Finding calm

“Most of us live increasingly busy, hectic and materialistic lives. The stress of living this way can contribute toward a variety of physical ailments, putting our bodies under great strain, and inevitably there is a price to pay. Moreover, this price can be psychological and spiritual, as well as physical.
One way of reducing stress is to change our way of living, but for many people this is neither possible nor necessarily desirable. We need therefore to find other ways, and central to these is to learn how to relax and to make time for personal and spiritual development. Relaxation means not only releasing tensions and relaxing every muscle in the body, it means relaxing the mind too. And many of us feel a need to find answers to some of the fundamental questions of life and to nurture our spiritual side which we often neglect. So how can we achieve this? By meditation.
From the outside, meditation looks easy enough. You only have to sit down and close your eyes. In reality it is not that simple. Although you were certainly born with the ability to meditate, you need to learn how to use the mind in this way. There are many methods involved, such as contemplation (allowing insights to arise) and visualisation (conjuring a mental image upon which to focus). As with any undertaking, you will need commitment and patience to succeed.
But, if you persevere, you will find that the benefits of meditation far outweigh the time and the effort you put in...”

This article continues to outline some simple exercises to help you find calm in the modern world. Reproduced courtesy of the book MEDITATION BLISS by David Fontana, published by Duncan Baird Publishers and available on SPECIAL OFFER for readers of Yoga & Health. See page 14 of the November 2007 issue for further details. Illustrations © Lucy Truman & Asami Mitsuhira from 3+Co/Duncan Baird Publishers.