In the editor’s letter of the August issue of Psychologies I wrote a rather personal piece about my inability to ‘switch off’. I tried a half-day meditation class at London Meditation and promised to report back here on how I was finding it – and also asked if readers had any advice.
Well, you did.
Deryn Verner gave me The Three Arrivals, a Buddhist practice:
Arrive with your body – relax and exhale.
Arrive with your breath – notice the rhythm of your breath, feel it – don’t count or time each breath, just be aware of them.
Arrive with your mind – just be. Don’t get involved with thoughts. If they come, let them go. The more you’re aware of your immediate environment, the less your thoughts distract you.
Though she also added that her favourite way to lighten up was ‘to get on my Harley and head out of the city’. As well as needing to concentrate (so no worrying about other things), riding her bike resulted in a change of scene ‘with a smile on your face and you can’t remember what you were so stressed about in the first place’.
Janet Walden’s advice was this. ‘Sit or lie down. Take a deep breath, and count slowly up to a comfortable number, e.g. 4 to start with, then breathe out for 4. Do this a couple of times, then increase to 5. Repeat this sequence until you can count to your highest achievable number, without feeling dizzy, e.g. 8. Then work backwards to 4. You are so busy concentrating on counting and breathing, it definitely helps to quieten the “monkey mind” as Buddha calls it!’
Working mother Joanna Cupid rates the dhyana meditation style which is part of her Alexander Technique yoga. ‘If I have had a busy week, I gradually feel all of my thoughts and worries slipping away and my head empties. I come out of the meditation slowly and feel re-energised for it.’ She referred me to Blackheath Holistic Services for more information.
Accountant Paul has tried lots of different meditation styles, but his saviour was a book called ‘Stop Thinking Start Living’ by Richard Carlson – ‘it made a huge difference to my life’.
Janet King’s stressful life made her ill, but meditation has healed her, she says, by giving her a new way to ‘live’ – ‘for me it has a very spritual meaning and I do feel like I’m getting my life back.’
And me? Well, I struggle to find the time, but have tried a couple of the ideas mentioned here – successfully – and plan to get to the others. I’m holidaying in August, so these are not empty promises!
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