do you meditate?

@torunn said
There's got to be a little rain sometimes... Imagine days or weeks of continuous sunshine. Very welcome the first week or two but then, don't we get tired of always spending time outside? I know of places that have more rain than others - Bergen in Norway for example, Borås in Sweden.

To be honest I love running in the rain. That probably speaks volumes about my level of fitness though!

@petewxyz said
Ah, but that would make the people of Manchester amongst the calmest in the world!

I was brought up in Manchester and have lived in North Wales since then. I love the rain.

@lemondrop said
what is the best form of meditation to reduce stress?
promote sleep?
well being?
I would like to learn breathing or following your breath
any practitioners out there with some advice?

I think that before we enter into any mind altering meditation techniques that it might helpful if we firstly explore what you feel may be hampering your sleep?

@lemondrop said
what is the best form of meditation to reduce stress?
promote sleep?
well being?
I would like to learn breathing or following your breath
any practitioners out there with some advice?

I've suffered from insomnia for years since a squash injury messed up my knee and my weight ballooned.

Meditation, my own method, based on various things that I've read and seen on You Tube, has been part of helping to improve my mental and physical self.

As mentioned by others, fresh air, exercise, vitamin D from sunlight (hard pressed in the UK at times), and then a healthy evening routine, phone down at least an hour before bed, reading some 'easy' novels (such as Michael Connelly, Lee Child.. you know simple reads!), before I meditate, every night (and I can now do it during the day, even when driving, or other stressful times), and like others I really struggled to get started. My mind is a constant flood of thoughts, work family, story concepts, projects, plans etc., so I found it really hard at the beginning.

My method, which is very popular, is to focus on breathing, and keeping that breathing regular - not trying to control its or change it, but keep it steady and really feeling the in breaths and the out ones, letting your mind solely consider the breathing. Your mind will naturally keep moving to other things, and that it normal, but when you notice your mind has moved then bring it back to the breathing.

As time goes by, the focus grows stronger and easier, the distractions lessen, and I can now meditate myself to sleep in minutes, from a position of taking hours to drop off and then waking fitfully at regular intervals. Even if I wake in the night now, a brief meditation and I'm back under.

Oh, it also helps that I cut out all caffeine from 6pm too.

Sorry for boring you all, but you asked for a personal experience.

I paid for a mindfulness course with a group of colleagues 8 years ago. It was based on Jon Kabat Zinn’s Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction program. I found it really helpful. I practiced mindful breathing every morning and evening. The ability to discipline myself in this way had a calming and positive effect upon what then was a very stressful time of life due to work and home life. It also helped me become more accepting and less judgemental of myself thus becoming a best friend to myself.

Now retired for 3 years I feel more in control of my life. I don’t need to practise the mindful breathing as I have a good understanding of how to keep my mind and body in harmony. I exercise lots, spend daily time outdoors and have started pet sitting which takes me off to chosen locations where I can experience a lot of solitude.

@paul-a-roberts said
I've suffered from insomnia for years since a squash injury messed up my knee and my weight ballooned.

Meditation, my own method, based on various things that I've read and seen on You Tube, has been part of helping to improve my mental and physical self.

As mentioned by others, fresh air, exercise, vitamin D from sunlight (hard pressed in the UK at times), and ...[text shortened]... out all caffeine from 6pm too.

Sorry for boring you all, but you asked for a personal experience.

The other big one these days is light sources. The distance from the light source and the intensity of a light source is not a linear relationship. It's more like ripples spreading from a stone dropped in a stream. So way more light hitting the retina from a close up screen than one on the other side of the room.

The significance is that light on the retina suppresses the production of the sleep inducing hormone melatonin. So without artificial light sources light fades in the evening, melatonin increases and helps us get to sleep easier. I have known a number of people who really benefitted from no close up light source last thing. If possible use a device hooked up to a TV screen on the other side of the room late evening. The loss of intensity of light over that distance is significant.

@neilarini said
I was brought up in Manchester and have lived in North Wales since then. I love the rain.

Love running and walking in Wales. Roll on the end of lockdown!

If all else fails try to get hold of some melatonin tables. It’s a natural sleep hormone but is only available on prescription in the uk so I got mine from France where it is OTC. I believe it is available OTC in the US also. If you try it, get the type with magnesium. The stuffis also useful for countering jet lag.

@divegeester said
If all else fails try to get hold of some melatonin tables.

They're the ones with the easy wipe clean surfaces aren't they?

A hard physical workout will calm you more than any meditation.

@the-pickled-walrus said
A hard physical workout will calm you more than any meditation.

I always felt relaxed after a good work out or a nice brisk walk.

I think people run into problems when they become couch potatoes or have some life issues they are overwhelmed with.

-VR

@very-rusty said
I always felt relaxed after a good work out or a nice brisk walk.

I think people run into problems when they become couch potatoes or have some life issues they are overwhelmed with.

-VR

Maybe I have a stereotyped view of Canada but I imagine you must have some amazing walking available?

@petewxyz said
Maybe I have a stereotyped view of Canada but I imagine you must have some amazing walking available?

We have a lot of trails & parks for walking, biking, jogging, dog walking. Many sterotype Canada, one guy thought we all lived in igloos....LOL....Then again he may have been a smarta$$ lots of those on here too! 😉

-VR

@very-rusty said
We have a lot of trails & parks for walking, biking, jogging, dog walking. Many sterotype Canada, one guy thought we all lived in igloos....LOL....Then again he may have been a smarta$$ lots of those on here too! 😉

-VR

Rusty, I give you a cue to talk about the walking in Canada and you moan about smarta$$es instead?!? C'mon man sort it out, you're always going to get comebacks if you do that????