Meditative Activities
Does this sound familiar?
You decide to meditate. You get out all the things, cushion, candle, mala beads. You set it up in that spot you’ve designated just for meditation and yoga (like the experts say). You sit down. You get your cushion just right. You light your candle. You take a deep breath. You close your eyes so confidently. Then, every single random thought you’ve had that day floods in. Your eyes pop open and you take another deep breath. You remind yourself of all the reasons you need to make this work. You gently and confidently close your eyes again. And there come those thoughts. Frustrated and tired, you give up. You tell yourself you will try again tomorrow, while also knowing it will be days or even weeks before you do.
Meditation is a beautiful thing.
However, it is also very frustrating sometimes.
Over the years, I learned that some of my favorite activities can be done with a meditative spirit and be very satisfying and nourishing! The point of meditation isn’t necessarily to shut off your mind, but rather to become its friend. Below is a list of some of my favorite ways to meditate or get into a flow state through activity.
-Morning Pages: This was originally introduced by artist and author, Julia Cameron in her book, “The Artist’s Way” (I highly recommend it!). The idea is to brain dump in stream of consciousness for three pages each morning. This is a practice I started many years ago and still use daily. I have quite a few notebooks filled with random thoughts. Those same types of thoughts that would come up while I was meditating. Here’s why it works for me: It allows me to get all the randomness out first. Then I can start sifting through and creating more focus with my thoughts. Soon I’m in a flow like state and not really thinking, just writing. This doesn’t happen every time. But the practice of refocusing my mind in this way, has helped me tremendously with doing it in other parts of my day.
-Painting or creating with no agenda: Similar to the idea of writing in a brain dump fashion, creating in this way is really meditative to me. Now, I know if you’re not as comfortable with art supplies, this may feel a bit awkward and frustrating at first. But aren’t most things when you first try them? I would suggest starting with a simple watercolor set and a few brushes. Pick colors you like and just spread them around your paper. You could even use some junk mail if you want to feel less precious about it. Sometimes it’s helpful to play some soft instrumental music in the background.
If you would like a little more guidance for this, I created this video that shows a timelapse of me doing this and a meditation to get you started.
-Walking: You may have heard of walking meditations before. You can even find some guided ones online. However, you can just take a walk in a mindful, meditative manner. Allow yourself to become completely engrossed in your surroundings. Leave your phone on silent in your car or pocket. I’ll admit sometimes I still take pictures when I’m walking like this, but that’s all I do with my phone. The key is to be present and aware in the current moment. Notice what is right in front of you. Let the thoughts of other people, things, events, fall away for another time.
-Yoga: You’re probably not surprised by this one. Have you ever been in a yoga class and gotten completely lost in the movement and kind of forgot what was happening? That’s what is possible when doing yoga in a meditative way. Similar to creating, it can feel intimidating. However, with time and practicing similar poses repeatedly, you can tap into this feeling. My favorite sequence for this is Sun Salutation A. It’s a handful of poses that are probably already familiar to you if you practice in a studio. It’s also easy to find videos online to lead you until you’re more familiar with it. Here is one by one of my teachers.
I hope this list is helpful. But mostly, I hope you see that many activities can become a meditative act when approached with that intention.