Shocking but true!
Would you rather sit alone with your thoughts or be electrically shocked?? .
A study done in the University of Virginia, showed that 67% of men and 25% of women chose to inflict an Electric Shock on themselves, rather than just sit there quietly and think, for only 6-15 minutes.
Why do we try to distract from our thoughts? Is it usually because our thoughts are quite loud and annoying, like that weird friend that is always hanging around, they just don't get the hint, or a bold child that keeps nagging you for attention and entertainment!!
What would you do if, all our distractions were taken away tomorrow, no phones, tv, books, art, music, people? Would you be able to keep "sane" if you were locked in prison? or if you had to spend time alone in hospital?
So how do we learn to sit with ourselves???
One word ...….Meditation!!!
When people think about meditation they generally think silence! Meditation quietens those thoughts, those sometimes nagging, loud, annoying to do lists, thoes what if scenarios, fears about the future, worries about the past.
Something that people should understand about meditation is it takes a lot of time and practice, the first few times you do it you may well feel like you would rather stick your fingers in a socket, because there is no silence, there is only noise. It takes practice and technique to quieten everything, then eventually after lots of practice, silence will come for a moment, and after more practice, silence may come for a longer moment, and eventually time has no meaning so your not sure how long those moments lasted.
Yin Yoga is a perfect way of introducing yourself to meditation Yin yoga is a physically passive practice that teaches us to sit with ourselves and do NOTHING only hold a seated yoga pose for up to 5 minutes each. It can be uncomfortable physically, but usually mentally. As we sit in the posture we discover where we are holding tension or tightness and try to relax into that discomfort, this may be physical or mental discomfort. Yin has many physical benifits but for me I love how it helps to calm the mind, helps to slow us down, and show us that its ok to be with our self, to show us that our own company is not that bad after all!.
So I am putting this out there to encourage more people to try Yin yoga, so that you don’t have to be afraid of sitting with your thoughts, but now I see that 67% of men and 25% of women chose to be electrically shocked rather than sit with their own thoughts, I wonder if I should set up a business electrocuting people, it might be more lucrative!! Then I think of how rewarding it is to see the effects of Yin. To see people fidget and wriggle around for their first few classes and then they get it! They are finally able to sit in stillness, and silence and they are comfortable being with themselves, they are calmer, they are happier!
If you have any comments on how you find meditation or Yin yoga or even just sitting on your own for a few minutes please leave them in the comment section below.