Meditation ... My Last Word on the Subject

Meditation...my Last Word on the Subject

I recently read a magazine side-bar on the topic of meditation and the author, Nancy Christie offered the following for you to consider...

"The word meditation often conjures up images of saffron-robed monks in faraway mountain retreats- but the age-old practice is actually much more accessible than that. Even in the simplest forms, it can drop your blood pressure and heart rates significantly." (Hey, that's benefit enough to give it a try!)

In the article she suggests 10-20 minutes, but as I can already hear your collective shouts, I would propose beginning with 2-3 minutes. I know it doesn't seem like much, but if you are going nonstop in your day, making the choice to stop, sit still and breathe for 2-3 minutes is a big step.

Dr. Herbert Benson, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of The Relaxation Response, offers the following as "a simple routine to get started:
Find a chair where you can sit comfortably and quietly. Keep your legs uncrossed, feet flat on the floor; hands loosely in your lap. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to begin. Then slowly and gently breathe into your abdomen."

Okay all you faith-sisters out there, you can do this! Just in case you don't know how to breathe; take note, your tummy should expand with each inhale and flatten when you exhale.
Dr. Herbert says to, "Concentrate on your breath and remove your focus from the chatter in your mind. Don't try to stop thinking, just don't attach your attention to it. Each time you get swept up in your thoughts, move your attention back to breathing."

Trust me when I tell you, this will take some focused practice, but the benefit to your body is immediate. And it will be from this relaxed state that you can move forward and meditate on the Word the one sure thing we have to bring restorative peace to our soul and spirit.
Stephanie

Afterthought:
Just in case you're wondering if it's biblical to relax, here is something for you to consider:

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation." ~~ Genesis 2:1-3