Meditation

For years I felt defensive about learning to meditate, mostly because I found it too difficult to understand. Saying that out loud made me feel silly because in reality I wasn’t trying something new because I was scared. It wasn’t until I shared about some medical issues with my friend, Bibi Caspari that she introduced me to the easiest approach to meditation that I have ever heard of. Bibi is the Executive Director of Forward Step. She started off telling me to sit in a comfortable position without my arms or legs crossed. She then taught me a breathing technique that is included in Forward Step life skills program. It is so simple! I was to breathe in and out on a count of four for a minimum of four times. Who would have thought that slowly breathing on a four count would help resolve personal dilemmas?

         This simple meditation had literally saved me! I began to have more patience, more breathing space and of course more stress free time.  I quickly began introducing this to my roommates and friends. Whenever I noticed that they felt stressed or tired, I taught them the meditation technique and it worked for them too. So then I started paying attention to the bigger picture. There seemed to be a pattern with my stress and getting sick. I started to see how in reality meditation was basically “me” time. It was taking a moment out of my day to let my mind go and my body relax. So why would I let my body get to the point of being so distraught? My answer was I didn’t need to! Now everyday I take time to meditate and the results are great. It keeps me in balance and happy.

Jassamy Freyre