Conscious Rest Meditation

Hey Guys! As I said, I'm going to provide the instructions given to me by the Mind Body Clinic on campus that have been getting me through some anxious parts of my day(s).

I'll describe it in a series of steps and then try to discuss what I've learned.

1. Take about 30 seconds to get into a comfortable, seated position (not lying down).
2. Once comfortable, close your eyes, and begin inhaling through your nose, focusing on expanding your diaphragm, not your lungs. Let your stomach expand, and then exhale that air through your mouth. Do this 3 times.
3. On the third breath, imagine breathing in love for yourself- all the love you can possibly breathe into your body. Let it flow through your nose, down to your lungs, into your stomach, and throughout your arms, legs, and extremities.
4. Before exhaling, give a name to what you'd like to release. At any given time, that's usually "fear of letting people down" or "fear of being a bad mother" or "fear of failure" for me. You can start with this, or yours could be something like anxiety, worry, doubt, or even the exam you're about to take. Once you choose that name for what you want to release, exhale with a really big sigh. I tried to just exhale with a big breath and the counselor made me do it again because she said it wasn't strong enough. So think big, exaggerated sigh.
5. Then, you'll want to choose a sound to focus on, particularly one that has vibration. "Zring" is the word I was told to use, but "Om" could work just as well. The vibration of the sound is what will enable you to relax. I originally thought I needed to pick a word, not sound, to use. I was corrected with this because choosing a word to focus on, or a phrase, can actually encourage more thinking. This isn't the ultimate goal of conscious rest meditation.
6. Continue letting that sound fade to the background as you sit in silence, eyes closed. Try to do this for twenty minutes, twice a day. But keep in mind, any meditation is better than no meditation.

One of the most annoying things about meditation are the thoughts that pop up when you're trying to clear your mind. It's also a common misconception about meditation.

Think about what you're ultimately doing for yourself: you're blocking out external cues, like the tv, cell phone, Facebook, daylight, clocks, paperwork... you name it. You're releasing those images, and then you're actively, mindfully breathing until you get more relaxed. Once you get to step 5, you're simply sitting alone, in as much silence as your surroundings provide, and you're just trying to rest. Thoughts will come and go. The best thing you can do is to allow them to do so, and then come back to the sound. Eventually, those thoughts start to fade, or they may get fuzzy. They also may completely disappear. You may have a moment of nothingness, where you even lose track of where you are, what time it is, or what exactly you're doing. This can occur, but you shouldn't set this as your destination. The reason I say that, is because what you do in steps 1-6 is incredibly beneficial, and just as rewarding as getting to that state of nothingness.

Upon waking from your rest, you should feel a little more energized, light, and calm.

I hope you'll check out what I've learned and tried to share with you!