Meditation – Slow down to accelerate faster

After my morning meditation, I wanted to share with all my fellow naktivers an article I wrote on my blog. Enjoy and I look forward to reading your comments.

The many benefits of meditation are no longer to be demonstrated. Only one search on the internet brings back nearly two million results, including some from medical sites. However, many people wonder how to meditate. A colleague told me that when she tried, her mind couldn’t calm down. Meditating on a daily basis for more than 25 years, I thought that sharing my experience could only be beneficial.

Careful though! I’m just a meditating amateur. The tips and ideas I give you are to adapt to your reality. I advise you to take courses or use an app to guide you. Sometimes it is necessary to be helped. So here is my method and my meditation tips.

Get comfortable

Before any meditation session, your body should be comfortable. I meditate entirely naked. The body is then freed from any clothing constraint that can block blood flow. I so advise complete nudity, including jewelry and glasses. If you cannot or do not wish to be nude, wear loose clothing, preferably without elastic bands, made of natural fabric such as linen or cotton.

Once in the right outfit, make yourself comfortable. I especially like lying on my back, on a bed or a deckchair. I also meditate sometimes sitting on a chair or on a cushion. It depends on my mood, where I am or just the moment. The important thing is to be comfortable. Don’t cross your arms or your legs. Let them lie in a natural and relaxed position.

Of course, if you site on a cushion on the floor, you can cross your legs or sit in the Lotus position. Personally, I find that my meditations are more beneficial and enjoyable when I am lying, my arms lying by my body and my legs stretched.

Breathing through all the pores of your skin

Once comfortably set, you can start your session. It is important to give yourself time. You will be able to read that a one or two-minute session is possible. It’s true. It’s better to meditation for minute than nothing. But I suggest you give it 15 to 30 minutes to get started. It’s time for you, for your well-being. Put a timer at 15 or 30 minutes if you don’t have more time. Don’t stress yourself out, though.

Sit or lie down, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Feel the air coming in your nose coming out your mouth. Feel it’s freshness, and its path to your lung cells. Focus on your breathing. If your mind wander, or ideas invade you, go back to your breathing. Once relaxed, start by breathing through your skins. Imagine that the air comes through your feet, your hands, your belly, your legs, your arms, your shoulders and to your lungs.

I usually visualize the air coming in one end in the form of light and finding its way to my chest. It’s up to you to find the image that suits you. You will know it when you “feel” the air scouring your body. Your skin is about 1.7 square meters. It is an amazing organ that acts as an interface between the outside and the inside of your body. By visualizing my breathing, I feel a complete well-being.

Visualize Your Life

In my sessions, once the body and mind are relaxed, I move on to my visualizations. I usually have three different visualizations: one of gratitude, one of the day’s programming and one of the longer term project. For example, I thank nature for its benefits by seeing me walk in a forest smiling. I see myself having a great day and writing in my diary that everything happened as I had planned. I am finally visualizing the trip wish to make by the end of the year.

The principle is to put yourself in a positive state of mind. Neuroscience shows the positive effects of visualizations and meditation. These few minutes are the best preparations for a great day or an excellent night. It is worth noting that I usually meditate in the morning. However, I sometimes do a short session when I find it hard to sleep. I see myself getting up in the morning in good shape. In a majority of cases, it works perfectly well.

Ending the session

If you meditate before you fall asleep, you can let yourself slip into sleep. During the day, you are going to come out gently from your session. It is possible that your timer will indicate you the end. If you are without an end indicator, decide to finish your session whenever you want. I start by gently stirring fingers and toes. Then I caress my body. Without established order, but by making contact with every square centimeter of skin.

This body contact allows to feel your body, to appreciate and to thank it. We have little opportunity to touch our body, except during the shower or bath. Establishing this contact is beneficial to our overall balance. Finally, I open my eyes, smile, and stretch. I’m ready to have a good day!

There would be much more to write about meditation than those few lines. Practiced daily, meditation is a great way to manage your stress, to clarify your ideas and to better appreciate life holistically. Meditation and naturism are for me complementary and inseparable. They bring wellness, calm and respect. They help to reconcile body and mind.

I wish you good meditations!