A guest article by Jessi from the greenyogashop team
Just sit still. Concentrate on your breathing. Think about nothing. I used to be unable to understand this idea. What would be the point of thinking about nothing? And even if I had made up my mind to just try it, there were too many thoughts buzzing around in my head. So how could this "thinking about nothing" work? Impossible! And one more thing: meditation was something spiritual for me (and there was no room for spirituality in my world). In short: why sit still for minutes when I could do so many other things in the same time.
Looking back, I realize that meditation would have done me a lot of good back then. My daily life was jam-packed - maintaining friendships, visiting family, working overtime at my desk, going to the next training session in the evening, etc. I wanted to juggle all of my appointments and, ideally, please everyone - in the long run, this robbed me of energy. The worst thing about it was that I didn't have time for myself. I hardly had a free minute to think about how I actually felt. Or what I wanted for my life.
The first yoga class and my Savasana moment of happiness
Two years ago I went to my first yoga class because of headaches and back pain. I wanted to do more for myself. It was the right decision, because after just a few weeks of regular practice I had significantly less pain. But my personal highlight was surprisingly something completely different: It always came at the end of the yoga practice - in the final relaxation, Savasana (Sanskrit, corpse pose). Even though I only spent a few minutes lying on my mat with my eyes closed, I was deeply relaxed afterwards. And happy.
So there it was suddenly: that moment of "not thinking about anything". And I wanted more of it! So I ended up meditating. I started my first attempts late in the evening - that seemed sensible because I thought I would be able to fall asleep relaxed afterwards. So I sat down with no expectations, closed my eyes and tried to listen to myself. But I was far too restless - as soon as I had found a comfortable seat and closed my eyes, my thoughts started to rumble: instead of concentrating on my breathing, I had my to-do list for the next day in front of me, was annoyed about things that hadn't gone well that day and was often on the verge of jumping up to do something else so that I wouldn't forget. I also had the sudden urge to move.
What helped me stop the chaos of thoughts
So the first attempts were frustrating. Things got much better when I started meditating in the morning as soon as I got up. For me personally, it's the best time because there aren't so many thoughts circling around in my head and I haven't yet processed all the impressions of the day.
So I stuck with it, starting with just a few minutes and slowly increasing the duration. I also tried out a variety of techniques - from meditations where I just focused on my breathing to gratitude meditations and inner child meditations.
But of course, at first it was incredibly difficult to just follow my breathing in and out and not drift off into circling thoughts. That's why I found guided meditations easier, where I could let the voice guide me and bring me back when I went along with a thought.
And today? Thanks to regular practice and exercise, I now enjoy meditating on my own - without a voice to guide me. But that also depends on how I feel on the day: Most of the time it's easy for me, but there are also days when I can hardly sit still. I've learned to accept that. I'm sticking with it because meditation brings me an incredible number of benefits, and that's just for 10 to 15 minutes a day.
Thanks to my meditation practice, I am much more balanced and deal with everyday problems that would otherwise quickly upset me in a more relaxed manner. I also feel less overwhelmed when I have to deal with a lot of tasks because I have learned to step back and collect my thoughts. This way, I don't immediately fall into panic.
I am also learning to listen to my intuition more and more. I now know better what I like and what I don't like, what I want to achieve in life and what I want to eliminate from my life.
When I meditate, I am in my inner retreat and I now really appreciate the time I spend with myself. What takes a lot of pressure off me is that I don't have a fixed plan and when I get up in the morning I think spontaneously about what type of meditation I will choose.
In everyday life, I also try to pause every now and then. To breathe deeply. To be in the here and now. I sometimes manage to do this better and sometimes worse, and that's completely OK.
Jessie
Jessi takes care of purchasing planning at greenyogashop, keeps an eye on the processes surrounding our online shop and accompanies our products from delivery to go live. She enriches the team with her optimistic nature. In addition to meditation, Jessi is passionate about traveling, nature, good food and music.
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