I bet you sing along with the music, don’t you?
Me, too! But, have you ever breathed along with the music? Now, I’m not talking about breathing during a song instead of singing. That would be silly, how can you not sing along to a good song!
I’m talking about singing along AND breathing along with the music!
More specifically, in addition to belting out your favorite song along with the radio, turn it into a meditation by also breathing in time with the person who’s singing it on the radio (or iPod/record player/whatever)! It can be hard to get it in the beginning, but once you get going, the breaths become as much a part of the song as the words do and a magical tingling feeling starts to creep through your thoughts.
This meditation technique works best with acoustic singer/songwriter/folky type music (my preferred genre!) but will work well with any song where it’s actually possible to hear breath over the sound of the instruments. (Sorry, your Guns N’ Roses tape is gonna have to sit this one out on the shelf!) And it’s best if you know the words by heart so you don’t have to think about them.
Here’s a good song to practice meditating with, if you need one!
I accidentally invented this meditation technique the other day when I was listening to one of my favorite thinking bands, Iron and Wine. His picking style of guitar-playing is especially meditative and the lyrics are thoughtful. You can find the lyrics to the song here on YouTube, just click “show more” under the song description!
I love finding ways to do little meditations in the middle of the crazy activity of my day. With a toddler in the house time is at a premium, which makes the need for mindful activity that much more important!
So, what are you waiting for? No more excuses, get meditating!!