Yoga Folks discussion

Hi all:

I hope everyone's 2018 is off to a good start, and that some of you have started reading this book.

These prompts are through chapter 3 of the book. Feel free to answer all the questions, some of the questions, or just free-form your thoughts. The idea is to have fun.

Once you post, please come back so you can comment on other people's observations. You can click the box "notify me when people reply" (below) to stay on top of this. You should also feel free to comment even if you aren't reading the book.

Come back around Jan 22 for prompts for the second third of the book (through chapter 6).

1) What do you think of Dan Harris, and of Jeff Warren? Do you like them? Relate to them (and if so, more Dan or Jeff)? Were you familiar with either of them before?

2) Chapter 2 tries to debunk the thought that you don't have time to meditate. Is this something you have felt, or currently feel? How have you convinced yourself that you do have time?

3) What do you think of Dan's suggestion that even one minute makes a meditation?

4) Did you try the "concentration 101" meditation in chapter 1? Was it different in any way from your current meditation, if you have one? Did you get anything new out of this, or out of the tips for a breath meditation that follows?

5) Towards the end of the chapter, Josh Grobin, new to meditation, has a great experience, but Dan can't stop worrying throughout his--even though he's been meditating for 8 years, which he berates himself for. Have you ever had a similar experience? (Jeff's advice is not to feed the thought during the meditation that you are frustrated, which just gives it power.)

6) Did you try any of the "free-range" meditations--walking in a noisy place, meditating in the shower (Dan does warm water, then cold, to see if he can maintain the same open attitude--nice!), while brushing your teeth? Do you do this regularly? How do you remind yourself to meditation during these habitual activities?

7) What do you think of the book so far? Of the structure that they are meeting with people to talk about and experience meditations? Of the concept of the bus trip, which they are about to embark on?

8) Has this book so far helped in any way with your own meditation practice? If so, how?

Namaste! (without the bow that makes Dan crazy, lol)~
Meryl

Here are my own comments:

I hadn't really heard of Dan Harris or Jeff Warren, although I was vaguely familiar with the meltdown someone had had on air. I relate more to Dan than Jeff, in that Dan seems to experience more ups and downs in his practice, as do I.

As for time, and for the one minute meditation, I personally need at least 10 minutes, because the first few are always spent settling my mind. I used to try to meditate first thing, but I subsequently found mid-day works better for me. I don't think you can actually get into a meditative state in one minute, but I do believe that if you tell yourself you only have to do this for a minute, you're more likely to start--and then keep going because it feels so good. I once had a swami tell me something similar about asanas; that when he's tired he'll sometimes tell himself just to do one pose, which inevitably leads to others.

My go-to meditation is a breath meditation. I typically count to four in and four out. I keep my attention at the tip of my nose and focus on the breath and the space between breaths. I got the idea from this book to try the "rising, falling" focus on my chest. I love this! This is now my new focus, because it brings the awareness deeper into my body. If I don't get anything else out of this book, it will still have been worth the read because of this.

A few months ago, I downloaded a "chimes" app that dings every hour during the day. When that goes off, I bring my awareness inside, but keep doing what I'm doing. This works better for me than to try to make my teeth-brushing or dish-washing or whatever a meditation, because I've always done those for a short while and then I forget. Of course, when I'm in beautiful nature or something it's easier for me to remember I want to meditate, as I did last week in a national park. The "rising, falling" focus was a wonderful way to walk the trails.

I'm not sure what I think of the structure of the book. So far I liked the meditations with the GMA staff and Josh Grobin, but I'm reserving judgment about how this will work as the structure for the whole book. They're just about to hit the road, so I guess I'll see soon.

XO

I am about 30 pages in & will respond to your excellent prompts in my next post.

Couldn't resist sharing this article I just read which is an absolute devil's advocate to the premise of Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. Dan Harris and Jeff Warren claim that our minds are highly trainable and package meditation as a skill to be learned. The author of this article (John Harrison Miller) claims that meditation without yoga is not possible, tracing this belief back to his teacher Mark Whitwell, a student of Krishnamacharya (BKS Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois' teacher). He claims meditation spontaneously happens as a result of yogic alignment and that sitting and willing it to happen (starting over and over) is missing the point.

https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/...

Always nice to look at all perspectives! Not even sure where I fall on this.

Thanks for getting us rolling, Meryl!

xoxo

Still working on it. Will comment soon

Thanks for sharing that interesting article, Monette. I can’t say that I agree at all, but it was interesting. :)

I have meditated for a long time and didn't find a lot of useful tips or info in the first part of the book. That part seems particularly suited to new meditators. I will say I am now in the second part of the book and have found some useful practices there which I'll comment on when we get to discuss part two. I also have to say that I don't agree that one minute of meditation is useful. While it might help you establish a routine of meditating, I don't see how it can bring you any other benefits. Everyone I've ever talked to needs several minutes to quiet their mind and breathing enough to slip into whatever meditation practice they are using. I personally find the shortest meditation practice I can do is 10 minutes. My usual meditation routine is anywhere from 10-20 minutes or longer, one session a day and sometimes more. I also haven't read anything by Dan or Jeff before and feel like the book skips around all over the place. The comments by Dan within Jeff's meditation instructions are particularly distracting to me. I know all of this makes it sound like I'm not enjoying the book. I actually am and and appreciate some of the methods outlined later in the book. For that reason I am glad this was a book choice for this group. I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise.

