Meditative Medium

For me creating in any form has always been a contemplative exercise. As an Expert Registered Yoga + Children's Yoga Teacher/Trainer and Craniosacral Healer, I also share this with clients or it will often come up for them during healing sessions. When we give our right (creative) side of our brain the space to do as it wishes, we allow intuition to flow and naturally come into a parasympathetic and meditative state. It's a beautiful way to help us process deeper thoughts and emotions, particularly if 'meditation' in the formal sense many see it as, is not your thing. Personally, I believe meditation can be found in our day to day, and in fact this can help us to be more present - which is what meditation is all about. We don't need to sit like Buddha for this to happen... it's actually quite challenging for most.

Since I was a child, I have loved being creative - making jewelry, painting, cooking, designing clothing... the list goes on. I was fortunate to have a very wise Mother who also taught me how to do breath-work and meditate through body-scans as a child, which offered me incredible skills for challenging times and is largely why I am inspired to share these tools with others, including parents and children.

Resilience

Having these tools has enabled me to be quite resilient. I have my internal space to retreat, reflect, and nourish myself. So much so that in my past I have had a tendency to give so much that I eventually do burn myself out - something I have vowed never to do again! My last episode of this example is actually what made me turn to knitting! I needed something mindless (or so I thought) to recover from a particularly brutal 6 month contract, as my health and family life had been greatly (negatively) impacted... and my daughter had just lost her favourite toque. Right to Michael's I went to embark on my journey of knitting hats for everyone!

A Meditative Experience?

I will admit, the first few (or twelve attempts) at knitting is not quite the meditative experience I had envisioned... far from it! Yet once you get into the swing of the stitches and purls, your mind can wander so much that you completely forget which one you are on until you eventually fall into a completely surrendered, meditative flow.

If 'meditation' in the form so many of us envision it as (Buddha-like) does not feel like your thing... don't worry, chances are you are already practicing it in the way that speaks to you. It's such a personal journey, and part of my work for many years has been to dispel the myth that meditation needs to be practiced in a specific form. In fact, I have a blog post about this on my site. As I mentioned, meditation is about being in the present moment, enabling yourself to rest and nourish yourself in the parasympathetic, to give space for thoughts and emotions to be processed, and intuition to flow. So find what speaks to you. It may change day to day. If you are looking for some ideas, here is a little list:

Traditional Yogic Methods of Meditation:

• Mantra or Kirtan - repeating or singing devotional phrases or songs
• Asana or physical movement of yoga when you get into a sense of flow or nothingness
• Sitting quietly in stillness, perhaps noticing external then internal sensations (mindfulness)

Other Forms of Meditation:

• Repeating affirmations for yourself
• Going for a long walk in nature (disconnected from technology)... or a run, hike, swim, bike
• Diving into your creative passion
• Journaling
• Enjoying music or dancing

And of course there are many more ideas on my website or Instagram. You are also welcome to reach out to me for more support - [email protected]

So dive into your creative passion(s) and let your mind wander!