How to Meditate in This Million-Mile-an-Hour World

by Dr. Kamilla Holst, D.C.
Sit Still and Meditate in this Million-Mile-an-Hour World?

A regular meditation practice can have a whole host of benefits, but how do you manage to clear your mind in this million-mile-an-hour world?

Meditation has become very popular in recent years and is helping many people around the globe. It can offer significant benefits, from disease and pain management to better sleep, improved control of emotions and even stress relief. It can sound like a wonder drug, but it might also sound like an impossible task when you cannot—or do not have the opportunity to—sit still.

Some people make it sound so easy, to just sit down and meditate and clear out the mind of all of your thoughts, but in reality this can take some time to learn. It is like training your muscles in the gym. It takes practice, patience, and dedication, which most of us are not born with….

 
How do I meditate?

First of all, forget about sitting crossed-legged or in lotus positions unless you are an experienced yogi or hyper mobile. There are many meditation traditions that tell you that you must sit in a certain way to experience enlightenment and the benefits of meditation, but this is not a must. It’s perfectly okay to sit on a normal chair with your feet on the ground in an upright position. But do try and sit upright, as this ensures the ‘chi’ (the life-giving energy that unites body, mind and spirit) in your body to flow freely.

It’s quite important to have a balanced spine with no blockages. If you’re out of alignment in your spine, your chi will be disrupted and you’ll feel discomfort during meditation. Have your spine checked by a chiropractor and make yourself ready for meditation. Try to avoid supporting your back with pillows, you will find yourself snoring after five minutes if it is too comfortable. But it’s very important not to be in pain either, as this will disrupt your meditation experience.