In the West, we're a little surprised to discover that stress can be the cause of heart disease, fatigue, depression, etc. Ayurveda, however, has long since consciously adopted a fully-fledged solution for relieving stress and sparing ourselves many illnesses: meditation! It's a simple, effective healing method that can be practised absolutely anywhere, as long as you decide to do so.
In Ayurveda, what we feel externally, or how we perceive ourselves, will have an impact on our environment, and thus a mirror effect on our own existence. For example, if we're joyful, we'll tend to surround ourselves with people of the same temperament, and so receive joy as well as dispense it. The point of meditation is to work on these "waves" to help us find a pure source of feelings in which we feel good. What we want to release, but also to feel from others.
Concentration, the key to meditation
Meditation is as much a philosophy as a therapeutic practice. It requires a little practice, and you shouldn't give up at the first sign of difficulty. Learning to focus on the present moment, to control your energy, means first and foremost becoming aware of yourself... Because we all have our little faults and deep-seated anxieties that can resurface at any moment. Even if we'd never admit it, we may, for example, feel a little resentful towards that colleague who got a promotion instead of us, or that neighbor who definitely had a better marriage than we did, or we may "forget" to put petrol in the car, knowing that it's our spouse who'll have to do it, etc....
On a day-to-day basis, no one can say they've had nothing but positive thoughts! But meditation will help us to value our qualities, so that we can forget or repair all our little mistakes.
Thanks to this practice, we can act effectively on them to simplify everyone's life. No more knots in the stomach, no more feeling drowned out by daily life: meditation helps us to put our lives back in order, and finally to regain a foothold in what's essential. Stress is relieved, and all the risks of pathologies that we in the West have come to know are greatly reduced. Once the techniques of meditation are acquired and the practice is fluid, it's a source that we take with us at all times. Put simply, it's the ability to have an inner life that improves our relationship with others, increases our capacity to concentrate and reflect, perceives the world in a positive light and relieves physical and moral suffering. A
Another advantage of this practice is that it can be carried out just about anywhere: in the evening in the bedroom or on a lawn at lunchtime.
Mindfulness meditation
While Ayurveda readily refers to "meditation", in the West we speak of "mindfulness meditation". In reality, it's more a question of form than substance. The simplified environment, without Buddha statues or gongs, and the disappearance of overly abstract concepts have popularized mindfulness meditation and enabled the notion to enter the daily lives of a great many people.
Now a tool for managing stress, mindfulness meditation is becoming more and more popular, and its variations are finding their way into the modern world in the form of mindfulness management and mindfulness sports... Ayurvedic meditation, which is more traditional, is a moment of peace, where you simply feel in harmony with yourself, without judgment, and therefore in harmony with others...
Meditation in practice
Here's an exercise to do for at least 10-15 minutes each day:
- Sit on the floor or in a chair, making sure your pelvis is slightly elevated from the level of your knees.
- Place your hands on your thighs, maintaining an upright posture.
- Relax the muscles in your face, neck, shoulders and stomach.
- Breathe normally, effortlessly but fully.
- Close your eyes.
- Pay attention to the air coming in and the air going out through your nostrils.
- If your senses are attracted by external elements (noises, smells...) or if thoughts arise, it is not serious, you observe them and when you are ready to let them go, you come back to your breathing.
- To finish your meditation, take three deep breaths and gradually become aware of what surrounds you.
- When you feel ready, open your eyes.
Tip : the centella asiatica plant helps concentration, don't hesitate to take a course of it as soon as you decide to practice meditation.
