So I tried a new thing - Meditation.
I recently won a competition on the St Martin's Lane Instagram page for a Meditation class at Yotopia, led by Dirish Shaktidas. I have a few friends who swear by meditation and I sometimes do guided meditations on YouTube to help me sleep, so I thought - great!
Apparently, during meditation, you're supposed to let your mind empty. You're not supposed to have any thoughts at all! For a newbie like me, I found this extremely difficult as I found my mind fighting inner peace in favour of constant inner-monologue! It takes a lot of practice and skill to free your mind, so for now, this young grasshopper will share with you her internal dialogue in a blog post:
10 Thoughts I had during my first Meditation class
1. "What does one wear to a meditation class?!"
OK so technically this was before the class but still relevant! The fashion blogger in me went into total meltdown as I searched the web and my closet for the perfect thing to wear.
"Everyone else at the class will have definitely done this before and have the perfect ensemble, I don't want to embarrass myself! Do I wear all black? Is colour frowned upon? Loose fitting trousers or stretchy leggings? Will I be too cold or will I be too warm?"
In the end, I found an old black tunic-esque top from when I was at drama school. I paired it with some black leggings and put a huge charcoal grey, cowl-neck jumper dress on top!
2. "Should take the mat at the front or the back?"
As I entered the cool, dark room, I was presented with lines of yoga mats rolled out awaiting their human yogi. "Do I play 'class pet' and take the mat front and centre, close enough to count my teacher's nose hairs? Or do I take the mat closest to the back and the door (great for a quick escape but risk being excluded). In the end I went for far right of the middle row - still involved but with the comfort of a wall to my right and a good sight line of the teacher.
3. "What are these pillows and blankets for?"
On my mat, I had been left with a heavy blanket and a long, heavy pillow. I knew meditation was about relaxation but I would be so annoyed if meditation turns out to basically be adult nap time and no one had ever told me until now!
4. "OMG I love this chill-out soundtrack."
As I settled onto my mat, trying my best to look super comfortable in my new setting, I noticed that a beautiful meditation soundtrack accompanied our entrance. I felt instantly soothed and secretly hoped the entire class would be filled with similar sounds - (it was!)
5. "I didn't think sitting cross-legged for so long would hurt so much!"
OK, so as the class began, I noticed everyone else was sat crossed-legged on their mats... So I sat cross legged on my mat. After about 10 minutes I began to feel an ache in my knees and thighs like no other!
This cross-legged pain was a tad uncomfortable, making it hard for me to really concentrate on meditating, so I needed to shuffle a bit to find a new, better position. But as I did so, my movement became hyper-audible in this unusually quiet room of breathing strangers. Every little scoot and shuffle was painfully loud. I just hoped everyone was too busy in their "zen zone" to realise!
7. "I've never been so aware of breathing before...!"
One of the exercises we did involved using my fingers to block one nostril so my breath favoured the other. I seemed to make a lot of sniffy sounds, combined with snotty sounds, as my mucus adjusted to this new method. I felt my concentration being entirely focused on the tiny particles in the air, my lungs expanding and contracting, and the smells around me...
8. "I those my feet I can smell, or his?"
Speaking of smells... The man next to me had really smelly feet! Of course, hardly anyone has the freshest smelling feet, but the ins and outs of my neighbours cheesy trotters became the subject of many of my internal monologues!
9. "I think I'm falling aslee............."
Ahhh, this is what I came for! This is why we're all here surly?! The bit when the teacher tells you to lay back, and close your eyes. How long 'til someone started snoring? About 0.4 seconds!
I like meditation!... Zzz
10."That wasn't so bad."
Eyes open, final chant, the end. That really wasn't so bad. In fact, that was great!
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