Too much YouTube watching lately? Sometimes it’s important to tune out before tuning in to give your senses a break. The following meditation exercise can be particularly helpful for exactly those times – the times when you’re experiencing sensory overload. It’s easy to do, too.
You will use all the fingers of your hands to help quiet your senses. It may seem odd at first, but you will quickly find it comforting in those times of feeling overwhelmed.
Start with all 10 fingers spread out and raised in front of your face.
The left hand will be used for the left side of the face and the right hand for the right side.
Begin by placing your thumbs in your ears.
Close your eyes and place your first fingers lightly over your lower eyelids/eyelashes.
The next fingers rest on the tip of your nose.
The next over the top of your lips.
Place your little fingers over the bottom of your lips.
Gently hold every point closed, except for the nose so that you can easily breathe.
Continue this quieting of the senses as long as needed. Hear the deep resonant movement of your breath. No need to press hard. Be gentle. As you become comfortable with this, try closing off the nose for a moment, too.
As the senses begin to quiet, so does the busy mind. This is a simple and effective meditation technique that’s been around only a few thousand years. Give yourself the gift of calmness this holiday season through this simple breathing technique. It may feel so good you’ll want to continue on.
So find another moment to be in stillness with just you and your breath. Set a timer, if need be, to relax into this meditation for a set period of time without distraction. Sit comfortably. Relax the muscles of your face by simply …
Breathing in contentment. Breathing out joy.
Breathing in contentment. Breathing out joy.
Breathing in contentment. Breathing out joy.
As you move along through this blessed holiday season, let this simple meditation continue to resonate within your breath, your stride, your life.
Yours in peace,
Joan
• Joan Budilovsky can be reached at editorial@kcchronicle.com or through her website at Yoyoga.com.