Meditation has been around for thousands of years but there are still many myths that surround it! These myths – or misconceptions, to use a more appropriate term – are among the reasons why people are hesitant about joining a yoga class. This even as the prices for yoga classes are among the most reasonable in the fitness industry.
But why let these misconceptions become your reasons for missing out on the benefits of yoga and meditation? These two disciplines are closely connected, even intertwined, although you can practice one without the other. Here are the common misconceptions we have encountered and the facts behind them that can become your reason to enroll in a yoga-and-meditation class at your local gym.
“Meditation has been around for
thousands of years but there are still
many myths that surround it!”
Meditation Is a Mental Challenge on Steroids
We have often heard that meditation is just as hard to understand, more so to master, as yoga. We have heard numerous reasons why meditation isn’t easy, a mental challenge that cannot be overcome by mere mortals. We met individuals who say that it’s nearly impossible to meditate because their minds can’t concentrate on emptying itself, or that they can’t stop the constant flow of their thoughts, or that they can’t even sit still for 10 minutes without fidgeting.
The fact is that meditation is less about controlling your mind and concentrating with laser-like focus on a single thing. Instead, meditation is more about working with your mind in its natural state, a far easier way.
With the right guidance, say, from an experienced yoga instructor, you can easily calm down your mind and body, move its thoughts inward, and move it toward happiness and contentment. The latter two aspects are a natural function for the mind so it becomes easier to meditate.
Meditation Is Only for Certain People
And by certain people, we mean including fitness enthusiasts, New Age practitioners, and yogis. Meditation is often seen as something that only people with time on their hands, or with issues in their lives, or with spiritual aspirations will want to engage in.
But this isn’t so! Everybody can meditate, from royalty and billionaires to ordinary people including housewives, engineers, artists, and actors. Even children can be taught the basics of meditation so there’s no reason you can’t learn and benefit from it, too.
Plus, meditation is an ancient practice with modern uses. You will find that with regular and proper meditation, you will be calmer and happier despite the stress of the modern world, especially in your workplace. You will also be more likely to deal with relationship issues with equanimity so you’re less likely to sweat the small stuff.
No, meditation is neither belief system nor a religion, if that’s a concern for you. But meditation has a spiritual dimension where your consciousness will be nourished and your conscious state will be elevated. You will be more self-aware as you progress in your meditation classes.
Depending on the yoga instructor and the class, you may or may not have time set aside for meditation during a class. But if it isn’t included, you can always meditate at home and practice yoga in your local gym; the latter is necessary for safety reasons and it is included when you pay the membership fees for yoga classes so you may as well maximize them.
Have you tried — or plan to try — meditation?
Share your thoughts and comments with us.
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