Meditation has always been something that’s intrigued me (remember. While I practice yoga on the regular, it’s never been much of a zen activity for me…let’s chalk this up to the fact that I like hot yoga, and it’s hard to be zen when you have about a gallon of sweat dripping down your face at any given moment. Gross, I know.
I heard about a downtown meditation class that occurs mornings for an hour and lunchtime for half an hour. A quick 30 minute lunchtime meditation seemed like the perfect time to give it a try, no? Our meditation instructor at The Three Jewels told us we could either meditate in the seated position or laying down on a yoga mat…either was fine as long as our spine was straight. I’ll let you guess which one I opted for;-)
Closing our eyes, she walked us through some calming words, encouraging us to first pay attention to all the sounds around us (water faucet dripping! cabs honking! classmates breathing! ahhhh the stimulation!), and then for us to let go of those sounds completely and to focus on our breathing. On the inhale and exhale. On that moment. (Yes, the cabs were still honking but I did my best to ignore, promise!)
Thirty minutes was the exact right amount of time for me. Anymore and I probably would have been snoring away in class, zenned to the max with a lunchtime snoozer.
The Verdict
If meditation is something you’re interested in, I’d absolutely encourage you to try out a class. They are donation based ($7), but will never turn anyone away for funds…so technically, yes, you can go for free. If you have a tendency to get super relaxed (read: on the verge of sleeping), I’d suggest giving the seated meditation pose a try first.
If I worked in the hood I would definitely take advantage of the lunchtime zen sessions as a way to relax, but being much further uptown and having a preference for sweat over zzz’s, I’ll be sticking to the hot yoga.
Have you ever tried meditation? Should I give it another try? Share your thoughts below!
By: Jessica Tiare Bowen
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
