{"id":5795,"date":"2019-03-27T17:39:20","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T21:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=5795"},"modified":"2019-03-29T15:07:13","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T19:07:13","slug":"start-meditation-practice-one-short-moment-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/fr\/journal\/start-meditation-practice-one-short-moment-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Octavia Raheem: Start A Meditation Practice, One Breath at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learn from Octavia<\/a> IRL at our inaugural 2-day Festival in Atlanta! Not sure what a 2-day Fest is all about? Read on here<\/a>. Ready to have the best weekend ever? For tickets and more information about lineup and class offerings, click here<\/a>. See you in the park!<\/em><\/p>\n

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My physical yoga practice was five years strong before I was introduced to a meditation practice that resonated with me and worked for the 60-hour\u00a0work week I was working at the time.<\/p>\n

Now, I have tried several techniques that range from voice guided, to super \u201ctechnical\u201d (sit exactly this way, cross this leg exactly like this), to joining a walking meditation group at my yoga studio. It all left me feeling very zombie like or distracted. At best, I felt like a meditation failure.<\/p>\n

Fast forward a few years, to when I decided to participate in a yoga teacher training. There was asana, anatomy, pranayama, and philosophy, but the aspect that excited me the most was the meditation.<\/p>\n

My teacher Graham Fowler didn\u2019t make a big production\u00a0the day that he introduced us to his style of meditation. We sat and breathed deeply for a few minutes and then we let the breath return to its natural rhythm. Then we added a mantra or anchoring phrase to our sitting. It was so straightforward and the effect was so pronounced.<\/p>\n

In that moment, my meditation practice was born. I started by sitting every morning for 3 minutes, then 5, then 10, then 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

Who knew, I\u2019d tried all of these elaborate techniques, but what actually worked for me was simply sitting and staying aware of the repetition in my breath or repeating an anchor sound or statement.<\/p>\n

I begin my mornings with this meditation and it prepares me to meet the day with greater clarity, sense of balance, and ease.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have a meditation practice, here\u2019s a simple way you can begin right now:<\/p>\n