Trouble Meditating?
Try a moving meditation instead.
Introducing your full-proof alternative.
You hear it all the time: meditation is the key to mental well-being. While many try the practice and it clicks right away, others have more trouble making typical meditation work for them.
Whether you have difficulty focusing, are uncomfortable with stillness, or just haven’t found a way to meditate that works for you, you’re not alone. There are plenty of people who have issues meditating on their own or in a guided setting. Enter: moving meditation, your meditation alternative.
Wondering what makes a moving meditation different from a regular meditation? “A moving meditation brings you back to your body and gives you awareness of what you’re doing,” explains Soeuraya Wilson, a teacher at The Class who focuses on helping students “return to self.”
While normal meditation is also rooted in increasing awareness, a moving meditation incorporates physical action to help you settle into the present moment and your body.
“Sometimes people think meditation is a way to get out of your brain, but what The Class does is bring you into your body and shows you what is actually you,” explains Soeuraya. In a world that makes it easy to get lost and confused in anxious thoughts, a moving meditation aims to help you sift through ruminations and return to your body, to your present self.
So, if you’re having trouble meditating and a moving meditation sounds like an alternative that might work for you, keep reading. The following is everything you need to know about the practice and why it might be helpful in your life—plus how The Class can help, of course.
Start with a little bit of movement to make sitting in meditation more comfortable and accessible
Looking to meditate?
What does it mean when you can’t meditate?
For starters, that you’re normal.
The most well-known way of meditating—being still, silent, and relinquishing your thoughts—can feel downright stifling for some, making a practice that’s supposed to be stress-reducing actually cause more anxiety instead of helping it be dispelled, explains Dr. Chloe Carmichael, PhD, clinical psychologist and author of Nervous Energy: Harness The Power Of Your Anxiety.
“Mindfulness practices are different for each person,” says Jaycee Gossett, a founding teacher at The Class who focuses on helping students “discover their strengths and explore freedoms.” Basically, if you feel like you can’t meditate, you’re not alone. There’s a reason various types of meditations exist, after all.
While meditation practices are definitely on the rise, only about 14 percent of adults meditate regularly despite the positive impact it can have on a person’s life, according to a 2017 survey conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. This means that a big chunk of the population still struggles with finding a meditation practice that works for them. (Or has never even tried it in the first place.) Again, rest assured that you’re not alone if traditional mindfulness practices don’t work for you.
Balance the intensity The Class with the flow of yoga and the stillness of meditation to build an even stronger body and deeper connection to self.
Introducing Yoga + Meditation
Here’s why incorporating movement is an ideal mediation alternative.
“People can really benefit from putting the body in motion and experiencing a moving meditation rather than being still,” Jaycee explains. Basically, there’s no “one way” to meditate, Jaycee says—and some are more responsive when veering off from the traditional path.
In fact, 92% of The Class students report feeling less anxious and 90% report feeling more resilient post-workout. For some, The Class has become like therapy, helping people reach a higher state of consciousness and self-control. In short, The Class and its strategy of partnering on-beat movement and meditative exercises is leaving students better off, emotionally and physically, than when they entered.
After doing a moving meditation through exercise, the mind is able to slow down enough to experience a deeper state of consciousness and tranquility. “Exercise can calm the mind. There’s also a sense of exertion that can lead to a healthy feeling of depletion, helping the body to reach the rest it craves,” Dr, Carmichael says.
It’s also important to note that no matter what kind of meditation you do, it involves using your breath to bring oxygen to your mind and deactivate your nervous system, Jaycee says. And of course, “you naturally have to connect to the breath in order to exercise,” Dr. Carmichael explains, which is why moving meditation can allow you to be even more in tune with your breathing than stillness.
On top of all this, by learning to control the body through exercise and breath, you increase your self-efficacy. “We then feel more confident and able to control our thoughts and feelings,” says Dr. Carmichael. And that’s exactly why you’re here in the first place, right?
Here’s how you can access
moving meditations today.
If you’d like to try the idea of incorporating more moving meditations into your life, that’s great. The tough part? You’re probably wondering how exactly you can do so and where to start. That’s where beat- and movement-based The Class sessions and a team of talented teachers come in.
"Our teachers have different styles and playlists, but they're all experts in bringing students to a place of calm through the method. I suggest trying a variety of Classes and being open for anything," Soeuraya says. Depending on your preference, after dabbling in several Classes, you’ll likely land on an instructor or type of practice that makes moving meditation work for you.
As mentioned, The Class offers a variety of options when it comes to harnessing your power and fulfilling your moving meditation needs, including beginner-friendly and express Classes for all experience levels. And if you want traditional meditation, The Class has that too.
Above all, “I would suggest that you be patient with yourself,” Soeuraya says. Why? “The Class is designed to challenge the mind and help you come up against the things that are standing in the way,” she explains. So get ready to use moving meditations as a means to unlock a new side to yourself.
“It’s a very intimate practice, if you’re really showing up and doing The Class to its fullest, there is going to be an emotional awakening and new awareness that comes to you,” Soeuraya says. Now, choose the best course for you and allow your moving meditation to commence.
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