LIFESTYLE

Meditation: a mastery that liberates!

Like a feeling of not knowing how to juggle all the thoughts that are racing around? A to-do list that has never been so long? Difficulty facing the day calmly, or finding sleep? Faced with this state of fatigue and stress, I discovered meditation and learned to focus my attention. I finally found a space within myself where I can come and recharge at any time of the day, phew!

1, 2, 3 break!

I started meditating a little by chance a year ago, while on vacation in the South of Portugal. A friend of mine had suggested me to participate to a session on the beach... Standing cross-legged in front of the sea, with my hands on my thighs, I have to admit that I was a bit doubtful. It's so difficult for me, who can barely sit still on my towel! However, at that moment, I chose to let myself be carried along and the magic worked, lulled by the melody of the waves and his voice which helped me to find my "bearings". The approach seems simple: concentrate on your breathing, which acts as much on the brain as on the body. But in reality, as we all know, it's a bit more complicated ;-) Since then, I persevered and I ended up finding an incredible serenity, a kind of space available in me that I didn't know existed. A space of infinite calm, accessible in any situation.

My ritual

When I wanted to go further, I quickly realized that there were multiple codes. If some people choose to meditate in the morning when they wake up, I prefer to meditate in the evening. Even if it only lasts 10 minutes, it is an opportunity to let go of negative thoughts and to spend a peaceful night.

The important thing is to find the right time, environment and posture. Sitting on the edge of my bed, with my feet planted on the ground, I concentrate on the air I breathe in and out. I let the thoughts arise, without forcing or holding them back. It's an active process that allows me to step back from the flow of my thoughts, to take a better interest in others and in what surrounds me. Meditation helps me to evacuate all the tensions that can consciously or unconsciously beset me. The secret of its effectiveness? Practice! I believe that I am only at the beginning of the possibilities because the more one meditates, the more one discovers the benefits.

How to get started?

If you are itching to try, here is a selection of free or paid apps to help you. The principles of meditation explained through short stories, exercises on various themes such as the strength of the smile, the knots of tension ...

  • Little BamBouFree for 8 meditation sessions. Subscription from 3 to 12 months, from 22 to 65 euros.
  • Headspace, monthly subscription at 12.99 euros, annual at 4.99 euros per month. The application, co-created by a former Tibetan monk Andy Puddicombe, offers more than 1000 hours of content, adapted to a range of emotional states.
  • Lili Barbery-Coulon (@lilibarbery), former journalist, she now teaches meditation and offers on her Instagram account lives: meditative, emotional, physical and energetic sessions, around ancestral mantra chants. 

 

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