Here are four things to look at when thinking about yourself, how you function in the world around us, and how your dog meditates. Are we so different?
1) Your back hurts. Your pet has impeccable posture. Why? Because they use their limbs, they stretch and they don’t sit hunched over in chairs. As I sit here, hunching my shoulders to navigate a relatively narrow keyboard, I feel grateful knowing I have a ballet class tonight and a yoga class tomorrow. It’s the only way I know how to undo the effects of sitting for long swaths of time. But, if you do not currently have a physical wellness routine that activates the sleeping muscles of the spine, abdominals and buttocks, you may be suffering from seat-induced back pain.
2) You feel tired all the time. Maybe you get plenty of sleep, but you still wake up tired. Whether it is stress, anxiety, depression or something else, you need to find a way to let your mind reset. Taking some time to meditate in the morning, during the day or before bed could help unlock the pressure release valve on that big brain of yours. Then, when it is time to play ball, you’ll be ready to go all in.3) You can’t sleep. When you can’t sleep, you feel absolutely dreadful. Your brain feels sluggish, you feel unproductive and often dietary choices aren’t the most nourishing. To get that relaxation response your body needs to fall asleep, try mindfulness meditation. It has been shown to improve sleep quality, lower stress and reduce depression. Go ahead, show me a dog or cat who has trouble sleeping.
4) You are absurdly busy. When you don’t think you have time to eat a quality meal, never mind meditate, that is precisely the time you need meditation the most. Okay, your pet really isn’t that busy, but if they were, you know they would still take the time to have a nice nap or take a little quiet space. Or, at the very least, they would go to bed early so that they feel ready to slay the next day! Do you do these things? Even if you are busy, maybe taking a 10 minute meditation break isn’t so impossible to squeeze in. You’ll feel so much better as a result and be more productive during the rest of your busy day, so it pays off.
In the end, we think our dogs meditate much better than ourselves. Even when we try to rest and ruminate we are often held back by the things we know we have done or must do. That is a human trait and not one for the pets – those lucky beasts!
You can read more about this subject over on Care 2. Maybe one day in the far future we will be able to speak directly to Fido, find out what he is really thinking, and we can ask him about meditation. We wonder what his answer will be. Ask our niece says, the answer to meditation is simple: “Squirrel!” will be their reply LOL!
