06 Nov Bespoke meditation – because one size never fits all
by Dr. Paula Watkins
One size fits all never fits everyone.
This is as true for yoga and meditation as it is for what we wear.
That’s why, in India—homeland of these traditions—there are many, many different paths winding to, around and up the meditation mountain.
Desikachar put it nicely:
“Anybody who wants to can practice yoga. Anybody can breathe; therefore anybody can practice yoga. But no one can practice every kind of yoga. It has to be the right yoga for the person. The student and teacher meet and decide on a program that is acceptable and suitable to that person”
Ditto for meditation which is, of course, a branch of the tree of yoga.
A great deal of Western scientific research has gone into meditation in recent decades and a throbbing little meditation industry has also been gaining momentum. I use that term intentionally because a meditation ‘industry’ is indeed what, at one level, is happening here. And if industry insiders are right, meditation is going to be a lucrative sector. Just ask the founder of Lululemon—a man who successfully predicted business trends in surf, ski and snowboard apparel before hitting the yoga jackpot. He recently told Business Insider that his interest is now turned toward the exceptional growth rate of, you guessed it, meditation.
The science is sound: meditation is good for us and, as I see it, public interest in meditation is a great thing—great for individuals and great for communities. It’s also great for those with a vested interest in you learning meditation. Whether that interest is financial, political, philosophical or otherwise, the truth is that those in the ‘industry’ stand to gain by convincing us that their particular meditation technique is ‘the best’ and certainly the best for us.
As both a clinical psychologist and a yoga teacher, teaching meditation is a big part of what I do (which makes me one of those who stand to gain) and yet, as a scientist, I know this…
…keep reading the full article HERE
And find out more about Dr. Paula, and her coaching and meditation training HERE