Urban Zen: Meditation In Bigger Cities
Meditation in the big city can sometimes be a daunting task! More and more
cities are creating more spaces for relaxing, keeping your cool and de-stressing
in a city setting. The practice of urban zen helps us temporarily let the
physical world go so that we can begin to see ourselves as we truly are -
spiritually enlightened beings.
Big cities are creating more outdoor and public spaces for relaxing, recreation and refreshing your spirit with nature! Find a bench, grassy knoll or special place in your city where you can reconnect with sky, nature or sea (if possible).
Meditation is a time-honored technique that can take you into infinite
dimensions of consciousness. It is a simple effort that becomes effortless as we
do it more and more. One major principle to meditation is the ability to
completely quiet your mind. Quieting the mind comes as a result of meditating
over a long period of time, but any time you are looking within, you are
meditating. Meditation helps us live a healthier, less stressful life. The
physical and psychological benefits are wonderful and many people meditate only
for those reasons.
There are many meditation methods. Some are passive -- such as observing the
breath. Others are active -- in the sense that you actually do something like
repeating a word or mantra. The meditations that you will find here will help
you develop on many levels. No matter what style or form you follow, meditation
should always be gentle. Do not force anything. Allow your efforts to flow
naturally and effortlessly.
These meditation can be done anywhere and do not require anything but yourself!
Letting Go. Fold your hands gently in your lap and close your eyes. Take a few
deep breaths. Then just sit. If you have never meditated before, you will
probably feel as if your mind is full of thoughts. Don't try to stop the
thoughts, just watch them. Imagine that you are on the bank of a river and that
your thoughts are the river going by. Don't try to stop the river, just watch
it. Within a week, you will see the river begin to slow down. You may become
impatient, or even bored. That's okay. If you find yourself complaining, just
watch the thoughts pass by. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes. You may find that you
fall asleep because you are so relaxed. That's good because, in many ways, you
have begun to let go. Continue at this pace and each day allow just a little
more time for yourself to meditate. Doing this allows you to relax and forget
about time.
Progressive Relaxation is just that. A slow transition from a tense, immobile
state to a calmer more supple mind and body. This is a way of releasing tension
in the muscles. There are many variations of Progressive Relaxation. Here is one
of them:
Begin by laying on your back in a comfortable position.
Take a series of deep slow breaths and then focus your awareness on different
parts of the body in turn, becoming aware of any muscular tension and releasing
it.
One way to do this is to first tense a muscle deliberately and then relax it.
You can start with the top of the body, tensing and relaxing the muscles of the
upper face, then moving on to the jaw, neck, chest, front of the arms, abdomen,
thighs, lower legs, feet, and toes.
Then do the same down the back of the body. Finally, lie still with the eyes
closed, concentrating on your breath. Allow the whole body to relax into the
ground. Feel the floor underneath you, supporting you. Feel the earth supporting
the floor. Feel yourself now deeply rooted and grounded into the earth beneath
you.
Enjoying this deep feeling of peace and freedom from muscular tension.
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