Thanks for your insights, Kandice. I’m not too far into the second third of the book so I’m particularly glad to hear there’s interesting stuff there.

XO

I have finished the first third of the book & am chiming in! Here are my responses to our prompts:

1. I was not familiar with either Dan or Jeff. I had heard of Dan's 10% Happier book but haven't read it. I will say that I was super tempted to Google Dan's online meltdown that ultimately led him to meditation, but, alas, I haven't done it yet. Anyone else check it out? I probably relate more to Jeff because I like all the hippie dippy stuff that makes Dan crazy. I agree with Kandice about the interjected commentary being extremely distracting.

2. Absolutely, I have tried to feed myself the "I don't have time" line. I think most people have. Ultimately, I know that I make time for what's important to me. In my most time-crunched days, when I had a colicky baby who never slept more than 30 minutes at a time, I would pull my car over to read if she fell asleep while I was driving. Because reading was just that important to me. Exercise and meditation? Not so much. These days, with older kids, I know I have time to meditate. This book was a good reminder of that. I liked that it wasn't overly prescriptive, recognizing that fitting in meditation looks different for each of us.

3. I actually like the one-minute meditation options because it virtually eliminates the biggest obstacle to meditation (that pesky "I don't have time" excuse). No one, but no one, is so busy that they can't find a minute a day. And hopefully, that builds confidence in their ability to stick to it and will lead to a fuller meditation practice. It's kind of a hook for the masses!

4. I have to be honest. While I read all the meditation exercises, I haven't practiced any of them yet.

7. I love the idea of the bus trip. I think that taking meditation to people in a fun and out-of-the-box way could help overcome many of the obstacles the authors identify. I am looking forward to the journey! Overall, I think this book is written for an audience less committed to meditation than our group. I doubt there are many "fidgety skeptics" among us yoga folks! Not that we meditate perfectly, but I'd be willing to bet few of us our skeptical of the practice's many benefits.

8. The book has made me more flexible in my approach to my meditation practice. Even the idea that one minute counts is liberating!

Thanks for the prompts, Meryl! Looking forward to the meditation road trip!

I had not known Jeff or Dan before. I have enjoyed their camaraderie and good nature banter. I did see GMA talking about his book in late December, and because of our read, the conversation caught my attention. Having the face and voice from the news for moment has helped me relate more to his writing. He tends to speak to the average person and then holy cow, he throws in a word like equinimity. Honestly, I've had to look a few words up as the context seemed off. It's been a good change from other meditation books I've read.

I do believe some people can benefit from a one minute meditation especially if they have a true "monkey mind". Taking a minute to breath helps some people slow down and recognize something is off, or helps them be a better listener and open up to communicate better. I personally started with 3-5 minute meditations with breath and tea. My standard practice is now about 20 minutes about five times a week. I found that morning and evening work fine for me, but not right before bed. Sometimes I fit in short minutes of mindful focus with brushing teeth, washing hands or when I am doing yoga. However, I have not practiced the meditations in the book. I've read through them and thought about how they may or may not work for me.

I am enjoying the interactions Dan and Jeff have with people on the road and each other. Dan says what people are thinking when they are new to meditation and don't really know how to describe it or what to think about it. I find his insights funny. I think Dan loathes the orange color of the bus. May be too flashy for his taste.

The book is not a typical here's how to meditate book. I love that this is Dan's journey. How he is sharing his story is insightful and funny.

Meryl wrote: "Here are my own comments:

I hadn't really heard of Dan Harris or Jeff Warren, although I was vaguely familiar with the meltdown someone had had on air. I relate more to Dan than Jeff, in that Dan ..."

Meryl, Thanks for sharing your responses. I think everyone's meditation experience is different. Breath works for some while others need a guided visualization or mindfulness meditations. I like to try different ones, but I found myself going back to breath or I do love a good Oprah and Deepak 21 day.

I am interested in the chimes app. Can you set it to chime at different intervals? I could use something like this with work. My work is email and phone heavy, I could use this to remind me of a break or to move to another task.

Monette wrote: "I am about 30 pages in & will respond to your excellent prompts in my next post.

Couldn't resist sharing this article I just read which is an absolute devil's advocate to the premise of Meditation..."

Monette, thanks for sharing this article. It is an interesting perspective. I believe you can meditate without practicing yoga and gain benefit. What John Miller is saying to me is that because he was spending so much time meditating his yoga practice was suffering. He found that through yoga he was already practicing meditation and it did not require him to try. I am curious what others think.

Hi Kris:

Thanks for participating!

The Chimes app is literally called that. I have it set for every hour. I know you can set it to ring anytime, but I use the free version and I know there’s an upsell, so it’s possible they charge for more complicated schedules. In any event, it’s worth downloading (which is free) and then you can see if it works for you.