I'm not very good at meditating. By "not very good", I mean downright awful.
Although I definitely see the value in being able to meditate every day, a traditional meditation practice does not work for me. I have a hard time quieting my mind when I am sitting there in silence. My mind goes wild. I think of all of the things that I need to do. I think of the things that I could be doing right now. I feel guilty for not being productive at meditating and therefore wasting time that I could be spending doing something else. Then I wonder why I can't quiet my mind. I end up feeling worse and more frazzled than when I started.
It is easy for me to quiet my mind and just "be" when I am listening to music while walking my dog. I have a play list that I usually listen to while walking Ari that's pretty mellow - acoustic Arkells, the Lumineers with some Marley and Neil Young mixed in for fun. My mind quiets almost instantly.
When it got cold out this winter, I stopped listening to music while I walked with Ari. I don't know why. I wasn't enjoying our walks as much, and I started to see them as a chore, not something I was looking forward to. My mind would race around while I walked. I would think about one topic for a bit and then move on to the next and so on and so on. Nothing got resolved or figured out because my mind bounced around from one thing to the next. I was not relaxed. I finished my walk feeling more stressed than when I started.
About a month ago I realized I hadn't been listening to music for awhile while walking. I'm not sure why I stopped but I did once it got cold outside. Maybe I thought my earbuds wouldn't fit under my toque, I don't know.
The day that I started again was not a nice day. It was around -18C with a wind. According to the forecast, it was going to snow later in the day so I wanted to get the walk done before that happened. Off we went. Turns out my earbuds fit just fine under my toque;).
Although I was cold and it was early to be out of the house on a Saturday morning, I felt like I could walk for hours. We walked three times as long as I had planned on and I loved every second of it. My mind was quiet and I felt free.
I am not a Winter person. I am cold all the time. Winter driving stresses me out. I hate snow. I have gotten quite good at being mindful when walking for all the other seasons, but Winter is much harder for me. That day though, I noticed the snow covered mountains in the distance and they looked beautiful. So did the trees in the park with a dusting of snow of them. It was calming.
I think we all quiet our minds and practice mindfulness in different ways and that's OK. The main thing is that we take the time to figure out what works for us. I really would like to be that girl in the gorgeous yoga wear sitting in lotus position experiencing inner peace, but that's just not me.
What is "me" and has worked for many youth in the groups I have done, is using chocolate to introduce the concept of mindfulness. We sit on the floor and get into whatever position is comfy for us and then at the same time we all unwrap a small piece of good quality chocolate and put it in our mouths. We close our eyes and everyone is quiet and focused only on the chocolate. How does it feel in your mouth? How does the texture change as the chocolate melts? How does it taste? Then when it is gone, we sit for a moment and just pay attention to how we feel before we open our eyes. This has become a favourite activity in my groups - both for me and the kids!
When we are done, everyone is feeling calmer and more relaxed. They are present. It works great when focus is an issue or there is a lot of negative energy in the room. When we take a minute to be quiet and mindful, we create an open space in which we can talk, listen to others, and learn.
I love hearing about other people's strategies for quieting their minds and practicing mindfulness. The more strategies I can introduce to others, the greater the odds that they will find something that works for them. I would love it if you would comment below or email me and share what works for you. Especially if it involves dark chocolate;)