Posted on January 3, 2010 - by Jennifer

30 Day Meditation Challenge: Day 25

Wednesday December 30, 2009: ¬†On Wednesday, we left for 4 days at a vacation home rental nestled in the mountains near Luray, VA. ¬† There was no internet access so I have not been able to post about my meditations since my last post on Wednesday morning. ¬†You would think a vacation home away from the city with no internet would be the perfect place to meditate. ¬†But you would only be right if 1) said home did not have paper thin walls (it did) ¬†2) ¬†several of your close friends were not there with you (they were) 3) ¬†there was neither excellent red wine nor a serious hot tub (there was). ¬† Lovely though friends, hot tubs, and wine are, they are enemies (maybe obstacles?) to a novice daily meditator. ¬†But, I’m happy to report that I actually did meditate daily. ¬†On Wednesday we arrived and got settled in and, after a soak in the hot tub, I realized if I did not break away for meditation immediately, it was not going to happen. ¬†So, I retreated upstairs to meditate seated on our bed. ¬†I normally meditate in my home yoga studio, on the floor, with my shawl and meditation pillow. ¬†So, physically I wasn’t quite at ease yet in this new space. ¬†As I closed my eyes, I could hear my friends joking as they started a fire. ¬†Someone turned on the television. ¬†I had trouble settling in. ¬†And I wasn’t in the mood for a mantra. ¬† So, I tried focusing on my belly and exaggerating each inhale and exhale so that I could really feel my belly expand and contract with each breath. ¬†This technique did effectively situate me more fully in my body and I was able to reduce the background noise to, well, background noise. ¬†After a time, I ceased the exaggerated breathing and just sat quietly. ¬†Perhaps it was the heat of the hot tub or the beer I’d had an hour or so earlier but I wasn’t able to generate or circulate much energy (prana, chi). ¬†I was, however, able to withdraw my senses and appreciate the time to sit with my mind on “off”.