What modern society seems to overlook is that we are sitting, most of the time. If your work involves sitting down posture, it is only natural that you feel repelled by sitting down meditation. Your body naturally wants to move and by contracting it to non-movement is an internal struggle.
Sitting meditations were invented in the society of farmers and warriors, where slowing down your senses which were involved in everyday activities was of great benefit. Those communities also valued ritual dance, and this is another reason why dynamic meditations should be looked at if we want to bring balance to our lives.
The Western tradition expects us to be composed - all the time. That is why Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi gong, and jogging, fitness are gaining popularity. We need to not only shut down the inner chatter, we need to get in touch with our bodies and stuck emotions that reside there.
So, again - the meditations techniques were developed where people tend to move around, walk long distances, they move things around, even not so long ago - 30-50 years ago or so, there was much more mobility.
Now we are glued to a sitting position and we don't want to do sitting meditations because it aggravates us. We also instinctively don't want to follow any protocol because we are following them - almost all the time.
We need to get intentionally crazy. To get rid of this sticky residue that makes us stuck and unhappy. To smooth out this rumpled and ruffled energies that reside in our bodies, we need to move. Get rid of them, because body awareness is a key factor to our wellbeing.
This is what dynamic meditations are all about.
In the morning
Probably the worst thing in the morning to do is to do a disservice to your body when it is supposed to be getting ready for action. Unless your job involves moving, or you tend to go jogging - do not calm it down, by some form of sitting meditation.
This is the time you want to move and float around and show yourself that you are being active, you are ready for the day, with a good sense of humor. Making yourself ready for the day in a loving, caring, strong and empowering fashion is what this should be all about.
So we shake off the sleepiness, we take some invigorating breaths, and we move and dance to an energetic, uplifting music (that would not disturb the neighbors). Total free-style. We move our bodies in whatever manner it needs. We learn body awareness.
This is also a perfect time to say aloud your affirmations/confirmations:
Yes, I'm fine, I am ready, I feel my energy. I own my energy. I know what I want, etc.
Don't do it just for the sake of doing it. Set intentions and focus. Focus on what and who you want to be today. Focus on the best version of yourself, today.
(I want to be a good parent, I want to do my job to the best of my abilities, I want to embody my love and wealth perfectly, I want to embody my right to be truly happy etc.)
If you feel spiritual it is good to do some signs of reverence for the Divinity in us. Hands together in the Namaste mudra. Acknowledge that you are a spiritual being having a physical experience. Connect with the Source.
Of course - to do all this we have to have a certain amount of willingness, an energy on its own, able to change a habit, able to move life energy.
So for a few days we may feel down because we are using a lot of our own normally available energy to a different pattern of behavior. This is when we give up so easily. It does not bring any good, quite the contrary, so why bother?
If we understand the importance of Who We Are without the Inner Awareness - a simple playtoy in the hands of unconscious forces - a sorry state - when we understand and comprehend it fully - we will have some power to make external changes, because we know the benefit.
After some time it becomes our second nature, and we are grateful for putting more attention to the way we WANT to feel and not simply reacting to the outside world. We take the steering wheel of our life in our hands. We gain superpowers.
During the day
Remember - kindness is only good and authentic when we are good and kind to ourselves. First, think about ourselves and treat ourselves in a kind and loving way. Always.
When disturbances occur of whatever origin ( a slow traffic, a quarrel ) let’s shake it off, asap. Don't get yourself into a place where you internally shout at yourself for doing something out of control or stupid.
Do not also force yourself to remain calm when the body is boiling inside. Patience, with the hurdles of life will come naturally when we get rid of the internal tension.
So - shake it off, become crazy for a few seconds, do some deep humming or talk nonsense - words in otherworldly language (instead of swearing). More of it below.
Let’s shake off this quarrel, some not pleasant news. And breathe, intentionally. We do it not only on our behalf but also on others.
Voice
Humming. We underestimate our voice, and we run an automatic program here, but our voice is a powerful tool. So let's re-learn how to hum.
When we want to ground ourselves, we do the humming low, when we want to uplift ourselves we hum in high pitch. Try it, and do not judge yourself. Allow yourself to be silly. See how the low pitch is comforting to your body. And if you get an angry hum - let it go out.
Nonsense talk. Uttering words that are not in our mother tongue is an interesting practice. We let go of our persona and ego for a while and tap into the inner world of an inner child, gurgling and doing strange voices. It is very liberating, and some stuff may go out. Feel what your deeper Self wants to express.
Acting
Acting is a wonderful way to save your energy, because it releases you from being yourself. We are so serious about being us, all the time, being on guard, not to do anything that is not us, not to do anything stupid and anything off guard.
So let's pretend we are somebody else, for a minute or two. Just to release the tension of the ego, of clinging so closely to ourselves, of identifying with our thoughts, opinions, habits.
Let’s pretend for a minute or two that we are somebody else. Animals are a great thing to incorporate. Let’s pretend that you are a dog, a cat, a bear, then a mouse, or any small mammal, an eagle, or a monkey. Pretend you are a servant and then - a lord.
Quieting down comes naturally after those activities. We don’t need to force ourselves to be calm anymore. It happens on its own.
We need to be kind to ourselves, remember? Without kindness we are out of balance. Without kind attention to how our body feels our lives can go havoc or astray. When we put a more loving intention on our sense of authentic wellbeing we can feel better - naturally, breathe better - naturally, because our breathing is compromised by our posture and habitual, fixed and stiff behavior and thoughts.
We've got to engage our bodies if we want to make a real change.
In the evening
What do children and animals do before going to sleep? They let go of stuck energy by going super active and crazy, by playing and exhausting themselves so they have a good night sleep.
This is the time to be super crazy, to move your body again in a disorderly fashion, to invite some chaos into our life. This is about letting go of self-importance and releasing any uncomfortable energy/emotions out of our mind-body-soul system.
Then we can do a sitting down mediation, just before bedtime. It becomes more powerful and more meaningful. We sleep better, we feel better, our life gets better.
Namaste and Aloha!
