I went with my sister to my first meditation class last night at a local Buddhist Temple.  As I mentioned before, I have read about meditation but have never been able to do it on my own because my mind wanders.  I figured a guided meditation might help.  I was right.

First, I have to back-track a little.  Almost every weekday, around 4-6pm, I become anxious.  First I get a knot in my stomach that eventually gets worse and worse and then I get irritable.  It took forever but I finally figured out where this was coming from.  That knowledge didn’t stop it from happening.  Yesterday at this time, I didn’t feel it.  No anxiety.  No irritability.  Nothing.  I was cool as a cucumber.  Hmmmm….did the universe know I was going to meditation class later? 

We started off in a standing position.  I wasn’t expecting that.  I thought meditation always involved being seated and still.  Not so.  The beginning meditations were a series of movements and sounds designed to cleanse different body parts or organs of toxins.  I’m not sure if I believe that this actually works but it couldn’t hurt and it was relaxing.

The next part involved walking.  There were two options, fast or slow.  Not having a clue what was going on, I followed my sister in the fast lane.  It was later explained that the walking meditation is to get your blood circulating so that you will sit more comfortably later.  This was my least favorite part.  While it did get the blood pumping, especially in the fast lane, I was not at all focused.  I was looking at all the “stuff” in this foreign (to me) place.  I figured out that you can switch from the fast lane to the slow lane anytime you like.  I later found out that it’s a matter of personal choice to walk slow or fast.  I did both.  The fast lane was less distracting because you had to keep up the pace of the group.  The sound of all those feet booking around was rhythmic. 

After that we all sat on cushions with our shoes off and our legs crossed and began what I think of when I think of meditating.  We closed our eyes and counted our breaths, breathing normally.  We had to count 10 breaths and then start over at 1.  Repeatedly.  For what seemed like at least 45 minutes.  I really have no clue how long this actually was but it felt like forever. 

At first I got really into it.  I was feeling pretty proud of myself.  My mind wasn’t wandering.  I wasn’t thinking about anything.  In fact, I wasn’t feeling anything at all, except relaxed.  Had I already reached Nirvana?!  Nope.  Someone sneezed and broke the spell.  I had a difficult time getting back into it after that.  I noticed that my entire right leg had fallen asleep but I was afraid to move!  I ended up counting to 15 at one point and thought, “I’m doing it wrong”.  Despite this and the discomfort of my now-dead right leg, this part of the class was extremely relaxing and beneficial.

After a short break and another round of walking, we were told a story about a Dharma who brought flowers to Buddha.  Buddha kept telling him to “let it go”, even after the Dharma had already put the flowers down.  The Dharma was confused.  What Buddha meant was let all of it go, all of the stress, all of the problems, all of the anxiety.  This was pretty amazing to me.  Although I know enough about Buddhism to know that this is one of the principles of the religion, the exact phrase, “let it go”, is one I repeat to myself regularly.  It’s the title of a song I love.  It’s even the “greeting” I have on the screen of my cell phone. 

I left the class feeling extremely relaxed.  I loved it.  I will be back every two weeks.

Thanks for stopping by!