4 Reasons To Try Vedic Meditation With James Brown
Once a month at The Center SF, James Brown hosts a Vedic Meditation session followed by a Dharma Talk, details here. In the spirit of his monthly event and since I just learned (and learned to LOVE) this ridiculously effective technique with him - which can be done anywhere, even behind sunglasses in the passenger seat of your friend’s car - I thought I’d share 4 excellent uses for Vedic Meditation:
1. That 3pm office lag / sugar binge / social media rabbit-hole time…
You know the feeling. When the last thing you remember is feeling tired-ish around 2.59pm, and then you come to around 3.11, still sitting in the same position staring blankly at your screen with an empty chocolate bar wrapper crumpled in your hand and a stomach ache to go with. To curb that feeling or eradicate it completely, simply close your eyes or retreat to a safe place where you can, and sit quietly for 10-20 minutes to meditate Vedic style. No one will be the wiser, and you will feel MUCH more refreshed than you would, say, after zoning out on your political friend’s Facebook election rantings.
2. You are irked by something or someone and you can’t seem to shake the feeling…
It happens to the best of us. So let’s say you did read the comments section on Facebook, but you wish you hadn’t. And earlier in the day someone took your parking spot and then had the nerve to honk at you for being in the way. It’s amazing what meditation can do for our emotional state and I’m always surprised by how annoying situations and people don’t bother me as much (or at all) after I’ve meditated for even a few minutes. While the people or places themselves don’t change, we often come out of meditation with more compassion or insight about a situation. Before you react in a way you might later regret, try to sit and meditate for 10-20 minutes and see what happens!
3. You wake up tired…
Sometimes we just don’t sleep well. Though it’s hard to believe, research shows that meditating for just 10-20 minutes can provide the body with more rest than actual sleep. It has something to do with hunter-gatherer times and our need to be able to leap into action in case a predator enters our cave while we’re sleeping. Rather than press the Snooze button 10 times, try some Vedic Meditation. And, because you can do it silently, it won’t bug your partner and you won’t actually have to go anywhere or do much of anything. Other than sit up in bed, repeat your mantra inwardly, and feel awesome for the rest of the day.
4. Because we can all do with some more grounding…
As James’ martial arts teacher always told him, and he tells us, ‘you can’t leap from air to air, you have to set your foundation so that every kick, punch, spin [or peaceful conversation] will be better executed and more effective.’ When we set our feet, so to speak, we’re better able to navigate our day, and not be so easily knocked off our game. By grounding ourselves in something other than the surface of life - our latest Tinder date, our over-stuffed email inbox, endless to-do and to-buy lists - we are thus more prepared for what life has to throw at us.
Fore more in formation on Vedic Meditation and James Brown’s Vedic Path classes, please visit his website here.
