Day Two: Patience

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am not the most patient person.  Ok, I really have no patience.  When I was a child, my family nicknamed me the Tasmanian devil (as in the cartoon character from Warner Brothers).  I always wanted to do a million things at once and would often run circles around myself.  Today I still struggle with patience on a daily basis.  Accepting that there are elements outside of my control is not easy.

Yoga has opened my mind to many new possibilities, including the art of patience.  This morning I began teacher training with 11 other students in meditation.  Now, I have never practiced meditation and really had no idea where to start.  Do I close my eyes and float to some place?  Is there a "meditation destiny" that we are all supposed to reach?  The answer to both of these questions I learned is "no."  Meditation is about being patient and listening to your body.  It's amazing what you can hear when you are in silence.  Your body begins to talk to you from the most inner core of your being.  

During the first five minutes I essentially tried to be patient.  Our teacher let us know beforehand that meditation isn't supposed to be a structured, formal process.  Instead, by being patient and listening to yourself, your body, your thoughts, you can find inner peace - whether for 5 seconds or 5 minutes.  Since this was our first meditation together, we stopped after 15 minutes.  But in those 15 minutes I realized how important it is to take time for yourself and set everything aside that isn't important to becoming more aware of yourself.  Only then will we be able to grow as individuals and share the peace within ourselves with others.  

_Peace and Love