Posted on January 02, 2019 by Emily Forbes
As 2018 is came to a close, many of you will have seen in the New Year toasting champagne at midnight. Unless of course, you are me. I chose to spend my New Year in silent meditation. Not just the evening of the 31st but 10 days of silent meditation.
Sorry, what?
On the 27th December, I traveled to Hereford to undertake 10 days of Vipassana meditation. This meditation is known as “insight” meditation and is one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques. Gotama Buddha rediscovered it more than 2500 years ago and can be practised at many centres globally to gain the benefits. It involves taking on a “noble silence” for the duration of my stay and 10 hours of meditation per day. So, whilst there will be other people there, we will not communicate with each other. Noble silence also involves silence of the mind and body, which means no yoga/exercise, reading, writing or technology.
Why are you doing this?
As a trainee yoga teacher, many of you are aware of my holistic approach to health and wellbeing. It is not enough for me to just train hard in the gym. My mental health and how I live my life day to day is crucially important, ensuring I am the happiest and healthiest I can be. Vipassana is a life-long tool which can be used to process negativity through self-observation. In this way, we become non-reactive to situations, emotions or thoughts which may present themselves. What you are left with is a state of peace and equanimity. It runs for 10 days as it is a step by step technique which is built on daily, leaving before this will interrupt the process and you will not reach fulfilment.
The end result
Ideally, I would sit 1 or 2 of these 10-day sessions per year. Over time, you can build up to 20, 30, 45 and 60 days of Vipassana meditation #goals. I’m under no illusions, this is not a holiday. This will probably be one of the most challenging things I will ever do but also potentially the most rewarding. I’m not advising everyone jumps into a meditation like this but I do support mindful practice with my clients. This can be as simple as 3 minutes of conscious breathing per day or mindful eating. Small steps like this can reduce stress, improve sleep and bring self-awareness. This, in turn, translates to improved training and eating and essentially a happier, healthier life.
New Year. New You.
This New Year I challenge you, try something new for 30-days (check my previous blog here). Every day for 30 days, practice 5 minutes of conscious breathing. I like to do it before bed to help me sleep. Find a quiet spot where you are able to sit quietly. Take in 3 deep breaths through the nose and sigh out through the mouth allowing the body to fully relax. Then just allow the breath to flow naturally, not controlling it in any way. Pick a point in the breath to focus on. This could be the point where the air enters and exits the nostrils or perhaps the rise and fall of the chest as you breathe. The mind will probably run off like a naughty puppy, once you are aware this has happened just bring your attention back to the breath.
See you on the other side…
Stay tuned to find out how I got on. Happy New Year x