ID: The words New Blog Post in the upper right hand corner. A silhouette of a meditating person under the words Facing Change with Meditation.
Meditation has been one of the most helpful practices for managing my illnesses. I’ve tried many therapies to help get a handle on my chronic conditions. Some have been helpful, some haven’t. Meditation has been consistent, supportive, and foundational. I didn’t always feel that way. It took a lot of intentional work to get here. But it was all worth it, and I’ve been meditating most days for about three years.
Meditation wasn’t new to me. When I was a kid, my mother guided us through simple meditations, as a family. I had dabbled in college, while learning about the music of the Seventies and hoping re-reading Be Here Now would help me to do just that. But I became serious about meditation at the insistence of my neurologist when my Dysautonomia had hit a breaking point. He explained that he hoped it would give my nervous system a chance to rest while helping me learn tools to manage my symptoms.
So I began an introduction to meditation class at a local meditation center. It was hard at first; it felt like trying to slow down highlighted how fast my mind (and often heart) were racing. I beat myself up for not picking it up more easily. But with persistence and lots of encouragement, I found myself finally calming down. The class offered a mix of seated and walking meditations.
I assumed walking meditation would be more challenging for me, because walking is challenging for me. But I found that doing something physical made it easier to stay present. I began practicing walking mediation by walking back and forth in my room. At the time, I was living in a two story house on the top floor. Some days, getting downstairs was hard. So I walked back and forth in a straight line or small semi circle. I often asked myself what differentiated walking mediation from pacing my room. But slowly, I felt more at ease.
In looking for local labyrinths where I could further explore walking meditation, I found the World Wide Labyrinth Locator. This really opened up the world to me. I tried quite a few labyrinths in my area, settling on a few favorites. It took me about a year of mostly walking meditation before I felt comfortable with seated meditation. Today, the ratio is flipped but I still love a good labyrinth.
From there I found open, community meditations at local places of worship, community centers, and even an art museum. I also began using the Headspace app. I liked other guided meditations as well, but the user-friendly design of the app allowed me to meditate more. Sometimes my best friend and I would plan to meditate together, even though we live on opposite sides of the country, using their group mediation feature. Today, most of my community meditation happens on Zoom. The ease and normalcy of which has been a remarkable upside of the pandemic.
Over the last few years, I have seen how meditation has improved my health and my life. I’ve noticed a greater awareness of myself and my body, greater ease in slowing down, and less anxiety. Best of all, I feel more confident in my meditation practice. This confidence has both helped me meditate in more challenging situations and enjoy meditation more. I believe our reality is always changing, all we can control is how we face that change. And I face that change with meditation.
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