Meditation - Day 7
Yesterday was a laying meditation in my yoga space. My hips and quads were tight from all the walking this weekend, and sitting just wasn't comfortable and I found it distracting to be so uncomfortable, I wonder if that is what plagued me over the weekend and I just wasn't tuned in enough to realize it fully.
My experience today: As I was at the end of my work day and had already gotten my exercise in for the day, I was fairly calm to begin with but quite tight. As usual, the monkey mind started with the list of things to do (remind self to do mid-year performance appraisal, need a new head for my electric tooth brush, what will I put in my blog tomorrow, I cannot believe I started a Stella & Dot business, etc.). Again, I simply acknowledged the thought as it entered and it soon left. I didn't ruminate on the thoughts as I do when I'm not meditating (hmmmm, I'm wondering if I should stop that too... but one thing at a time).
I really like the counting of my inhalation/exhalation as 1 breath. I am focused on my breathing and I am focused on me. Eventually, the monkey mind quieted down (somewhere around 20 breaths). I was aware of the breeze and the temperature and how hard the floor is. I didn't lose count today, I made it to 50+ breaths and my alarm sounded.
When I am meditating I am seeing a decrease in rate of breath and in my heart rate. Also, as consistently I am very calm after meditating. I think I'm starting to feel calmer in daily life, but that may just be "wanting" to feel calmer and prove this out. Also, I'm sleeping significantly better, per my fitness tracker. Only time will tell and some crazy work challenges. I'm sure that will be challenged in the next week or so. I'll let you know how it works.
Lessons learned: Later in the day seems to work very well for me, at least during the week. For the weekends / days I'm not working my corporate job I will try meditating in the AM. I am also enjoying taking the 10 minutes a day, for me and no one other than me, though I'm sure others are benefiting from it.
-Desk Dwelling Yogi