NITA SWEENEY
What to do with your thoughts while you move I can’t meditate. My mind is too active. I can’t stop thinking. If I had a dollar (or even a dime) for every time I’ve heard that, I’d be set financially for life. The prevailing myth that meditation requires you to
What to do when your body doesn’t feel splendid Sometimes, your body doesn’t feel “splendid.” Instead, you feel discomfort. Anxiety, depression, panic attacks, paranoia, and other mental health situations can cause us to feel ungrounded and spacey. Focusing awareness on the body with equanimity brings us back to the present
Nom. Nom. Nom. Tasting meditation. The final sense gate is taste, sensations that arise in the mouth, whether from things we put in our mouth or flavors in the mouth that emanate from our bodies. You can do “tasting meditation.” Anyone who does any kind of movement practice must fuel
Sniff your way to nirvana Sniffing meditation? Really? Okay. You might not be able to sniff your way to nirvana. But you can use smell or scent as an object of meditation. Scent evokes memory. Those memories are thoughts I will discuss more later. Be aware of the difference between
Best time to meditate? What’s the best time to meditate? If you know me, you know what I’m going to say: NOW! But the second best time is whenever you will do it and the best meditation is the one you actually do! There is no “right way” or “right
Meditation: what to do when sound is painful Even if the sound is painful, that irritation can be transformed into meditative practice. On an early morning trail run, I felt my body tense as I heard the slosh, slosh, slosh of ice in a fellow runner’s hydration vest. Every slosh
What do you hear? Using sound in meditation Today, on an easy jog with Scarlet the pupperina, I focused on sound, specifically the autumn wind I could hear rustling through the trees. I had originally intended to focus on sadness, confusion, and brooding feelings about a highly charged situation. I
Using sight in meditation For humans, the visual field, sight, is our most powerful sense. This makes sight very stimulating, which is why in sitting meditation, you might be instructed to close your eyes or keep them cast downward. In most mindful movement, we keep our eyes open so we
Using your the “felt sense” (touch) in meditation In mindful movement meditation, we infuse our “experience” (thoughts and body sensations) with awareness and equanimity in real-time. Body sensations include each of the five senses: sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch, including the breath. Here I will discuss using the “felt
Using your breath in meditation In mindful movement meditation, we infuse our “experience” (thoughts and body sensations) with awareness and equanimity in real-time. Body sensations include each of the five senses: sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch, including the breath. Here I will discuss using the breath in meditation. Felt Sense
