The first few minutes into my meditation this morning, I noticed something was different.  The air in my sitting space felt crisp.  I could clearly hear birds chirping endlessly, a nearby powersaw blazing and a lawn mower cranking.  At first the sounds were a distraction.  They easily carried me away in random thought.  They tempted me to be annoyed by them.  They tried convincing me that I needed to get up and close the windows.  The sounds were against me!

I decided to let them be.  I decided to “let go” and be.  They’re simply sounds of Spring, right?  So I refocused my mind on my breathing, posture and just being.  And the beauty of it is that it worked.  These sounds of Spring were teachers.  They were teachers in disguise challenging me to sit and breathe in the midst of whatever was going on around me.  And so I did.

For the most part I’m still sitting 15 minutes per session per day which has opened up a few new things for me recently.  First, sometimes I crave a second sitting at night.  These are usually only 5 minutes, though often have a powerful cleansing effect.  It’s like total sweeping of my mind at the end of the day.

Secondly, there are some mornings when I only have 5 or 10 minutes to do my meditation.  Rather than beating myself up for not meeting the 15 minute goal, I’ve learned that just getting a few minutes in before I rush off into my day also has a powerful clearing effect.  I see and think clearer and often feel lighter.   So if I can’t do the full 15, I do a little.  A little seems to go a long way.

Finally, a natural byproduct of sitting on the mat more regularly is that I seem to take the calmness with me.  As I sit in the car at the traffic light, I am just there, breathing and being vs. worrying about where I am headed.  As I walk my dog, I’m more aware of my natural surroundings.  I’m more aware of my breath and how I’m walking.  I’ve also become more aware of my redundant thoughts and can more easily let them go vs. getting trapped in the thinking cycle (which can be endless!).  As I wait in the grocery line, again I am just there, breathing and being.  I observe others huffing and puffing as if their life is going to fall apart if they don’t checkout in the next 5 minutes.

So the biggest lesson for me over the last month…there are small windows throughout my day to invite my meditation into.  And no matter how small the windows may be, the results can have a powerful impact on my being.

Not only can you read about the stories behind each daily $10 recipient, you can give as well.  Cleverly, Reed created a “lend a hand” page which list specific things some of the recipients truly need —i.e. clothes, work, real estate advice, legal advice, etc.  If you want to give, you simply contact Reed via his blog.

My apologies if you’re getting tired of my “inspiration postings”, but as I keep writing them the more inspiration I continue to encounter.  What does this have to do with meditation?

Meditation is about giving.  Giving yourself time to shut off life (even if it’s just 5 minutes a day).   When you can shut off life for even just a few minutes, you invite clarity into your life.  You create space for bigger and better things to happen.  You start to see and feel what is really important to you.  You begin to understand how you can play bigger in your life and give back to life in a bigger way.  At least this is what my meditation practice is doing for me.

Creativity and inspiration often come from others (like Reed), but deep down we all have creativity and inspiration buried inside of us.  Meditation is just a simple process to help reveal it sooner rather than later, or before it’s too late!

Jumping to meditation for a moment and the purpose of this blog!  One thing I have found from my daily sitting is that I crave even more simplicity in my life than I ever have before.  Less clothes, less stuff on the kitchen counters, less clutter (need it or purge it!), less household supply stock (who cares if it’s 5 items for $5, it takes up space & energy),  less commitments (in a good way), etc.  For years, I’ve been an avid fan of clearing clutter of all types; hence why a favorite book I gift is Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui.

Going back to the question of what inspires me?  The unexpected.  I just stumbled upon this blog tonight:  Year of Nothing.  I love it!  It is way more inspirational than my January vow of “I will purchase no NEW clothes til May 1st”.  I remember recently saying this to some of my yoga students and they were like “why?”.  My response was I don’t NEED anything new.  I have enough and don’t we all?

A Year of Nothing is truly inspirational and gets ya thinking in a new way (i.e. their vacuum just went kaplunk, what to do if you vow to not purchase anything new?).  Read their blog, and you’ll understand what I’m writing next.

My Exception/Clause for No NEW Clothes til 5/1:  NEW includes used/vintage/anything wearable that I could possibly pay for.  NEW excludes what my fashionable husband might buy me.  Like the funky jacket he just ordered me on Saturday night…can’t wait til it arrives!

I was surprised to see on a Spring-like Saturday a turn out of 25 plus people.  As we circled around the room giving brief introductions, it was great to hear the various reasons why people were attending as well as the challenges with their personal meditation practices – including the instructor’s.  It made me feel normal in my meditation journey.  We all have challenges – i.e. dosing off & the sitting turns into a nap, fidgeting physically, drifting into the future, getting up before the timer goes off, etc.

Throughout the afternoon we did four meditations – two sitting, one standing and one reclining.  Each ranged from 20-40 minutes.  For the most part I was able to sit at ease without constantly thinking “when is this going to end?”.  As I recently wrote in “Power of Community” on the abellaYoga blog, being surrounded by like-minded individuals alters as well as enhances the experience (whether it’s a group yoga class, group meditation, etc) vs. doing it on your own.  I felt completely connected to the ground below me, supported by the people around me, centered within and experienced a huge sense of lightness.  I even woke-up on Sunday morning continuing to feel light and refreshed.

The experience has re-energized me as I continue with my daily sittings for 2010.  On another note, I just booked my ticket to Santa Cruz to visit the Michelle of 210 days of waves.  I am completely energized for that trip!

