Why we need to be creative when we’re
learning and teaching meditation.
ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE RECEIVE MOST OFTEN IS “WHAT KIND OF MEDITATION DO YOU TEACH?”
As you know, there are many different styles and techniques when it comes to meditation. We teach a variety of practices, but we break them down into 3 simple groups that I share here in this 3-minute youtube video that speaks to the techniques we share in our LIBERATE Meditation Coach training.
Every person is unique. What works for one person, may not resonate for another. We believe that crafting a meditation practice to an individual’s lifestyle and constitution is vital to creating a sustainable sitting practice. You need to be inspired every day to sit!
On my own path, I started with Zen meditation. I learned to count my breaths from 10 to 1 over and over again. This simple practice was life-changing. I experienced a new level of calm and ease like I had never had before. But after several years of practicing the same technique with the same circles, I started to feel more subdued and less exuberant about life. I felt like I was losing a part of myself that I really loved – a part of me that loved to be spontaneous, fun, and vivacious. I wanted to experience passion in my life.
After having traveled through Asia staying at various meditation centers and ashrams, spiritual practice began to have an unexpected effect on me. All the rigor, discipline, and seriousness of traditional spiritual practice began to wear a part of my spirit that longed to be more free, raw, sensual, and creative. I felt a core part of my femininity that wanted to emerge, a strong desire to be my full self without apology. I wanted to feel like I could bring the whole of myself to meditation practice, including the part below my waist! I no longer wanted to cover up my whole body and wear uniforms to practice something as simple and beautiful as meditation.
That’s when I began developing a meditation style that included feminine energy to enhance my personal practice. I combined them into one core practice to receive greater benefit from the time I spent on my pillow each morning. This included the cultivation of intuition, imagination, energy (prana/chi/life force), prayer, creativity, sacred movement, pleasure, passion, contemplation, manifestation, and healing. I realized it was much easier to create and meditate when you allowed yourself to receive and feel pleasure, rather than force yourself to sit in pain for hours at a time.
I felt deeply called to bring more feminine expression to meditation which I found lacking in most traditional practices. It took me a while to have confidence in what I felt moved to practice on my own, but with time I realized there was nothing wrong with our deepest desires and bringing them forth in our everyday reality. While there is benefit to the mental discipline and rigor offered by the masculine, it needs to be balanced with softness and gentleness of the feminine.
By integrating feminine elements together with the masculine approach to meditation, I felt more full, more fluid, more whole.. more myself. Instead of feeling stuck in a singular practice, I was able to apply and integrate meditation into all aspects of my life. This is what we feel passionate about sharing in our meditation programs — a balanced, dynamic approach to spiritual practice that evokes your true self.
Meditation is a skill that you can use to improve the quality of your life. I find it especially useful in accessing information that goes beyond our logical mind, a place within us that is all-knowing, wise, and compassionate. When we enter this space, we feel peaceful and centered. We have access to everything we need to know. We feel free. We are simply ourselves.
I still teach the simple Zen practice I learned when I began. I know it is effective and perfect for beginners who are just getting started. Concentration is a core part of what we share. If you’re just getting started on your path, I encourage you to try a lot of different practices before finding one you commit to for some time.
At Sura Flow, we love to embrace all practices, especially the ones that create a divine spark in us — the ones that make us feel really alive.
If you’d like to learn more about what we teach and share through our Certified Meditation Coach training course LIBERATE, take a few minutes to watch our 3 minute video below. Our next LIBERATE training begins September 5th. Be sure to reserve your seat if you’re interested as spaces are filling up!
What is your favorite practice. Leave a comment and share what you love!
