Restoration

’Tis the season. The weather has changed, and countdowns are underway for gatherings around extraordinary meals. But days seems to contain fewer hours as more tasks are added to them.

I need restoration time, and have found a way to create some. While waiting for sleep, or in the morning when awake but not yet required to be out of bed, I use my phone and earphones to connect to a meditation app, and let myself be led into a more restful place. I’ve been amazed to discover how much more relaxed it is possible to become, and how helpful it is to begin the day with a positive frame of mind when distanced from the thoughts that otherwise occupy that time. The kinds of meditations available on line, free with wifi, are endless. It is possible to choose voice preferences, music and general ambient sound preferences, topics, and length of meditation. I have grown fond of Yoga Nidra practices, which help one relax the entire body through directed, gentle instruction. It is truly astonishing to discover that, even when believing oneself to be still, it is possible to become even more so.

I have not altered my schedule in any way in order to incorporate this practice into my life, but I am, as a result of it, learning to slow down, and be more appreciative of that which matters most to me.