Meditation

I've been doing different types of meditation for over 3 years now. Some intense sessions lasting more than an hour to some very gentle 10 minute daily sessions.

I won't go into the spritual awakening aspects of meditation as that can turn people off very quickly. I'll just talk about the mental and phisycal benefits that just 10 minutes a day does for me.

Due to my current domestic situation, I don't get enough sleep. The sleep i do get is disjointed. I am awoken on average 2 times a night in about 3 hour increments. I get close to 8 hours, but its not a solid 8 hours. I am just getting by in the rest department. This means i am a bit more prickly than i'd like to be during the day because i'm just not getting enough sleep.

Meditation - even if its for 10 minutes first thing in the morning before i start my day i find very beneficial. With the proper breathing techniques (deep and slow) I find my body gets a quick boost of energy. Its contradictory because i get to a very deep level of conciouseness to the point where i am literrarly half a sleep - but still aware. The longer i can keep in this state the better i feel when i 'awake'.

If you are stuffed up - the deep breathing is a sure fire sinus breaker. With the intensity of the the deep breathing, i find that it relieves my sinus congestion.

These quick sessions i do are guided. Its just a guy telling you how to breath, and relax your body. Then there's just silence. At the end is 3 chimes that end the session. The chimes are soft but have the affect of a gong - jolting me 'awake'. Its not until the chimes ring that you notice how deep into your head you are. Its quite startling - like turning on the shower and getting blasted with cold water or jumping into a cold lake after a hot sauna.

The affect of this quick 10 minute session makes me extremely alert, concious and awake - but most importantly - gives me an energy boost that i can ride until lunch. If needed i'll do another session on a break or at lunch in my car.

Life seems to flow a lot easier when i've started my day this way.