Stillness practice

Sarah showed up today insisting she needed to learn how to meditate. “I read this article about stress management and apparently sitting still for ten minutes can change your whole brain chemistry.” She said this while bouncing on her toes and checking her phone.

Stillness practice

We cleared some floor space and I talked her through basic breathing techniques. Sarah made it approximately ninety seconds before opening one eye to check if she was “doing it right.” Then the other eye. Then both eyes plus a full head turn to see what interesting thing might be happening behind her.

The one-eye peek says it all

“This is harder than running a marathon,” she announced after attempt number three. “At least when I’m running, my brain has something to do.” I suggested we try walking meditation instead, but she’d already moved on to examining Jake’s bookshelf. Some people are built for movement, and that’s perfectly fine. Though watching her try to force stillness was pretty entertaining for my Saturday afternoon.