Dying to get back to your meditation cushion and shed off
those work stress? Pick up these handy ninja meditation methods to nirvana
So you’ve
learned how to meditate through some books or articles found on the Internet
(like the How to Meditate guide on this website)
and have been enjoying your new found state of peace and serenity. This is all
good and well except that when your stress level escalates, you find yourself
knocked out of balanced again and again, and fall back into old modes of fear
and panic. That’s when you wish you could retreat to your meditation cushion
and reclaim your peace.
Don’t feel
discouraged, my dear friend. If you have been meditating conscientiously
everyday, you’d find your ‘appetite’ for stress becoming larger and larger over
time. That means, things which will usually send you into an anxious or
high-stress mode will gradually lose their grip on you. You’d stress or panic
less, and even when you do lost your balance, you will be able to retain a pair
of watchful eyes that witness yourself going through the emotional turbulence
without fueling it and making it worse.
But inevitably, there
will be times when we wish we could bring our meditation cushion wherever we go
so that we can meditate whenever we are and let our thoughts and worries settle
down. This is especially so if you’re working in a highly stressful
environment. There are in fact some practical ways in which you can meditate in
your workplace without looking like you’re meditating at all! Here are some ninja
meditation techniques to use anytime, anywhere:
Ninja
Meditation Techniques
1. The
Unwavering Gaze
·
Choose a point of focus — an
icon on your minimalist
computer desktop, a paper clip on the table, a crack on the wall, or anything
static — and gently rest your gaze on it. Soften your gaze by
relaxing your eye muscles while still mindfully looking at your selected
object. Now take a slow, deep breath. Feel your lungs expanding gradually. Hold
the air inside you for a second or two, then exhale it slowly and completely.
As you breathe out, imagine your tension, both physical and mental, leaving
your body with the air you’ve just exhaled. All the while, keep your focus on
your selected object. If you find that your attention has wandered off, just
bring it back to the chosen object. Repeat the breathing as many times as you
like.
2. Nifty
Guided Meditation
·
Audio guided meditations can
be brilliant tool to use in the office especially when you don’t want people to
know you’re meditating.Using a combination of
beautiful background music and specially written narration, guided meditations
can help you to relax quickly by engaging your senses and painting vivid mental
pictures that calm you down in no time. And they’re convenient and discreet
too. Simply plugged into your favorite guided meditation with a MP3 player and
a pair of earphones, and you’re on your way to a safe haven right where you
are. If you’re new to guided meditation, listen to a short segment from The Healing Waterfall II to get a taste of how
one works:
3. Watching
the Mind Movie
·
Turn your focus inward and
pay attention to the content of your mind as if you’re watching a movie. What do you see? But
here’s one more rule: you are required to observe your thoughts without
muddling or getting involved in them. In other words, just watch and be mindful
of them. If you find yourself entangled in some past memories, gently hit your
left hand with your right to remind yourself to stay in the present. But if
you’re worrying about something in the future instead, hit your right hand with
your left. The aim here is to train yourself to be able to keep a conscious,
watchful eye on the content of your mind.
4. Clear Blue
Sky Visualization
·
Nothing liberates the mind
like an endless stretch of blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Close your eyes and
retrieve the image of a clear blue sky from your memories. Can you see it? If
you can’t, just visualize the perfect blue sky in your mind — the joyful blue
sky that is associated with lots of vibrant life energies. ‘See’ cotton-like
clouds floating slowly towards you in the horizon. And the occasional birds
that chirp and fly across the sky. Rest and relax completely in this vast blue
sky. Stay in it as long as you like. When you’re ready to emerge from it,
visualize yourself being more relaxed and more confident to accept and face any
challenge that might come your way. Open your eyes and apply your increased
level of awareness to your work.
