Meditation for lazy people

I was never a good candidate for meditation. I didn't care much for New Age stuff and I was always too busy. But when I took on a complex executive job, I quickly realized I needed a good excuse to shut my door for 10 or 15 minutes a day and just breathe and gather my forces and focus. 

A friend recommended napping, but I always felt groggy after a nap and I didn't like that drool thing. For  years, I read about all the benefits of meditation but was always too lazy to try.  But I stumbled upon an incredibly simple technique that even someone impatient like me was willing to try. It's an adaptation of a  pranayama yoga breathing that I found on the wonderful Wildmind site. I simplified it about 95% for my own impatient lifestyle. If you're interested in a completely disciplined and traditional practice, you should look at their site.

It took me about twenty minutes to learn the basics, and yet it gave me immediate satisfaction and results which have only gotten better over the years. Even after my first  session, I found myself feeling  calmer, clearer, and more in control. Solutions to intense problems just seemed to appear in my mind. My patience and tolerance for other people increased. I even use it sometimes to help me get to sleep at night. Over time, I've realized the almost limitless depth of the technique, but again, it was very simple and quick to learn the basics.

PREPARATION & ATTITUDE

• TIME AND PLACE: Make sure you've carved out a place and time in your schedule - about 15-30 minutes -- where and when you won't be interrupted. Take your phone off the hook and shut down all beeping things. I always chose 3 p.m and had a standing appointment in my calendar. I closed the door to my office. Folks knew I wasn't available at that time and it all worked out.
• POSITION & POSTURE: Find a comfortable chair that supports your back, buttocks and thighs and lets your feet touch the floor completely. Find a comfortable position in the chair. You don't need to be too erect. A little slumping is OK. But try to be as symmetrical as possible: both hands on your thighs or crossed in your lap, shoulders and feet balanced. I like to waggle my arms, shoulders, and head  before I begin to stay loose.
  
• CLOSE YOUR EYES and take a deep breath in through your nose, hold it for a bit, let it out through your nose. This is a cleansing breath.
  
• FORGIVE YOURSELF: The one thing I find most helpful is to forgive myself if I slipped, lost count, or lost concentration and focus. This is not a competition, and trying for perfection is a distraction. Somedays I just can't get "there." Whatever benefits you get from it wil be a plus. On the other hand, it's good to always try to improve and you'll find that if you stick with it, you definitely will.

FIRST BREATHING EXERCISE

• Breathe in through your nose fairly deeply. Feel the air fill your lungs.
• Breathe out through your nose slowly and smoothly.
• When you finish exhaling the breath, Count "1." Say it in your mind.
  
• Repeat until you count to 10.
• Don't worry if your breaths are uneven in rhythm or depth.
• Focus only on your breathing and counting. Dont worry if other thoughts or sounds intrude.
• Don't worry if you lost track of the count. It happens to everyone. I use my fingers to keep track.
• Repeat as many times as you wish...  until you "Get" it or you're bored with it.
  

SECOND BREATHING EXERCISE

• When you feel you understand the first exercise, move on to the second one. It's totally up to you when you feel you're ready to try it.
• Before inhaling the first breath, count "1." Say it in your mind.
• Breathe in through your nose fairly deeply. Feel the air fill your lungs.
• Breathe out through your nose slowly and smoothly.
• Just before you're ready to start the next breath, count the next number.
• Repeat until you reach 10.
• Start over and do repetitions as many times as you wish.
• When you feel you "get" this exercise, when you're ready, do the First Exercise and then do the Second Exercise afterwards.
• As you get good and comfortable, your sessions should start with the First Exercise before doing the Second Exercise.

You'll quickly realize the first and second exercises are exactly the same but somehow completely different. You are performing the actions in the same order, except in the first you are counting AFTER  the breath, and in the second you are counting BEFORE the breath.

So what's the trick? I won't tell you because amazingly, you'll soon realize the difference yourself. But I'll give you a hint: the first is called "Closing" and the second is called "Opening."

THIRD BREATHING EXERCISE

• When you feel you "get" (understand) both the first and second practices and can do them in a satisfying way together, you're ready to start this Third Breathing.
• Go through the First and Second Exercises patiently.
  
• Now doe this third exercise, do the same as above two exercises, but don't count. 
  
• At first you may feel a little lost, but instead of counting the ends and beginnings of each breath as your guide, now you should Follow the Breath.
• Stop when you feel satisfied.
• In fact, that's the name of this exercise: Follow the Breath.  Don't worry if you don't understand at first.  You will.
  

FOURTH BREATHING EXERCISE

After you feel you have really understood and gotten comfortable with the first three exercises. Send me a message on SpongeFish, and I'll send you the Fourth Exercise.