Kat Tancock - Meditation: A Beginners Journey

Kat Tancock

Im lying in the meditation hall at Travaasa, an experiential resort near Austin, Texas, wrapped in two blankets to ward off the early-morning chill. Im still resonating from the chant we started the session with as I listen to the voice of Jennifer, our meditation teacher, leading us through a simple exercise of scanning and relaxing the body, then focusing on our inhales and exhales. We begin with a mantra, repeating the Sanskrit syllables so and ham as the breath goes in and out, and place hands on belly and chest to ground ourselves as we breathe even deeper. And despite a tickly throat that tries hard to distract me, I feel a sense of peace radiating from my chest and through my whole body.

After slowly emerging from our meditation, we repeat three oms, stand and stretch, and Im struck by how calm and mentally refreshed I feela far cry from my typical start to the day, reading email and checking Twitter before Im even awake. And I tell myself that this feeling is worth it, that Ill start meditating regularly when Im home, to bring this serenity into every morning.

Almost a year later, Im in a seated meditation at Torontos 889 Yoga, part of the Sunday-afternoon restorative yoga class. I had chosen this particular class to be with a friend recovering from illness, but the truth is, both of us would have picked a physically demanding vinyasa class instead, had she been up to it. And while Im trying to focus on my breath, everything else is grabbing my attentionincluding guilt about this being my first meditation class since my visit to Travaasa, despite stellar intentions. And instead of setting myself up to fail once again, I commit to a realistic goal this time: not to meditate regularly just yet, but to research meditation, and work out a plan to get the practice into my life for good.

Ive been practising yoga for a long time and have done my share of flirting with meditation alongside the physical poses. But actual honest-to-goodness meditation? Like staying away from bright screens before bedtime, its one of those brilliant ideas that has never seemed to stick. The older I get, however, and the more I hear about the benefits of meditationless anxiety and better sleep are at the top of my listthe more I think it should be part of my life.

So I got in touch with the experts, meditation practitioners who feel so strongly about the value of the practice that they teach it to others. I asked about their relationship with meditation, about what meditation means to them and how they think it helps them. And perhaps most important, I asked these experts to share their secrets for making meditation a regular practice.

This is what I learned. Its helping me, and I hope it helps you, too.