If my mind wanders while I meditate, does the meditation "count"?

Meditation is a part of our practice. Usually, we begin with setting an intention for our practice, and an inspiration. While we ponder those things, we initiate our meditative process. While we practice the asanas, we do a "moving meditation." Using our bodies as the focus for our thoughts, centering our gaze on the drishtis, or focal point for each asana, our minds are occupied with not much else but the practice. Asanas are intented to shift our busy mind's attention from the distractions of everyday life, to the discipline of each pose. At the end of our practice, while we are in savasana, our minds return to our breath, to our intention, to our inspiration.

At least, that's the theory of how yoga provides opportunities for meditation. But the realities of life frequently intrude. Distractions shift our attention from our practice to other matters. Emotional concerns create turbulence and throw us off balance, mentally as well as physically. At times, it's difficult to keep our minds still during savasana, and we are itching to get off the mat and move on with the demands of the day.

Don't be so critical of yourself when these things happen. Meditation is next to impossible; no matter how hard you persevere, it's not an easy discipline. Ironically, the harder you try, the more difficult meditation may be. Relax. Breathe. Gently guide your busy brain back to the beginning of your inspiration, and begin again.

Much like balance poses, meditation requires your patience and focus. Accept that you will have days when your attention is distracted to follow visual interruptions, to seek the source of intruding sounds, and to be lead outside yourself by random thoughts. Complete quiet? Almost impossible! No distracting movements? Hardly attainable! A quiet mind? A goal that we are all seeking and rarely achieving.

It is reassuring to know one of the reasons why it's difficult to keep our minds from chattering away, even if we would like to silence them. Our brain looks for patterns and tries to sort out random thoughts into a coherent structure. Turning our brains off is next-to-impossible, so when even the tiniest idea penetrates our awareness, we quickly attempt to link that idea with another, to create a narrative, so to speak. Actors and public speakers use this aspect of brain function to their advantage, particularly when memorizing long sections of dialogue or a speech. They utilize the narrative-formation aspect of the human brain, creating an imaginary scenario filled with the objects and/or ideas that they must memorize in the sequence of the "story."

So, when your meditation is interrupted, from external or internal intrusions, recognize that this is just part of being human. Return to the beginning, refocus, rebalance, begin again.

And rest assured that meditation DOES count, even if your mind has been empty for just a few nanoseconds.

Want specific, step-by-step instruction? Look at this site:

http://www.heartofmeditation.com/how-to-meditate-for-beginners.html

Until next week, namaste.

Want to know more about meditation? Explore LA Yoga's article in the February issue online; the link is to the right of this post.