I have previously talked about how it can be hard to practice mindfulness. We feel we should jump in and fully immerse our lives in the practice. Moreover this is the reason we fail in many things we try. It is better to dip our toes in the calm, serene pool and slowly wade in as we become accustomed to the waters.

One minute meditation

Don’t try and meditate for thirty minutes to begin with; try for a single minute. When you start to ride BMX, you don’t try and hit the biggest gap at a skatepark on your first day. You build up to that gap. It should be the same with mindfulness; take your time.

Starting with a minute-long meditation will make it easier to fit into your life, and you’ll find you can easily get a routine going. Once you have a routine, it will become much easier and feel more natural to start meditating for longer.

You don’t even have to close your eyes for this meditation. Concentrate on a shadow, watch dust particles dance through a beam of sunlight, or listen to a noise. Simply give whatever it is your full and undivided attention, and secondly, pass no judgement on it.

Riding meditation

Are you going to the skatepark or trails, don’t take the car; ride there and take a moment to meditate on your way. Firstly though, you definitely don’t want to be closing your eyes for this meditation.

1. Pay attention to your pedal stroke.
2. Notice how you breathe and how it correlates to your pedal stroke.
3. Match your pedal strokes to your breathing.
4. Go through a few cycles of this.

Skatepark meditation

When you get to a spot, try to fit in a one-minute meditation to help clear your mind before you start a session. Especially as doing so will help you to reduce the risk of injuring yourself through being gung-ho.

Firstly, as you enter a spot, pause and take a breath, and then allow yourself to have awareness of the new place you are in. By doing this you will be slowing yourself down, and allowing your consciousness a chance to catch up.

Additionally if you need to give yourself a bit more of a time out than a single breath, try this meditation out.

1. Run your hand along your righthand side grip.
2. Pay attention to the pattern on the grips.
3. Switch to the lefthand grip.
4. Feel the difference in the pattern between the left and the right grips.
5. Put your hand on both grips.
6. How do they feel?

Well done for reading

Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. Remember, you to have the power to come up with small meditations to help you through the day. Use these meditations together with your own thoughts and create your own exercises.

If you use your own creativity and start with small steps you are certainly more likely to be able to follow your mindful path.