Why meditate?

Sadie Stringer
Feb 23, 2018
3 min read

As I start out on my journey as a meditation teacher I am meeting new people every day and a surprising number of people don’t really understand meditation and why they should do it.

Let’s start with some myth busting.

Meditation isn’t all about chanting things and sitting in lotus position. Meditation is about three very simple things. Focus. Breath. Posture. That’s it! Ok, you need to sit up straight or lay so that your spine is straight – this is so that your energy and your breath can move up and down with ease, as after all, the breath is what is the most important thing about meditation. Meditation is older than time. Every religion around the world practises some sort of meditation. Something that has been around for so long and is still valued and practised today – there has to be something there, doesn’t there?!

Meditation does not need to take up a lot of your time. Simply sitting quietly with your thoughts and being mindful of your breath for just 5 minutes a day is enough to make a difference to your health and well-being. Come on, we can all find 5 minutes somewhere!

Nowadays people do not appreciate the importance of our breath. We’ve all head someone say to us “just take a deep breath!” – it’s an age-old thing that we do when we need to calm ourselves down. We are so often living on the edge – stressed, running from one meeting to another, rushing around, to this play date and then that one, everything is timed nowadays, and it is getting worse and worse! The so called ‘rat race’ which was once London-bound is now everywhere. It has spread like a disease into every household across the land! This is where mindfulness and meditation come in. Making time for you, just for a few moments a day, to re-focus, breath properly (not those shallow breaths we are taking throughout the day when we are rushing to school or to the shops or are running late for work).

Our breath is fundamental to our well-being.

When we are stressed, we tend to hold our breath or take short breaths. What this does is sends a signal to the brain to produce more cortisol (stress hormone) but when we breathe, we relax and our bodies calm down. Have you ever been on holiday or taken some time off of work and as soon as you stop you get ill? Yep! That’s our bodies coming down from living in a ‘fight or flight’ state and the adrenaline levels returning to normal.

Some people ask “Well, how do I know if I am doing it right?” or they give up because they don’t think they can do it.

There is no right or wrong with meditation.

During my training I explained to my teacher what I experience when I feel that I am ‘in the zone’ with meditation. She simply nodded and said “Sadie – there is no right or wrong. Everyone’s experience is different. Meditation affects us all differently.” Some people feel enlightened, some relaxed. Sometimes it even uncovers some emotions you thought you had buried deep down and you end up having a little cry – which is fine! That’s good! It means that something you have not dealt with is resurfacing itself for you to open up, deal with and move on from – that is surely better than burying those emotions deep inside, right?

If you need more guidance and confidence in techniques of how to meditate, that is where I come in. I run 8 week courses which will take you on a journey of meditation. Each week will have a theme. I will introduce you to some tools used around the world for meditation, such as Angelic Tuning Forks and crystal healing bowls. These tools add sound into the meditation, which adds a whole new, fascinating dimension! We will also explore our sense of smell – we will smudge the space we will be meditating in before our session using different ancient methods, to ensure the energy in the room is pure and free of negativity.