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I'd love to hear any experiences, thoughts or ideas for taking my practice to another level (that being the level beyond "just starting out") or to know any great places that offer drop-ins and classes in the GTA. xoxo Devo!
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I had the opportunity/gumption/"ladyballs" to do something last week that lifted a great weight off my shoulders and gave me a feeling of control over a part of my life that was feeling a little out of sorts, so I thought what better way to start out this week than to go to a meditation class held at My EnergyXChange in my neighborhood! At 7am! YEAH!
I've attempted, ATTEMPTED, meditation before, but always felt ridiculous or ended up doing "what I have to do when I get done" lists in my head the whole time, which doesn't make for a very enlightening experience. This time, it was a loosely guided class with instructor Sarah Symmes .
She was really great, starting us off with a 5 minute mediation that went by so fast, that she upped it to 10 minutes with very little verbal guidance. She showed us how to adjust our seated position with pillows (such nice pillows!) before starting and gave us a little personal anectode about her own struggles sitting still through practice. I really enjoyed her style and her energy, and I'll definitely be back for more of her classes.
One of my goals on my Goal Page is to take another stab at mediation. There are lots of places in Toronto to do this, but the one I am keen on trying is the Shambhala Centre in the Annex. They offer free drop-in meditation classes, classes you can register for and a whole library of resources on mediation and Buddhist philosophy. Also, the Centre is really pretty and colorful and walking past it when I lived in that neighborhood always made me happy.
For those of you not in Toronto, or who are but don't want to go sit in a room with a bunch of people and try to do it, you still have options! There are tons of podcasts, videos on YouTube and online sites that offer mediation guidance and practice support.
A word of caution: don't feel you have to pay big bucks to have someone guide you through it though...mediation, like yoga, is a practice that is rooted in teaching for spiritual gain, not monetary, so if you come across a site/teacher who wants to charge you, look around for someone who is willing to do it for free. Better karma that way ;)
One thing I just found which I am going to try to incorporate every morning upon waking OR before bedtime, depending on my mood, is the Shambhala podcasts.
Shambhala has a series online you can check out here . They are more of a contemplative guided mediation than other places offer, so it gives you a good starting point for meditation without all the anxiety of just sitting still and clearing out your mind.