Senior Living

Inner Peace

“In moments of madness, meditation has helped me find moments of serenity” – Paul McCartney

Meditation was made for times like these. Practicing meditation for a few minutes every day can help relieve chronic health issues, aid relaxation, and boost mental clarity.

Meditation can be tailored according to your needs, being a pleasant, calming refresher when your energies are flagging, or a profound personal journey deep into the inner recesses of your heart and mind.

It can help you to tap into what you really want and get a clearer picture of yourself, your goals, and your place in the world. And it can be started at any age. It is a tool for humans regardless of age, background, or experience – there is no difference in how you learn. What is critical across the board is simplicity.

One significant change meditators report is a feeling of inner calm: “many find they are more at peace with themselves and everything; they’re more comfortable in their own skin.” And, of course, people are drawn to practice meditation in the first place for a range of different reasons: “some want to connect to their own humanity. Others have felt lonely since giving up retiring, some of us are out of sorts because of COVID-19. Life is suddenly different. Meditation can help us reconnect to the person we were before they had a label of mother or father or this or that job title.”

There is no such thing as perfect meditation.

Sometimes your focus will wander, or you’ll forget to follow your breath. That’s okay. It’s part of the experience. What’s more important is to meditate consistently. It’s one of those things where the journey is more important than the destination.” You might want to take some time to consider which type of meditation will work best for you: a class or CD or any verbal instruction such as on YouTube.

Loving-kindness meditation uses words, images, and feelings to invoke qualities of love and friendliness toward yourself and others.

Mindfulness meditation encompasses everyday practices, including eating, walking, looking at the world, sitting in stillness.

Mantra meditation is a feature of transcendental and Vedic meditation and other practices. A mantra is repeated often silently over and over.

Breathing meditation can bring your focus back into the present moment and help you make more conscious decisions. It plays on the mind-body connection – as the mind calms, so does the body and vice-versa.

Try this Simple Exercise:

1. Sit comfortably – this can be in a chair or sitting up in bed. You can lie down, but if you’re tired, you may fall asleep. Close your eyes. Make no effort to control the breath, simply breathe naturally. Focus your attention on the breath, observing how it enters the nostrils with cool air and exits the nostrils with warmed air.

2. If you choose to work with a mantra, allow it to enter your mind, and let it repeat gently without forcing it.

3. If your mind wanders, gently return your focus back to your breath or to the mantra.

Begin with meditating for between five and 10 minutes, practicing for more extended periods when you feel more comfortable with it.