Mindful Meditation

This week I was able to talk with a wise woman by the name of Noni Records, who has devoted herself to meditation. She is a being with such a bright and beautiful soul and she shares so much of her knowledge with anyone willing to learn. Noni described her battles with illness and how her meditation ended up saving her. Meditation, also known as “the breath of life”; “is believed to lead to a state of physical relaxation, mental calmness, alertness, and psychological balance”, (Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine, page 103) which seems to be entirely true to Noni’s journey in overcoming her illness. My time with Noni really put into perspective how powerful we are as human beings, and shows how we can heal ourselves with the right amount of focus and devotion.

            Noni also went into detail about the three major factors to lead to her prolonged and healthy lifestyle. These factors are meditation, diet, and exercise. She mentioned that meditation can “center us, lower one’s heart rate and blood pressure, and that breathing deeply can calm the mind”. So when in a meditation group activity she had told us to walk aimlessly around the room and then to walk around while paying attention to our breathing, I noticed how much more attentive and calm I became while breathing more deeply. While practicing my Bikram yoga it is very important to stay with your breath, and I can overcome the one-hundred and five degree room with more ease when staying with my breath. Record’s also shed importance on diet and how the things we put into our bodies can completely stress us out. Things such as caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, sugar, salt, and preservatives (etc…) can make substances harder to digest, thus creating more activity within the body and using up more valuable energy. The third major factor, exercise, is just as important as the rest and has been proven to promote health. In today’s culture we are in constant motion and often forget when to slow down and breath deeply. We also are constantly putting substances into our bodies that were not meant to be, and we should all learn to be mindful of our lifetsyles.

            “With a little help from my friends”, The Beatles (as Noni had mentioned), helped to bring the practice of meditation to the U.S. Meditation is now widely used to cope with the stressors of everyday life and is a great aid for grounding one’s being. It was a treat when Noni had us all perform a grounding mediation practice which is a common Native American method. In doing so, I noticed a nice flow of energy and relaxation within my body and it definitely cleared my mind as well. Also, when we practiced A Mantra, a group of words, through meditation I found myself intensely focusing on my breath and where it was going in my body. Noni told us the four steps in meditation being: focus, breath, joining, and returning. For me, returning was the hardest part. I wanted to stay within the focus of my breath and relaxation, and returning to a busy schedule in my mind I found less appealing. Overall this was a great experience, and I loved Noni’s radiating enthusiasm.