My alarm clock didn't go off...

Ok, I know weekends are supposed to be for chilling, but I had every intention of hitting a 9:45 spin class, doing Pilates and heading to a meditation.

So, what happened? I forgot to set my alarm! I thought I did. Did I turn it off, go back to bed and forget?? Alas, I wound up getting up at 10:30 which sux because it means that I am NEVER gonna be able to fall asleep at a decent time tonight. Le Sigh.

At least I had my meditation to look forward to. I started my meditation "practice" last year with Energy of Breath Institute and today’s event was Chakra Loop Breath with Live Drumming at the pretty attune wellness and yoga in Soho. It's one of my favorite meditations because the sounds of the LIVE drums are so powerful and really enhance the experience.

Very often when I speak with people about meditation, they say it's not for them because their mind is too busy to stop, they can't be quiet/sit still for that long. And I tell them my prior understanding of meditation was blown out of the water when I went on a meditation retreat, where I discovered dynamic meditations. I mean wasn’t meditation what one did in Yoga?

When I found out that there are dynamic, movement based meditations like dancing and breathwork and water meditations, it was a new world opening up. I remember one meditation where I was beating a yoga mat against the floor. How ya like them apples? What happens after these meditations is that you become so exhausted that your mind has nothing to do, but... guess what... be quiet and you just want to chill out. It's great stuff and you should turn your world on its axis by trying one of these meditations.

And if one does not resonate with you, there is one out there that will. Meditating is a profound experience and it's also an imperfect one. (I mean my mind does wander occasionally when say um I am supposed to be focused on breathing in and out of my Chakras.) We owe it to ourselves to carve out some time to have a restorative experience.

Along with Energy of Breath Institute, I also like the quality meditations offered by Meditation from the Source. Many Yoga and Pilates studios have special events and workshops so you can also ask the staff for recommendations.