Most days I look forward to sitting.  It has become part of my daily ritual like walking my dog and drinking a cup of coffee.  The few days I’ve missed, I truly missed it!  On the days when it has felt like more of a chore are the days I know I probably needed it most in my life.

Another aspect of this 210 days of meditation challenge is the frequent blogging.  My initial goal was to be out here about 4-5 days a week with amazing updates on my progress or lack of.  I haven’t done so great with this and feel rather guilty.  Sometimes I’m not sure whether I have anything amazing to write.  Sometimes it feels like a chore to log-in and write.  Sometimes my time is limited as I also need to tend to my abellaYoga blog.  But again when I do get out here and write whatever, I know I needed to do it.  I feel clearer, brighter and more vibrant.  It’s as if the writing/blogging is just as therapeutic and meditative as the physical and mental act of meditating.

I discovered this London-based yoga blog that I’d like to share.  The blogger, Rachel, sort of reminds me of me — i.e. former lawyer turned full-time yoga teacher (me: former corporate employee), reads everything & anything (as I do too), writes/blogs, eats healthy.  She enjoys all things shiny; I enjoy all things sparkly.

Next item on my list of sharing…I signed up for a half-day meditation workshop in March.  I can’t wait.  I’ve looked at these workshops for a couple of years.   I’m not sure why I haven’t attended.  Obviously, it makes complete sense to do it now while I’m in the midst of my 2010 days of mediation resolution.

Next…I ordered a book on mudras from Amazon.  Can’t recall the name but I will be sharing once I receive it.  The mudra I’ve used during my meditation sittings this past week is the Usha Mudra.  This mudrā stimulates our second chakra, known as our center for creativity, partnerships and sexuality.

I think that’s it.  Oh, I got a BOSU ball.  I’m loving it.  Talk about core stabilization and strength.  Whether you do yoga, surf or just want better posture and/or balance in your everyday life, BOSU is challenging fun.  I love the tagline on their homepage:  make life your playground.  Speaking of playground, I think I’ve done enough random playing in this post.  I promise to be more serious next time

For instance, I’ve used my dog as an excuse about why I get interrupted before the 15 minute timer goes off.  Well, guess what?  My coonhound hasn’t been around for almost two weeks now (my parents have been dog sitting).  With the dog not around, sitting in silence without a cold nose on my face should be easy right.  NOT!

Other excuses for my disruptive meditation sessions…the smell of bacon, laughter in the other room, house construction, my BlackBerry buzzing, husband’s alarm clock going off, etc.  The reality is there will always be something trying to grab my attention away from the present moment.  What I’m learning from this daily meditation thing is I’m in charge.  Every moment is a test.  I have a choice to stay and be with what is or move on to the next thing.  No excuses.

Here’s another excuse-making example, completely unrelated to my meditation practice.  I don’t like cooking because it takes too much time (excuse).  Yet, I made lentil soup tonight without considering the time element.  I reviewed a recipe from a magazine, took inventory of what I already had on hand and off to the store I went for the missing ingredients.  Within one hour of getting home, the soup was ready for dinner.  Yum!  Of course, time wasn’t of concern (maybe because I’ve been somewhat home-bound due to snow the last couple of days).  So now I ask, is time the real reason I don’t cook or is it the excuse I like to use?  Hmmm…

I did my best to stay diligent to my 2010 resolution, 15 minutes of morning meditation daily.  Some mornings I was more successful than others.  It’s hard to sit still with internal silence when there’s laughter bouncing up to the bedroom, coffee swirling in the air and an aroma of bacon and breakfast sausage taking over the house (neither I eat but the scent is warming on a cold snowy morning).

Another challenge is when someone else is in the room with you while you’re trying to meditate and they clearly are not.  One morning I could hear my husband stirring and of course, I had to open my eyes.  He was sitting up looking out the window at the snow falling.  Since I was meditating in front of the window, it felt as if he was staring at me.  In a way he was…he asked “why are you swaying?”  My response:  Huh?

The result of his question unintentionally led that morning’s meditation into more of an exploratory practice.  My meditation that morning was just to sit still and focus on my breath (feeling and counting each inhale & exhale).  As I continued to sit (now with his question in my head), a light bulb went on.  I realized it was my active breathing that was moving me, or at least gave the appearance of me swaying back and forth.

Active breathing naturally expands and contracts the body.  Since most people only breathe to about 40% of their lung capacity (this stat might be off slightly but believe it or not, it’s very close), they don’t realize the power of the breath.

Breath is prana.  Prana is our life force; also known as Qi (chi).  Breath flows through humans every moment without effort to keep us alive.  Like the Colorado mountains, Atlantic ocean, my dog Briggs or even the few houseplants in my possession, everything living breathes.  As a result of breathing, everything living vibrates; expanding and/or contracting each moment based on the rhythm of breath.

Ancient yogis believed that our lives are measured in breaths.  Based on that morning’s meditation experience, I translate this belief as it is an option for many to live breathing at only 40%.  Further breathing short, quick breaths possibly equates to a shorter life.  I’ll take the alternative which I view as breathing longer, more active breaths (conscious breathing close to 80-100% of lung capacity) leads to a longer, more fulfilling life.

Next time you’re in a yoga class, or sitting on your meditation cushion with a non-meditator nearby, don’t be shy.  I know I won’t be (as I’m usually not when it comes to breathing).  Breathe!  Breathe long, full breaths.  Your life depends on it.