Do-It-Yourself Meditation

By Chelsea McQuaid

In our society of “must-see” and ”must-have,” it’s hard to imagine taking the time to contemplate what we see and acquire. Our knee-jerk, superficial reactions have turned us into an “either or” nation. It’s black or white, you’re a Republican or Democrat. Fast and furious, we move from one trend to the next, never reflecting upon why we wanted something in the first place. This high-paced, mass-consumption lifestyle we’ve carved for ourselves has given way to real health concerns now facing a majority of people. Our hearts race, our weight increases, our anxiety attacks and we don’t have time for a fix that takes longer than the swallow of a pill.  Would you believe that medicine has found something to help our bodies and minds?

Meditation has existed for over 5,000 years as an intellectual exercise. Its goal is self-awareness. Once thought to be linked to religion, modern-day science has embraced this practice as a method of stress relief, arthritis, chronic pain and as treatment for a variety of other conditions. While many methods of meditation exist, one thing connects them all: deep breathing. Deep breathing provides our bodies with an abundance of oxygen, a necessity to all living organisms. Humans can’t even go more than a few minutes without this vital element.

Don’t believe me? Join me on a leap of faith….

Get a timer from your kitchen, or, more likely, set your cell phone alarm for five minutes. That’s all the more time I’m asking you for. Take these next five minutes, sit in a room where you won’t be disturbed, shut your mouth (if I can do it, anyone can), close your eyes and breathe. Traditional teaching promotes breathing through your nose, but if you have a cold, I’ll forgive you. If you’re wondering what else to do, that’s it. I mean, yes, you are welcome to enjoy the feel of your muscles relaxing around you. Thoughts will come and go through your mind. Listen to them. Don’t classify them as good or bad. They just are.

Then the alarm goes off. Maybe it seemed too soon, maybe you checked it eight times, but you succeeded, or didn’t. The real question is: What did you think? And why? Can the relaxing, emotionally neutralizing effects of meditation help not only your heart rate, but the way you look at the world?

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