Meditation on the Lord

This is a guest post by Nancy Curtis

Everyone has a routine, some more active than others.  I have a friend who recently had a baby.  Her daily routine used to consist of  rest and preparation for the birth.  Now, she is sleep deprived and her “to do” list keeps growing.  She recently shared with me the benefits of having been a participant in the yoga class that I taught during the nine months of her pregnancy.  She told me that even though she doesn’t have the time that she use to have, she finds time to meditate five minutes every day.  Five minutes may not sound like much, but if you are a new mom, you know that five minutes is a gold mine!

I share this story with you because when you understand what true meditation is, your life will be blessed beyond measure.  Most people think of meditation as time consuming and ritualistic.  The truth of the matter is that true meditation can be done in what I call “The Peaceful Nugget.”  Having taught yoga for quite some time, I can tell you that it is completely out of the norm for people to be still and peaceful for any length of time. Today’s technology keeps our brain connected to the world constantly.  The reality is that being so connected can be exhausting to our brains, our bodies, and most especially, to our spirit.

From a Christian perspective we are expected to “be still.”  The exact verse is “Be still and know that I am God.”  With practice you can learn how to be still and hear His voice. At first your mind will wander.  You will think about your to do list and things like, what to cook for dinner, or your grocery list.  Since being still and peaceful is somewhat foreign to most, you may even dwell on the things that have gone wrong during the day, resist the temptation, it will serve no purpose. True meditation is a place where you go in your mind to train yourself to think of nothing.  It’s not as difficult as you may think.  It doesn’t require anything more than a place where you can close your eyes and sit or lay comfortably.  In that comfortable place and with your eyes closed, simply begin breathing in through the nose and out through the nose.  Take the breaths slowly and methodically.  Some like to have very soft, unobtrusive, music in the background.  The focus is on the breath.  Taking five minutes, simply be grateful for your breath.  Thanking God for the ability to breathe.  Practice this for the first week.  In the second week, if possible, go to ten minutes.  Take the first five minutes being grateful for the breath, then take the second five minutes being still and allowing God to speak to your heart.  With some practice you will master this form of communication with God.  He has so much to tell you, if only you will slow down enough to listen!

photo: flickr.com (Krysta Larson)

Nancy Curtis is a weight loss coach and Christian yoga instructor.  She is passionate about helping women gain strength, endurance and flexibility.