Knitting can be just as beneficial as meditation
For some people, meditation is possibly the worst thing you could ask them to do. They don’t want to find their zen, or their happy spot, they don’t want to sit with their legs crossed, and they definitely don’t want to say, “Om!” Perhaps they’ve even tried to meditate a few times in the past just to end up feeling frustrated. How can you experience the awesomeness of meditation if you can’t stand what you have to do to get there?
Well, you don’t …
The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology reported that 54% of participants reported feeling anxious while attempting to meditate. But experts are now saying that any type of repetitive movement will induce the same stress release response as meditation. This includes activities as varied as …
- Running
- Swimming
- Needlepoint
- Knitting
- Listening to music
Basically, any activity that is soothing to the participant, repetitive in nature, and requires a small amount of attention.
But You Might Give Meditation Another Go
Meditation is a very well studied discipline and has been found to be ridiculously beneficial for just about everything. From getting ahead in your career to fighting cancer, meditation has been show to have a positive effect.
So don’t give up after a few half-hearted attempts. Give yourself ten tries and see if meditating gets easier and you’re seeing positive results. If not, give up and try one of the suggestions above. The big advantage of meditation is it requires no equipment; just sit yourself down and go.
Remember meditation is a practice, not something that you perfect. I’m talking to all you type-A’s out there … you know who you are.
Do you hate meditation? Does one of the other activities appeal to you? Have you found something that works great for you? Please share it here.
I did a post recently on Meditation 101 about the different types you can try.
Thanks,
Lisa
Twitter
I’ve found that the key to meditation (in addition to your great Meditation 101 tips), whether it’s while sitting, standing or running, is to not let thoughts take root, sprout, or multiply.
For example, if I hear a bird outside, I think “hm”.
And I pause …
… and the thought of the bird floats away.
I don’t think “oh, a bird … that’s pretty … it’s nice outside … what am I doing in here … I should get outside … maybe go for a run … this isn’t helping me lose weight …”
So I agree — meditation can be done during all the activities you’ve listed above, but without cutting off that “thought propagation”, there’s no meditation. The type A’s need to realize that they love thought propagation (it’s multitasking!), but by switching it off, at least temporarily, they can realize the benefits of meditation.
Thanks — great blog, bookmarked.
Thanks for the great response! I had to laugh because my brain frequently goes do the second version of the bird chirp that you’re talking about. I have found with patience and practice I’ve gotten more towards Type A but it’s a process.
Thanks for stopping by and I’m happy to have the bookmark!