Most people are aware that meditation is a calming and centering practice, but it can be so difficult to embrace when we first begin. Our minds are bombarded by all the thoughts of the day (even first thing in the morning, as we often wake up to a mind full of chatter, especially if we haven’t consciously debriefed and processed the days events before we sleep). It’s helpful to imagine your conscious mind as being like an ocean and all of your thoughts being the waves in that ocean. Sometimes the sea can be choppy and tumultuous, as the waves rise and crash! Sometimes there are gentle, calmer waves and sometimes the ocean is so calm the waves are barely detectable from the shore. One of the aims of meditation is to practice how to calm and quieten your mind. In doing this you give your body, mind and emotions a meaningful break allowing healing to flow and a signal of well-being can flow through your whole being. When this signal of well-being is released this not only calms you in that moment it can also:

• Reduce anxiety and stress
• Boost your immune system
• Improve your memory
• Aid restful sleep
• Soothe the digestion
• Regulate your emotions

One way to support your meditation practice is to ‘candle gaze’. Candle gazing is known as Trataka in the ancient Sanskrit language. It means ‘to look’ or ‘to gaze’. When our minds are full of chatter having something to keep bringing your focus back to is so supportive. This can be a word or a phrase (we’ll look at that another time), or it can be an object, such as a candle. Candle gazing also has the added health benefits of improving your eye health.

So consider this week lighting a candle, and with or without relaxing music, sit and simply gaze. As you gaze, after a while it will be as though everything else in the room is disappearing and you enter your peaceful place. Use your breath to anchor yourself as you breathe slowly in and out. You’ll notice your thoughts and aim to let them drift in and out of your mind like waves. Try not to attach too intense an emotion to your thoughts. Your thoughts might not be very pleasant at times, but simply notice them and seek to not judge yourself. Your thoughts are not who you are! They’ll give you some valuable information about yourself and how you can grow and develop, but be kind to yourself.

Practice safely friends and I’ll see you next week!

Love and blessings to you, Sam xx