Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: More on Meditation for Beginners

One of the key challenges of meditation is just sitting down to do it.  One reason I didn't keep up with transcendental meditation during college was that I could never seem to steal away to do the afternoon segment,  Too much was usually going on campus and I didn't want to appear weird by telling people I had to return to the dorm room to do TM.  Thus, my afternoon sessions were intermittent. 

However, we should be able to carve out a few minutes at least once daily to just go apart and sit in the silence.  If you take the time, really make the time, you will discover that the additional awareness and insights you receive over time or even daily, will more than offset the time you took from your schedule to sit in the silence. 

As with hatha yoga practice, think about when you can schedule the time with the least risk of interruption.  Again, for me it's mornings.  I either do 10-15 minutes of meditation when I first wake up before getting out of bed or shortly after finishing my hatha yoga practice.

What can you expect?  If you have never meditated and are a intense, active person who feels compelled to be on the move constantly, you will likely feel restless and nervous.  Your mind  may jump to a thousand places. Sometimes it can seem scary, even terrifying to sit along by yourself in total silence.  Maybe you dislike being by yourself.  Well, if you can't stand spending 10-15 minutes alone with yourself, how can you expect other people to spend time with you?  Think about that.

I believe the best way to view meditation time is as your personal "being" time, a part of the day when you give yourself a respite from cares, troubles, concerns, and you just become quiet and listen.  Once you get beyond the chitter chatter of your to-do lists or what he or she said about the new boss, you will become accustomed to the "sound of silence." 

Yoga Quotation of the Day:  "No matter what thoughts come, they can do us no harm.  WE let the thoughts come and go while we sit and watch as beholders."  ~Joel Goldsmith in The Thunder of Silence.