Floor meditation
We live in a world of information overload—newspapers, radio, television, blogs, social networks, text messaging, relationships and family demands. It all amounts to a lot of noise and an overload for our brains, which can make it hard to hear our inner voices.
To not lose track of yourself, it’s important to create some quiet. Meditation is a great exercise for doing this.
Sara Lazar, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, states that, “the goal of [meditation] is not so much to ‘empty’ your head, but to not get caught up in random thoughts that pop into consciousness.” It is a way to forget about the “what if” and focus on what is happening right now.
According to Ilchi Lee, originator of the Brain Education System Training (BEST) and author of In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging, “the goal of all meditation is the same: to quiet the conscious mind…to still the flow of conscious thought—analysis, questioning and self-talk—and simply let the mind be.”
When you meditate, you activate other parts of your brain. You allow yourself to begin perceiving things in a different way, and you learn about life and yourself. Lee’s floor meditation exercise can help you do this.
From Ilchi Lee (Excerpted from In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging)
1. Sit on the floor with your legs crossed. One foot may rest on the floor, but the other should sit on your thigh.
2. Keep your back straight. Place your hands on your knees. Hold your palms facing upward.
3. You may close your eyes or keep them open. Relax your shoulders. Keep your chin slightly lowered.
4. Open your mouth slightly and keep focusing on exhalation. Focus on the energy flow inside your body.
