I tried my first long meditation during the YTT. So far I’ve had good and bad meditation days. Sometimes my legs hurt too much, sometimes it’s difficult to focus on the breathing. I guess we all had a similar experience in this area at the beginning.
I’ve tried guided meditation and a self-guided meditation with some help from Jessica.
I found that guided meditation is much easier for me cause I have someone giving me instructions as I meditate, so I concentrate on that voice instead of my leg/back pain or my distracting thoughts.
I did some research and here is a little of what I found out about the difference in these two very rewarding practices.
Guided meditation is useful for beginners or for those moments when you are particularly anxious or stressed out so your mind is too busy or chatty. In this case your teacher’s voice will remind you to bring your attention back to the meditation.
Most people say that the more experience you have the less guidance and more silence you want.
Of course there are some techniques to help you keep yourself concentrated on your self-guided meditation.
I discovered that it takes time to build your own meditation practice but you should never forget to thank yourself for taking the time to meditate.
Sofia Lesin
200 Hour YTT Jan’21
