Are You The Girl That Cringes When You Hear Meditate?

How many times have you been scrolling through social media and seen someone who is meditating and looks completely peaceful?  Maybe you see a wellness expert or an influencer who is sitting there perfectly posed in a perfect state of peace.  And when you see this person you think… “I wish I could do that but 20 seconds into meditation my mind is all over the place because I’m bored already!”  Are you that person???

I’m willing to bet you are also the person who knows that there are many benefits to practicing meditation and mindfulness.  If you have read this blog in the past I KNOW that you have read about that! But there are some people out there who just can’t sit still!  Are you one of them?  I know I am!

The fact of that matter is that even if you are the type of person who can’t sit still, your mind still needs a break!  You may never be one of those people who can sit on the floor, legs folded, mind quiet, and achieve that state of meditation.  But there are other ways that you can give your mind a rest.  Let’s explore one of my favorite ways to do that…active meditation!

Active Meditation

There are a lot of people out there, including you, that can benefit from active meditation.  Active meditation, also known as dynamic meditation, was popularized in the 1970’s by an Indian mystic named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, later known as Osho. Why did he come up with the concept of active meditation?  Because he realized that in our fast paced world, we needed a form of meditation that could fit into this active life most of us live.  One of my favorite forms of active meditation is walking meditation.

Walking meditation

I know you are probably thinking, “Shelby, you’re crazy! How can you walk and meditate at the same time?” And at one time, I would have probably been inclined to agree with you.  But hear me out!

What is one thing that all of us are guilty of having by our sides at all times?  I’ll give you a hint…it’s not your spouse.  It’s your PHONE!  Step one is to leave your phone at home. You need to go on a walk without your phone!!!  The world will keep turning if you don’t have your phone for 30 minutes.

Step two is to focus on everything around you!  Things you need to try to  focus on are the things that you senses are designed to pick up.  What you are seeing, hearing, and sensing throughout the course of your walk.

Step three is to stop thinking about everything on your TO DO list for the day.  You will get to those things later on in your day!  So right now, focus on what you are doing in that moment.  Take time to do things like noticing the color of the sky, the smell of the flowers, the sounds of the birds and everything else around you.  Be grateful for all of those things.

Start practicing this the next time you go out for a walk!  Wake up 30 minutes early and get in a walk and really be present and observe the world around you and be grateful for it.

Walking meditation includes allowing your thoughts to come in and out.  You need to just notice them, but not really focus on them/  As you allow those thoughts to go back out, you then need to get back to the senses and the body.  It’s important that you notice the space you take up while you are walking, the feet hitting the ground, your arms gently swinging. As you continue to do this, turning your brain off and your mindfulness on, will become easier and easier.

Meditation doesn’t have to be you sitting in a quiet room, perfectly poised on a pillow, arguing with your brain to just be quiet already.  Maybe you just aren’t made to sit still.  I encourage you to not give up on meditation and mindfulness!  Give active meditation a try instead of giving up!  Because if you are anything like me, your brain needs that break.  Meditation and mindfulness can give you that!  Now…what are you waiting for??? Go for a walk!

I’m going to be doing a video in my FB Group about this exact subject so stay tuned for that!  If you aren’t in my Facebook Group come and join us and have a safe place to learn more about naturally healing!

And as always, if you ever have any questions, please reach out to me!

-Shelby