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My Budding Lotus

I wrote the title of this post My Budding Lotus after I had written these notes following my first full 20-minute meditation session. Today marks day 2 of my 30-day practice of meditation mindfully for a total of 20 minutes. I'm giving myself the flexibility to choose to do 2, 10-minute sessions or one 20-minute session. We have been asked to journal after each session and here is what I wrote after today's session:

I just did my first 20 minutes silent meditation. I used the guided meditation included in this course and was surprised to find that the 20 minutes went by exceedingly fast. For the first time, I didn't find myself wondering how much time I had left meditating, feel like I was wasting time, or feel like I should be getting something accomplished.

Also interesting was the fact that my Goldendoodle decided to join me. I thought, as he snuggled down beside me, that I should put him out of the room so I could focus on my practice, but as I experienced his loving presence and warmth nestled up against me I  decided his presence would only add to my practice. Therefore, I allowed him to stay.

It was fun to watch him settle in. As he scratched his hindquarters and ears, licked his paws, and fidgeted to and fro before coming to a place of near perfect stillness, I thought of how my mind is super similar. I come to my sitting practice with a mind that is going a million miles per hour. Like Thor, I too, take a few minutes to settle in. As I focus on my breath, my mind slows down and I'm finally able to come to a place of almost perfect stillness.

I wonder if the reason I'm also finding greater ability and desire to sit is that I'm also practicing my lotus position? I have high motivation to perfect this yoga pose so I take my 20-minute session as a good 20 minutes of opening up my hips and ankles. It's rewarding to feel my hips and ankles open up over the course of the 20 minutes. By the end of today's session, I was sitting in full lotus position without any pain in my knees or tops of my feet. My heart skips a beat when I imagine how nimbly I'll be sitting in lotus after 30 days of this dedicated practice.

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I'm excited, obviously, about my budding lotus position, but even more thrilling is my budding meditation practice. In just one day, I've gone from someone who was resisting sitting still to someone who has already found the beauty and benefit in what I was formerly resisting. I can't help but wonder if my newfound fervor for meditation will simply be a passing fancy? Thankfully, time will tell.

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