Romancing The Mind — Making Meditation A Part Of Body & Soul.
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I recently came to the conclusion that I was approaching meditation the wrong way.
I was making it just one more thing to do on my ever-expanding to-do list. Then I decided to take on a new perspective. I decided to treat it as one would a new love interest. You get acquainted. You work through the awkward stages.
You discover what each side likes and doesn’t like. And finally, you come together in a beautiful union. I discovered, when defining what this relationship would look like, I could choose the feeling depending on my mood.
My relationship with meditation could be fun and playful, quiet and peaceful, or dare I say… romantic and even erotic.
There’s something attractive on a primal level with getting quiet, focusing my full attention on a single part of my body and breathing into it. The sensations that come with this new meditation can take me anywhere I dare to venture.
It’s unleashing a deeper connection with myself.
Now, this may seem almost blasphemous to a more traditional meditator. I can respect their views and feelings regarding this sacred practice.
All I ask is that you entertain the thought of the sacred and profane being intertwined into a new, mind-blowing, body-humming experience. So, if you’re ready to take the leap of faith… here we go.
Find a quiet place, light some candles, burn some incense, close your eyes, now go inward… deep, deeper still. Breathe. Start at your toes and breathe into them. Feel the warmth like a lover’s caress.
Move your focus upward slowly to your ankles and lower legs, then to your knees, and further up to your thighs. Pause at each part and give it your full attention. Caress it with your mind. Keep moving your focus slowly from one part to the next.
Remember to breathe into each place on your body. Imagine it being tenderly stroked, soothed, cradled and loved. Focus your attention on every single inch of your body, even those areas that make you blush.
Move your focus into your abdomen, inside and out, breathe into that space. Show it love and kindness. Move your focus up into your chest, again, breathe deeply into this space and all around. Breathe in each curve, each dimple, each valley and peak.
Now move to your back, gently focus your attention and breathing there. Feel the tension melt away like the wax from your candles. Move to your arms and down to your fingertips. Stay there a moment. Breathe.
Feel the sensations coursing through your body. Finally move your focus up to your neck, face, and head. Breathe. Imagine a soft light wrapping around you, holding you, filling you with warmth.
This warming embrace caresses your entire body and you glow from the inside out. Sit in this ocean of sensation and let the tingle, the hum, the warm glow fill you and float around you. Sit in this embrace of meditation bliss for as long as you desire.
This is what true body-love feels like. This is what it feels like to become one with yourself in meditation through the physical body. This is where I am beginning my relationship with meditation.
After a few times meditating like this, I float like a feather. It is the most relaxed and yet most alive that I’ve felt and it carries over into my interactions with others. I think it’s the glow I get.
Like the one you have when you connect to someone and start a new relationship, especially when you’ve been intimate. It’s in the way everything seems brighter and more connected. It may not be the normal way to meditate.
It might even be a bit risqué for some, but it’s perfect for me. Meditating as if I am romancing myself connects me first to my physical body and then lets me relax mentally. I can settle into a stillness that I can’t otherwise seem to achieve.
And anyway, I’m not about doing what other people deem normal. I’m about doing what works for me. So, if you’ve been struggling with finding stillness in your meditation, maybe you would benefit from this method. Build the relationship.
Start with the romance and care for it, nurture it, make it a part of you… body and soul.
*****
Tanya Tiger, LMSW, is a creative and fiery soul who dreams of a world where everyone is free to be their authentic selves. She has been writing, drawing, sculpting and otherwise flexing her creative muscles since she was a young child, often at the exasperation of her teachers but always with encouragement from her parents. Tanya recently found herself going through a major shift in the very foundation of her being. This shift happened when her youngest daughter, Kristin, died unexpectedly at the age of 16 months. Forced to face her greatest fear, Tanya chose to turn away from the shadows of anger and hatred that loomed and instead turned toward the light of love in her daughter’s honor. Tanya is married to her best friend and fellow artist. Together she and her husband are parents to an insanely funny 3-year-old girl, who keeps their imaginations running at full force and effect with her larger-than-life personality. It is Tanya’s heartfelt hope to inspire people through her writing and to show that strength can be found in vulnerability, that a person can survive the worst kind of pain, and that there is always a choice when we are faced with tragedy.
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