If taking time out of your hectic day to sit still and reflect seems impossible, then serenity now! Turn off your phone, stop thinking about work, and quiet your mind with NOW The Practice's guided meditations. Inner peace could be just an hour away!
NOW The Practice is a modern, community-based experience focused on developing practices to become more present. "I started NOW to provide an accessible means for people to drop in and connect with themselves," says founder Vanessa Chu. "We have a lot of voices, internal and external, telling us what we should or should not be doing. This practice helps quiet those voices so we can begin to listen from a clearer place and help balance the constant stress of busy lives."
As a meditation newbie, it was hard to think of sitting still for any length of time, but as Vanessa and our meditation leader Flora explained, being able to stay present takes practice. From a studio in Cow Hollow, our meditation was focused around "letting go" and was made up of two "sits." Flora had us find a comfortable seated position on a cushion where we could sit for 10-15 minutes without fidgeting or having our legs and feet fall asleep. If a seated position is too stressful on your knees and hips, you can lie down, but know that reclining increases the chances of falling asleep.
We closed our eyes and listened to Flora's melodic voice as she guided us through our first sit, an "insight meditation." We focused on a relationship in our lives that was causing stress or negativity and worked towards understanding that person and the situation better. Not thinking about dinner, or tomorrow's meeting, but staying present and in the moment was challenging at first, but with a little concentrated effort it became easier.
Our second sit was a classic Indian tantric meditation. Flora quickly explained the word "Tantra," which is commonly misused in popular culture as a sexual reference, but actually refers to very unorthodox or socially unacceptable methods. In this meditation, we focused a personal offering to Kali, the goddess of time, change, power, creation, and destruction. As the session concluded, we sipped tea and spent some time reflecting as a group on the relaxing and stimulating experience.
Now's July 12 sit is focused on gratitude. The experience is donation based and all are welcome.
// 2165A Union Street (Cow Hollow), nowthepractice.com
