weeks, because of all the decorations spilling out onto the floor, just begging to be hung up with pride.  It is during these times that I am almost grateful for those emailed reminders to find myself and my own space amidst the chaos of the season.

More times than not during this stressful time of year, many people will suggest to others to take up a meditation practice.  Secretly, I laugh inside, because suggesting that someone simply begin a mediation practice without further instruction can be quite daunting for a novice.  I remember when I was first told that meditation could help me feel more centered and focused.  I was in my second year in college, living off campus in a house full of roommates.  The only instruction I received about beginning a meditation practice was to sit in a quiet area of a room and stare (what seemed to me bewilderingly) at a randomly chosen point on the wall, floor, etc.  I recall doing this exact thing, thinking (as I hear footsteps over my head and the crashing of dishes in the sick above) that this is ludicrous!  Can someone really sit so idly and feel so much accomplishment and centering.  Frustrated, I grabbed my backpack and headed to the library.

What really is meditation?  I think meditation can be representative of anything that brings peace and solace into your soul.  Recently, I have reflected back to my childhood.  During this time of year when I was a child, I drew and painted on my family’s windows.  My family and I would pick a theme for the window’s scenes, but somehow I would end up being the only one actually completing them.  What seemed like a huge task for me at the time, was really my solace during this holiday season.  I remember being totally focused on the task at hand, and in touch with the exact amount of pressure to apply on the brush and the perfect amount of paint to load so that I would not need to reapply coat after coat of paint.  For me, at that very young age, painting the windows was my meditation.  Something that I still find equally as centering and reflective as I did as a child.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Colorado, 2011)

But how do I stay centered throughout the rest of the year?  Meditation for me takes many forms.  From the moving meditation of my asana practice, to the more reflective formal seated meditation, the more I practice either, the easier I find it to be with myself and to get in touch with my spirit.  Some of my most favorite forms of seated meditation are focused breathing, which could be anything from listening to the sound of my breath to envisioning that my breath has a color as it moves through my body, watching a flickering candle as it dances in the light, or lighting incense and watching its stream of smoke as it rises upwards and expands into the surrounding universe.

During this stressful time of the year, I hope that you find a way to feel centered and more connected to your greater being.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

May you find the peace you need!

[It seems as though Snoopy has ]

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