I was listening to a podcast the other night and the woman speaking said that meditation makes life a little “LSD-y.” I burst out laughing and nodded my head with understanding. Every day I feel like my senses are becoming sharper as I choose to show up more presently in life. Maintaining a meditation practice has been a priority of mine and I seem to be getting a lot of feedback that I should continue doing it. I’ve come to believe that life will give us feedback if we’re being present or not.
We know when we’re taking care of our minds, our bodies, our relationships, our responsibilities…
We know because life begins to flow more smoothly, we feel more confident and connected to what’s going on. Things feel lighter. Life also gives us feedback if we’re not taking care of those things, things begin to feel sloppy and awkward. Life feels a little heavy. Meditation trickles into every area of my life. Since I spend so much time teaching, that’s where I get the most information about the state of my mind. If I’m off my game, I know that it’s time to start re-prioritizing things so that I can get back on. I love teaching more than ever right now and I’m totally certain that I’m on the right path. The more present I become, the more I know what’s going on.
It feels good to know what’s going on because that’s when we can begin to shape our reality and our life.
Things become almost magical. I really believe that all of our power lies only in this moment. It’s in the present when we are at our very best. Meditation improves our ability to be present and honest, to call ourselves on our own BS and to hold ourselves accountable. My memory has improved, my focus is sharper, everything seems to have been kicked up to the next level and I’m working hard to process it all by staying present. We can all be vehicles for great change. I think that when we start to wake up in this world and show up in a more present way, we become wonderful mirrors for one another. By being present we are taking the most effective and non-aggressive approach to creating change and leading by example with our wakefulness. While I’m really trying to turn my life around, I still mess up. I still say and do things that I’m ashamed of when I check out and forget to live in the present. I get feedback. Learning to forgive myself on the spot when this happens has been invaluable. In doing so I can check back in and smooth the situation out as I drop into awareness. Since my memory has improved, I find myself consciously choosing not to make the same mindless mistakes again.
Being able to pause and catch myself in a space of raw awareness before I speak or act has been one of the most powerful and inspiring manifestations of my consistent meditation practice. I have a lot more ideas that I want to write about in regards to meditation. It’s really helped me connect to my creative side and I’ve got a lot of projects in the works. I’ve never had “projects in the works” before, especially since I never really had any follow through. Now I can honestly say that I do and the more that I follow through with things, the less claustrophobic my mind feels. It feels really good to finish what I start and to finish things well. It feels really good to try and do life well. It feels good to become tolerable and appreciative of change and the constant ups and downs of life. I feel good and I think that it rubs off on my friends. Being present seems to be the gift that keeps on giving… More to come, I can’t wait to tell you! Namaste.
By Erin Wimert
Erin is a featured teacher on Yoga Download! Erin teaches yoga, barre and fitness classes for the last eight years in both Denver and San Francisco. She specializes in Vinyasa (Beginners-Advanced), Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra and runs the teacher trainings for the barre program at Endorphin in Denver, Colorado. In her free time, you can find me reading her Kindle, loving on her cats, or working on music with her partner, Michael. Together, they co-teach and co-DJ in a group called Sonic Flow. She looks forward to sharing some time and space with you! You can also connect with her on her website, www.erinwimert.com.
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