I meditate every morning. Some mornings I also do yoga. At the end of both-either I have a ritual.
Illo by Geoff McFetridge
I finish.
I send out an intention – to be truthful during the day.
Then I surrender forward.
I gently flop my torso over my crossed legs, or over my lap if I’m sitting in a chair. And consciously release myself to the earth, to the day, to the forces that are much larger than me that will steer things regardless of my efforts. I surrender to what the day will bring.
It feels very good. It’s a wonderful tool for some honest-to-goodness letting-go-ness.I get a physical release when I do it and when I sit up all of it makes sense. I am little. I really shouldn’t try so much to force change. Sit back. Eat some breakfast. Continue…
Maybe you take a quirky moment now, in your chair, to surrender forward? It’ll just look like you’ve dropped your pen…what do you reckon? Works?
PS. Have a great weekend. I’m off to Melbourne to film with Adam Zwar. He created Lowdown and Wilfred…we used to write relationship columns in the same paper MANY years ago. Fun!
I really find it hard to meditate in a chair. Ainslie Meres was a pioneer in this technique and although he died back in ’86, many still teach this method. It just doesn’t feel right.
But as an experiment, I just tried your trick, Sarah. Perhaps not a good idea at work – I had someone rush over thinking I’d collapsed.
Enjoy Melbourne. The weather is very mild here today and quite lovely.
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May 27th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Sara – I just giggled over my cup of tea at the visuals of someone running over to check if you were ok – possibly not the best idea!
happy Friday xx
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I hold meditation classes .. and provide both chair and floor options .. we are all unique. I learnt after long periods on a cushion and that always feels ‘home’ for me. I think there is a ‘sacredness’ in having a ‘special place’ to rest the body and mind for meditation and sitting in a chair is a bit too work focussed for me. But no rules .. go where its comfortable I say! I love the physical manifestation of your letting-go-ness .. Im going to try incorporating into my practice now
thank you so much
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May 27th, 2011 at 11:15 am
pleasure!
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This is wonderful, Sarah, thanks!
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Thank you!
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Sigh. Your blog really is just so lovely. It’s like a morning tea treat. Thank you!
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Love yoga, and I’ve been trying to ‘get into’ meditation for a god while now, but struggling to get the brain to comply. How did you get started Sarah? Did you first learn the basics through a class and then progress to developing your own routine?
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May 27th, 2011 at 11:50 am
Hi Anna,
I have been focusing on meditation for quite a while now and I got started using some guided meditation podcasts that I found through iTunes – the Meditation Society of Australia has some good ones but try a few. It helped to calm my brain and get my body into the habit or into the ritual. I find it helpful for so many of life’s ailments!
xox
dana
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May 27th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Thanks Dana – that’s great advice. Thanks for taking the time to share.
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May 27th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Sarah wrote a great post a while back on Transcendental Meditation which has some great tips, you should look it up!
You can also look up meditation guides on youtube, they have some cool ones. I started with music/ guided stuff at first to help focus me while I was getting used to the process.
May 27th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Hi Anna, I tried all different styles and struggled for years. As Mia says, I then tried TM. Was very skeptical. But it provided the forum, the right kind of practice. I’ve blogged about it…search under google for the right link x
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Great tip Sarah, love it! We all need a few more letting go rituals in your day.
I quite like my “being centred / bathroom break”. Just before or after your bathroom break taking a moment to breathe deep and centre yourself, it’s easy, private and a simple addition to something you have to do regularly through the day anyway…
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Just tried it at work and got the whole office to surrender. Perhaps this could become a new craze to replace planking. Take photos of people surrendering in very strange places.
Have a fabulous weekend gorgeous girl!
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We have a tiny kitchenette in our building that actually has nothing in it but a sink now, which nobody really uses, cos we have other (better) kitchens. Its a big building. I frequently sneak in there for little meditation breaks, so I will try this. So far nobody has walked in and wondered why I am sitting in the dark! Need to get back into the habit of meditating EVERY morning. Consistency is good.
Thank you for this thought, its a lovely one on a Friday!
p.s. The yoga is a nice little piece of synchronicity for me too… about to quit the gym (been a member 10 years! Wow!) and take up Bikram. Exciting/ terrifying!
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May 27th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Hi Mia
I am also thinking of quitting the gym after about 15 years. Bikram is wonderful but I just wanted to mention that you must be very careful not to overstretch as the heat makes you so much more flexible. I ended up with back trouble for a while because of this. But if taken gently it is very good
Karen
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May 27th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Awesome Karen, thanks for the hint.
I shall be careful! I wouldnt have thought of that myself.
Its weird quitting the gym, it was my crutch for years and I hold onto it the way some people hold onto their nightly wine habit or cigarettes. Even though it hasnt worked for me in a while… since learning to care properly for my Hashimotos I havent had the urge to kill myself on a treadmill, funny enough. Looking forward to life without that addiction!
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May 27th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
I’m with Karen. Also I find the heat makes everyone a bit…angry. I prefer vinyasa styles…
Just on the doing the ritual thing at work, there was a senior exec where I used to work, who had his own little ritual of curling up on the floor under his desk after lunch for a quick snooze. When a new PA started work for him, he neglected to inform her of that particularly peccadillo. So she went into his office, found him curled up on the floor and naturally assumed the worst. Not the nicest experience at the time but a heck of a good laugh afterwards.
On a more serious note, this encouragement to let go is just what I need just now.
Thanks Sarah
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Sara love the post, love your blog.
I practice kundalini yoga and do something similar. The set of exercises closes with a song (long time sun) where you send love to yourself, to your someone close to you and then to all. Then a mantra Sat Nam (I am truth) to close. I then finish with hands in prayer position above my head saying light to all, to my forehead (mind) peace to all and then to my heart love to all and then there’s your gorgeous forward flop. x e
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What a beautiful thought. I couldn’t agree with you more, why not just go about our own happy way? Every morning though I’ve just come out of sleep I do a savasana and all this tension, grasping, needing that I didn’t know I had just rises up and… disappears. Which leaves room for being peaceful and working on my little part of the universe.
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Hi Sarah – I’m heading up to Byron tomorrow. Can you recommend somewhere good to do yoga?? Thanks!
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