Inside Yoga 104 (19/3/14)

Everyone who comes to meditation quickly discovers how much our own mind loves to chatter away. No sooner have we settled down to meditate in a quiet environment, and the external noise quietened down, then the internal thoughts rush in and keep us busy – we can plan our life in minutes.

Some thoughts are useful, even illuminating and wise, but most of them, if we are brutally honest, are not needed and can be forgotten quite easily, but we don’t stop, we have become so accustomed to being lost in thought, that when it comes to getting some stillness and internal peace, it is harder than expected.

So, with this in mind, literally, here are some tips and techniques that can be used to quieten our chattering mind.

1. When we want to stop the thoughts one of the classical meditational techniques is to say to ourselves, ie thinking the words not speaking out loud, “breathing in” as we breathe in, “breathe out” as we breathe out. We keep doing this every breath for as long as we can. It brings into focus what we are actually doing, just breathing. Say these words slowly to extend the breath at the same time, so we achieve a healthy slow rhythm of breathing. This is quite simple, but do try it out, as it is an effective way of quietening the mind and stopping unwelcome thoughts.
   This technique can use other words, such as “breathing” on both inhalation and exhalation. Or simply “in” and “out”.
2. Counting sheep is something most of us grow up being told is an effective way of getting to sleep. The meditational techniques are similar, because although we do not sleep, we train ourselves to calm the body as if it is asleep (ie relaxed) and then the mind itself can quieten down. The opposite state: heightened anxiety, fear or anger all put the body under a lot of tension and pressure because in these states we are on high alert, which has its uses but unfortunately many of us get caught in this state, and cannot switch it off, resulting in stress related illness, anger problems, depression and other health or psychological issues.
   So one simple exercise is counting the breath – whenever we need to quieten down our mind, start counting. The simplest exercise is to count the breath slowly, especially at times of stress/anxiety/anger.  Do this for a few minutes if short of time, or longer when you have more time. As the above exercise, this is done slowly in your head and not out loud, as you might not want to attract attention!
   This can be developed by controlling the breath, by extending the exhalation to be twice the length of the inhalation, which is something we do a lot of in pranayama (breathing) exercises.
3. The two exercises above can be done while stationary: sitting, lying down, or standing. While another exercise, which is one of the classic Buddhist meditation techniques, is walking meditation that can be especially useful if you cannot sit still – perhaps the agitation is too much to be still and you don’t want to do yoga exercises or go for a run. The technique is so simple it is one we might skip because we label it as “boring and uneventful”!
   Which is the point of these exercises, because a mind that is always seeking distraction or stimulus might be stuck in this pattern because we need the exciting rush of something to get away from ourselves, when what we really needed is some stillness and quiet, but the mind is so used to being strung out, hyper, stressed, anxious, and busy it dreads being quiet and still. Yet every engine needs to be turned off periodically in order to cool down, and perhaps receive some maintenance.
   So walking is something we have doing for a long time, but this time, we do it slowly and with mindfulness. It can be anywhere, in a room, in the garden, in the park, in the countryside, as all we need is a space of a few metres to walk up and down, for example, ten or 20 foot long space (3 or 6m). We do this slowly, and pay attention, thinking words such as “walking” when walking, using the same technique as above. How long? This is up to you because a few minutes can make the difference, while longer allows more time to deepen the experience, but life styles mean we do what we can – better to do something than nothing.
   This approach can be used when walking in the country or the park, because so many times when we walk somewhere, usually for  exercise we spend most the walk lost in thought, and unaware of where we have been walking – thereby missing the experience of being present and aware. If we had been able to actually go for a walk and not think about anything and instead take in the views of where we were walking we would feel a lot more rejuvenated by the exercise than we would if we spent most of the walk caught up in worries and anger about something that at that moment in time, had nothing to do with the walk! If this is happening, try to stop thinking and simply look around you, take in the environment you are walking in, notice things, people, animals, plants, etc, simply notice where you are at that moment. And perhaps add a few deep and slow breaths. A pause can stop rampant thoughts in their tracks.
4. Sometimes we get repeated thoughts that will not give up, and we become transfixed by them, and can find ourselves trying to rewrite our own history, especially if this helps us to feel better! It is a deluded state and one we all indulge, but can we stop it?
   One meditation technique is to say to ourselves, or rather to the troublesome and persistent thought, “not now”. Same as we would say to a child who keeps nagging about something, we calmly say not now, and by ignoring the thought, it goes away. Similar to this, we create a technique of imaginary pigeon-holes to out our persistent thoughts, a “pending box” which we come to when it is time to deal with it. And in most cases if it was really very important, we will remember the thought when the time is right!
5. And one last tip: sometimes we can get caught up in negative thoughts, driven downwards by our incessant judgemental and negative thinking. To shake off these negative thoughts, while the above techniques all do the job, perhaps an affirmation can help rid ourselves at that moment of this critical mind.
   One such tip that I like was said by a teacher while on a Buddhist teacher, in India. It landed like a sound-bite and has stayed with me as a reminder ever since. When you need to shake off bad thoughts, simply to say: “Thank you, I have no complaints”.
   A simple but an effective way to heal negative tendencies. Gratitude mixed with some acceptance: two features of a positive and balanced mind. Try it out, when you feel the negativity rising, trying saying to yourself, “thank you, I have no complaints.”
   In a similar way, you can use any words that help shake off those unwanted thoughts, like a slap on the face to wake us up they are there to shake off persistent thoughts and apparently stuck patterns.

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